Devil's Pulpit Golf Association

JUNIOR PROGRAMS

PRIMER SERIES
The Primer Series was introduced in Spring 1996 and is held on four consecutive Sundays. This series is geared to children of Members between the ages of 7 and 11 years. The purpose of the Primer Series is to introduce children to golf and to provide fundamental instruction. The children are divided into groups and taught from the hole out - putting the first week, chipping the second week and the full swing in the third week. The final week concludes the program with a mini-scramble tournament set up on the range. Hot dogs and pop accompany the closing ceremony. Upon completion of the Primer Series we hope to have given the children a positive first golf experience and a desire to play more golf.

PRE-JUNIOR MEMBERSHIP
The new Pre-Junior Membership is modeled after the RCGA's Future Links Program which was written and developed by our former Director of Golf, the late Ben Kern, one of Canada's most-respected instructors. The project was piloted in 1998 to fill the gap between the Primer Series and Full Junior Membership. Once the program is fully implemented, children becoming Junior Members will start with more developed golf skills. This will result in a higher quality of junior golfer at the Devil's Pulpit Golf Association.

The Program
The Pre-Junior Program embodies two phases, each consisting of six lessons. The fundamentals that will be taught relate to basic principles of distance, direction, trajectory and solid contact.

Basic/Phase 1
The first six lessons entitled "Basic" will introduce these principles to the children and teach them application to their swing motion. Throughout the lessons the students will be made aware of tests that will be given at the end of the session. Once they pass the golf skills test successfully they are able to move on to the Course Ready component of the program. If necessary, the Basic phase will be repeated.

Course Ready / Phase 2
The second six lessons entitled "Course Ready" will reinforce the fundamentals learned in the Basic section of the program. The Basic program has the student learning to execute the swing motion. The Course Ready component adds another layer of knowledge to further refine each Junior's skills. The varied conditions that are encountered on the course will be incorporated into the teaching of this second level. Attention will also be given to etiquette, general knowledge and rules of the game. At the end of the six lessons the students will again be tested. If this test is passed, the children will be deemed Course Ready and will be able to play the course without adult supervision. The criteria needed to play the course unsupervised will be the ability to walk the course in four hours while returning a legitimate score and adhering to etiquette and course care guidelines.

FULL JUNIOR MEMBERSHIP
Once the Pre-Junior has been deemed Course Ready, he or she will be eligible for Full Junior Membership. Greater liberty will be given to the Juniors in this category.

These liberties include:
1. The ability to book times during Junior hours.
2. The ability to play without parental supervision.
3. The ability to participate in weekly Junior Play Days (provided they can return a legitimate score in four hours or less).
4. The ability to utilize their respective locker rooms.

Introduction
Included in the Full Junior Membership will be six lessons in small groups throughout the summer. Each Junior will be assigned a coach who will contact the Junior with regards to dates and times. The six instructional sessions will be scheduled by the coach. In order to maintain the quality and consistency of the program no make-up sessions (except for inclement weather) will be given. Any additional instruction can be scheduled individually with their coach at a special junior lesson rate.

Summary
The three Junior Programs now in place will provide a distinct evolution for the Junior Member at the Devil's Pulpit. Some will develop into competitive players others will remain recreational golfers. Whatever level of playing ability they attain is not critical. What is important is that an educated Junior will better integrate into the Club and will derive more enjoyment from the game of golf.

DEVIL'S PULPIT GOLF ASSOCIATION
3035 Escarpment Sideroad
P.O. Box 68
Caledon Village, ON Canada L7K 3L3
Tel: 519.927.3001
Fax: 519.927.3850