The AJGA is a terrific place for your junior golfer to play in quality events, against some of the best junior golfers in the world, on some of the best courses. As your junior golfer reaches their 11 year old playing year, the reality is that they're in a position to impact their ability to gain access to AJGA events. It is not the only place for younger junior golfers to play during the summer, however, our experience has been that the AJGA, both the Open Events and the Junior All-Star series, are remarkably better quality, and competition, than the great majority of other local or regional options.
Ultimately, as your junior golfer progresses through their junior career, you'll want to pay attention to Golfweek rankings (must play in 6 Golfweek ranked events to maintain your ranking) and Polo rankings (must play in 6 Polo ranked events to be eligible for AJGA All-American honors). Both of these rankings, Polo specifically, get major consideration when fields and invitations are managed for the highest level invitational events.
Let's explore what the strategies might be, and what the options are, to secure your child's access to these terrific events.
Becoming Fully Exempt for JAS events (12-15 yr old)
First of all, if your junior falls into the ages of 11 to 14 years old, they have an opportunity in the Fall - Spring season to secure a 'Fully Exempt' status for the AJGA (JAS) division, which is the 12 to 15 year old division. As of now, there are a couple of ways to do so outside of playing in AJGA events. The most obvious ways are to finish in the top 5 of the final season points standings for the 11/12 yr olds, and the top 15 in the final season point standings for the 13-15 year olds, in either the FCWT or IJGT season. If this is accomplished, your junior will be fully exempt for the JAS division for that following summer season, and the following season. With that fully exempt status, it's far easier, and less stressful, to plan your summer schedules, without having to wait to see if your child gets into an event.
Two Strategies to finishing in the top 5 or 15 in the final points standings.
The FCWT and the IJGT are the two most dominant Fall through Spring tour options which provide opportunity to gain the fully exempt status. Both are different in their philosophies - I'll explain:
FCWT:
This is an apples to apples comparison opportunity. The juniors are all allowed to compete in the same number of Open/Classic events (usually 7 per season) and you then have the option to play in one or two invitationals (double points). The year end TOC has not been a points event the last couple of seasons. The philosophy here is that nobody can gain a points advantage by playing in far more events than any other junior. In the FCWT, which is where our greatest amount of experience lies, what seems to work the best, is to plan several events early in the season, and hit the first invitational that's available to you. If you get to a point where your junior has 5 open/classic events completed, and an invitational, you can then keep an eye on the schedule, and the points standings, to assess what other events make sense to compete in to keep your junior in the top point earnings spots.
IJGT:
The IJGT follows a slightly different philosophy compared to the FCWT. The same opportunities are available to gain the fully exempt status for the AJGA JAS division, however, there's less structure to the IJGT. There is no limit to the number of events that juniors are allowed to compete in, so therefore, there are opportunities to simply play a greater number of events in order to accumulate the necessary points to gain a top spot in the points standings.
Other Strategies to Gain Access to AJGA events as a younger junior golfer:
There are many events that are listed on the AJGA website, under the Performance Based Entry tab, (then click on the appropriate link for boys or girls), that highlight the ability to win performance stars, or exemptions, by finishing high enough in the overall results of the event. Be very aware of the age groups within the event who are eligible to win stars or exemptions - most often, only the oldest age group in the event will play for the AJGA PBE awards, and not the younger age groups. Keep a close eye on the Boys or Girls PBE spreadsheets, and look for those events which are close to you - if your son or daughter can even win a star or two during the off season, it can dramatically increase their ability to get into a couple of events in their first season of AJGA JAS events. Lastly, the AJGA hold 'qualifiers' for the majority of their Open Events. These are terrific events, run very smoothly and professionally, by the AJGA staff and interns, and they are designed as a way to allow your junior golfer to either play their way into the Open Event, or, choose to take 1 Tournament Exemption should they finish high enough, (usually in the top 10 or so). Fortunately for the juniors, the AJGA also awards the top half of the finishing field a Performance Star (those kids who did not take an exemption, or chose to play in the Open event). These performance stars, especially in the first and second years of the AJGA JAS group (as 12, 13 and 14 year olds), can dramatically move your junior to the top of the status list compared to so many other kids who will only be starting with a one-star exemption status. The qualifiers are fun, they're on great courses, and the competition is always very good.
I would highly recommend, that your junior golfer play in a Post-Season event and then a Pre-Season event, prior to starting their first full season. These are great events, open to all age groups, but they're limited only to those who have not formally begun their AJGA career. They offer both Exemptions and Performance Stars to those kids finishing well enough in the final event standings, and a great way to build your PBE status before your first full season begins.
Lastly, the FCWT and IJGT both publish which of their events are Golfweek, and AJGA ranked - not all of them are so be aware of that if it's important to you. Only the oldest divisions play for the AJGA Exemptions and Performance Stars in these individual events, however, they're worth pursuing if your child can play well enough to finish in the top five of those identified events. Again, another way to build your PBE status.
Managing your AJGA Season and Schedule:
A couple of things to keep in mind during your AJGA season scheduling:
