Exposure to competition
How young golfers get their first taste of competition through the CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge
Share with Friends Chris Fry
Published on Tuesday, Mar. 29, 2011 10:51AM EDT
Last updated on Tuesday, Mar. 29, 2011 03:12PM EDT
The putting green on Tuesday morning of the 2010 CN Canadian Women’s Open at St. Charles Country Club in Winnipeg looked and sounded much like most other putting greens on the Tuesday morning of a major LPGA Tour event.
Something felt different, though.
There was a palpable buzz in the air as wide-eyed spectators encircled the putting green. The only thing separating them and the best female golfers on the planet was a customary white picket fence.
All the stars were here in Winnipeg — Michelle Wie, Suzann Pettersen, Jiyai Shin, Lorie Kane, Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer and Yani Tseng, as well as teenage sensation Alexis Thompson.
As the pros calmly stroked one precise putt after another in preparation for the coming tournament, the attention of spectators abruptly shifted.
Seemingly out of nowhere appeared 22 boys and girls, each readying themselves for their own golf tournament — the 2011 CN Future Links Skills Challenge National Event.
It didn’t take long before LPGA Tour stars also started taking notice of the understandably nervous juniors.
“We were practicing on the putting green getting ready and all the pros like Michelle Wie were around, so I couldn’t really focus on my putting,” admits 18-year-old Vancouver native Michael Minicucci. “Words can’t really explain the feeling — it felt like a dream.”
However, Minicucci, who won the championship in the boy’s 15-18 category, wasn’t dreaming. He and his fellow competitors were in the midst of greatness —practicing alongside the biggest names in women’s golf.
Fifteen-year old Dana Todd, a junior member of the host club and eventual winner of the girl’s 15-18 division, was reveling in the moment, practicing alongside her golfing idols.
“It was really cool,” she gushes. “Since I was putting alongside them I had the thought that maybe if I kept practicing than maybe I’d be like them one day too.”
The scenario was just one of the many perks afforded to all 22 participants — ranging in age from 11-18 — of the CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge National Event.
But what was the road Todd, Minicucci and the others traveled to get to this moment? And what exactly is the CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge?
“You might be familiar with the Punt, Kick and Pass program for football,” explains Golf Canada’s Manager, Youth Development Ted Logan. “Well it’s literally golf’s versions of that with the four key skills of driving, iron play, chipping and putting.”
Just one of the many aspects of the CN Future Links program, conducted by Golf Canada in partnership with the Canadian PGA and Canada’s provincial golf association — which is aimed at getting more kids in Canada involved in golf — the Junior Skills Challenge is all about kids having fun and furthering their skills.
In 2010 alone, more than 2,000 kids (and 75 official Junior Skills Challenge sites) across Canada took part at both green grass facilities like driving ranges and golf courses and also online via the program’s interactive component.
Kids were signing up for the program through the CN Future Links website and also checking their scores and rankings on the National Leaderboard.
“The kids love the fact there’s a National Leaderboard,” Logan says. “They can see how they stack up against other kids in their province and across Canada.”
The interactive online component also offers up a chance for kids to track their own progress in the four skills through a personal practice scorecard.
The National Leaderboard acts as the qualifier for the National Event. The top four players in each age group — 11 and under; 12-14; and 15-18 — for both boys and girls are offered the chance to showcase their skills on one of the largest golf stages in the world.
In addition to the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rub shoulders with the stars of the LPGA Tour, each participant is offered a $500 travel subsidy from CN to travel to the National Event. And in 2010, Titleist was on board , offering up Scotty Cameron putters as prizes for the winners.
Perhaps the biggest perk of winning the National Event, especially for those in the 15-18 age group, is the exemption into the Canadian Junior(s) the following year.
“It’s amazing and I don’t know how else I would have gotten that opportunity or be able to play in the Canadian Junior without the skills competition,” Minicucci says, obviously excited about his chance to tee it up alongside the best junior golfers in Canada this August at Morgan Creek Golf Course in South Surrey, B.C.
Todd, who finished fourth at the Manitoba Women’s Junior Championship in 2010, says she thinks the experience she gained from CN Future Links Skills Challenge National Event will help deal with some of the pressure she’ll feel later this summer at the Royale Cup Canadian Junior Girls Championship at QGolf Club in Richmond, B.C.
“Playing in the event made me deal with pressure better,” Todd says. “So now when I play at the Canadian Junior, I’ll be able to deal with that pressure much better.”
The 16-year-old Winnipeg native also says she has hopes to land a spot in this year’s CN Future Links Skills Challenge National Event after her success in 2010.
This year’s National Event will run much like last year — the final will take place on-site at the 2011 CN Canadian Women’s Open at Hillsdale Golf & Country Club in Mirabel, Que.; CN will offer the $500 travel subsidy to all the qualifiers; and Titleist is back on board offering up more great prizes.
Frederik Colgan of the l'Académie de golf Fred Colgan in Quebec says he expects a strong Quebec presence at the CN Future Junior Skills Challenge National Event in 2011 with the CN Canadian Women’s Open taking place outside of Montreal.
“We had 150 kids participate in our Junior Skills Challenge last year and there is no reason we won’t have that many again this year,” Colgan says. “With the National Event being in Quebec our best juniors won’t have very far to travel that’s for sure.”
According to Logan, there are also plans to add a high performance camp for the competitors and with so much on the line he expects another rise in talent levels.
“In 2009, the talent was pretty good; last year it was great and this year we expect an even better showcase of talent,” Logan says.
And with the stature of the event having grown over the past two years, the 2011 CN Future Links Skills Challenge National Event promises to be one of the many highlights of Golf Canada’s tournament schedule.
“It’s such a great experience,” Todd says, adding, “it’s fun just trying to qualify for the National Event and then if you make it you get to travel and meet a whole bunch of cool, new people.”
For more information on how to participate in the CN Future Links Skills Challenge, click here.
Share with Friends Chris Fry
Published on Tuesday, Mar. 29, 2011 10:51AM EDT
Last updated on Tuesday, Mar. 29, 2011 03:12PM EDT
The putting green on Tuesday morning of the 2010 CN Canadian Women’s Open at St. Charles Country Club in Winnipeg looked and sounded much like most other putting greens on the Tuesday morning of a major LPGA Tour event.
Something felt different, though.
There was a palpable buzz in the air as wide-eyed spectators encircled the putting green. The only thing separating them and the best female golfers on the planet was a customary white picket fence.
All the stars were here in Winnipeg — Michelle Wie, Suzann Pettersen, Jiyai Shin, Lorie Kane, Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer and Yani Tseng, as well as teenage sensation Alexis Thompson.
As the pros calmly stroked one precise putt after another in preparation for the coming tournament, the attention of spectators abruptly shifted.
Seemingly out of nowhere appeared 22 boys and girls, each readying themselves for their own golf tournament — the 2011 CN Future Links Skills Challenge National Event.
It didn’t take long before LPGA Tour stars also started taking notice of the understandably nervous juniors.
“We were practicing on the putting green getting ready and all the pros like Michelle Wie were around, so I couldn’t really focus on my putting,” admits 18-year-old Vancouver native Michael Minicucci. “Words can’t really explain the feeling — it felt like a dream.”
However, Minicucci, who won the championship in the boy’s 15-18 category, wasn’t dreaming. He and his fellow competitors were in the midst of greatness —practicing alongside the biggest names in women’s golf.
Fifteen-year old Dana Todd, a junior member of the host club and eventual winner of the girl’s 15-18 division, was reveling in the moment, practicing alongside her golfing idols.
“It was really cool,” she gushes. “Since I was putting alongside them I had the thought that maybe if I kept practicing than maybe I’d be like them one day too.”
The scenario was just one of the many perks afforded to all 22 participants — ranging in age from 11-18 — of the CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge National Event.
But what was the road Todd, Minicucci and the others traveled to get to this moment? And what exactly is the CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge?
“You might be familiar with the Punt, Kick and Pass program for football,” explains Golf Canada’s Manager, Youth Development Ted Logan. “Well it’s literally golf’s versions of that with the four key skills of driving, iron play, chipping and putting.”
Just one of the many aspects of the CN Future Links program, conducted by Golf Canada in partnership with the Canadian PGA and Canada’s provincial golf association — which is aimed at getting more kids in Canada involved in golf — the Junior Skills Challenge is all about kids having fun and furthering their skills.
In 2010 alone, more than 2,000 kids (and 75 official Junior Skills Challenge sites) across Canada took part at both green grass facilities like driving ranges and golf courses and also online via the program’s interactive component.
Kids were signing up for the program through the CN Future Links website and also checking their scores and rankings on the National Leaderboard.
“The kids love the fact there’s a National Leaderboard,” Logan says. “They can see how they stack up against other kids in their province and across Canada.”
The interactive online component also offers up a chance for kids to track their own progress in the four skills through a personal practice scorecard.
The National Leaderboard acts as the qualifier for the National Event. The top four players in each age group — 11 and under; 12-14; and 15-18 — for both boys and girls are offered the chance to showcase their skills on one of the largest golf stages in the world.
In addition to the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rub shoulders with the stars of the LPGA Tour, each participant is offered a $500 travel subsidy from CN to travel to the National Event. And in 2010, Titleist was on board , offering up Scotty Cameron putters as prizes for the winners.
Perhaps the biggest perk of winning the National Event, especially for those in the 15-18 age group, is the exemption into the Canadian Junior(s) the following year.
“It’s amazing and I don’t know how else I would have gotten that opportunity or be able to play in the Canadian Junior without the skills competition,” Minicucci says, obviously excited about his chance to tee it up alongside the best junior golfers in Canada this August at Morgan Creek Golf Course in South Surrey, B.C.
Todd, who finished fourth at the Manitoba Women’s Junior Championship in 2010, says she thinks the experience she gained from CN Future Links Skills Challenge National Event will help deal with some of the pressure she’ll feel later this summer at the Royale Cup Canadian Junior Girls Championship at QGolf Club in Richmond, B.C.
“Playing in the event made me deal with pressure better,” Todd says. “So now when I play at the Canadian Junior, I’ll be able to deal with that pressure much better.”
The 16-year-old Winnipeg native also says she has hopes to land a spot in this year’s CN Future Links Skills Challenge National Event after her success in 2010.
This year’s National Event will run much like last year — the final will take place on-site at the 2011 CN Canadian Women’s Open at Hillsdale Golf & Country Club in Mirabel, Que.; CN will offer the $500 travel subsidy to all the qualifiers; and Titleist is back on board offering up more great prizes.
Frederik Colgan of the l'Académie de golf Fred Colgan in Quebec says he expects a strong Quebec presence at the CN Future Junior Skills Challenge National Event in 2011 with the CN Canadian Women’s Open taking place outside of Montreal.
“We had 150 kids participate in our Junior Skills Challenge last year and there is no reason we won’t have that many again this year,” Colgan says. “With the National Event being in Quebec our best juniors won’t have very far to travel that’s for sure.”
According to Logan, there are also plans to add a high performance camp for the competitors and with so much on the line he expects another rise in talent levels.
“In 2009, the talent was pretty good; last year it was great and this year we expect an even better showcase of talent,” Logan says.
And with the stature of the event having grown over the past two years, the 2011 CN Future Links Skills Challenge National Event promises to be one of the many highlights of Golf Canada’s tournament schedule.
“It’s such a great experience,” Todd says, adding, “it’s fun just trying to qualify for the National Event and then if you make it you get to travel and meet a whole bunch of cool, new people.”
For more information on how to participate in the CN Future Links Skills Challenge, click here.