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FULL STEAM AHEAD… |
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You can tell that the golf season is getting into "full swing". May has been a very busy month for us at the Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association. The first week of May we were busy stuffing envelopes with the lottery results for our Junior Tour events. We sent out over 1200 lottery results and confirmations to those juniors who returned their tournament application form by the deadline of April 21st. The good news was that the goal of the computerized lottery program was met! Everyone got into at least one of his or her first five choices. We had over 1300 juniors who became members of the Junior Tour by the deadline date. To give you a better breakdown, we had over 400 boys in the 14-15-age division alone. Unfortunately we only had about 200 girls who became members of the Junior Tour. So if there are any girls who are still interested in joining, you still have the opportunity. Actually both girls and boys can still become a member. To obtain a membership application you can download one from our web site. Speaking of our web site, we highly recommend you check this out. There is a lot of valuable information about not only our junior golf programs, but other junior golf information also.
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| Bob Bush presents 1st place to Jackie Beste of Sauk Centre, MN the overall champion in the 1999 Maxfli MNPGA Jr. Championship |
The second week of May, Melanie and I were on the road conducting informational and rules meetings which junior members and their parents were encouraged to attend. This was the first year that we had done something like this. We had 325 juniors attend these meetings. At these meetings we explained what our programs (Players' Tour, Junior Tour, MN PGA Majors, Junior Golf Academies, the PGA Junior Championship, etc…) are about. We went over several USGA rules, distributed membership kits, and answered any questions. The meetings went very well and we plan on conducting these again in the future. We would like to thank the Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Committee members who helped out at these meetings with the USGA rules portion and a special thanks to those facilities who hosted these informational and rules meetings. If you were not able to attend one of these meetings to pick up your membership kit, don't worry, we will be mailing your membership kit to you. We stuffed over 1200 membership kits with some special help from Duane & Ann Bush. Thank you Duane & Ann for doing this! If you did become a member of the Junior Tour by April 21st and you did not receive your kit give us a call. For those juniors who attended an informational and rules meeting and did not receive your bag tag we are in the process of mailing these out and you should see them soon.
I would also like to personally say thank you to all the facilities who are hosting a 2000 Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association event. A special thanks to the PGA Professionals, Club Managers, Course Superintendents, and Board Members for allowing the juniors the opportunity to play at your facility.
Bob Bush, Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Director
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CRUNCH TIME… |
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As you all may know, the Junior Tour lottery deadline passed on April 21. What a busy few weeks for the Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association! Here are a few statistics for your information:
We had 855 Junior Tour members as of April 14, 2000. (One week before the deadline)
We had 1287 Junior Tour members as of April 21, 2000. (That's 432 applications in one week!)
On Friday, April 21, we received 67 faxed-in Junior Tour Tournament Applications. We also received 70 walk-in Tournament Applications.
On that same day, we received 62 faxed-in Junior Tour Membership Applications and 36 walk-in Membership applications.
 That's why our fax machine was so busy the day of our deadline. Bob and I have been very busy processing the Membership and Tournament applications, not to mention Players' Tour and PGA Junior Championship applications. We want to thank everyone for being patient with us during our busiest time of the year.
Melanie Lepp - MN PGA Assistant Junior Golf Director
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WELCOME ABOARD… |
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The Minnesota PGA has hired an intern to help for the summer. His name is David Sheets, and he is currently a senior attending the University of St. Thomas. At St. Thomas David is pursuing a Finance and Marketing double major with a minor in Computer Science. His prior experience includes three years as a golf shop assistant at the Pines and Preserve at Grand View Lodge and two years working for outside services. Beyond this, David was the assistant golf coordinator for the Brainerd school district for two years. His other interests include basketball, running, and barbecuing at his house on Grand Avenue. He hopes to bring enthusiasm to the junior golf association and is excited to be working with Bob and Melanie. Overall, David wants to enjoy his last summer before he enters the real world and feels the Minnesota PGA is where this will happen.
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COLLEGE GOLF SEMINAR RECAP… |
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The Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association College Golf Seminar was held on Saturday, March 18, 2000 at Majestic Oaks GC in Ham Lake, MN. Approximately 100 junior golfers were in attendance. A special thanks goes to John Means, Men's Head Golf Coach for the University of Minnesota, and Scott Moe, Men's Head Golf Coach for Gustavus Adolphus College. They did a wonderful job of explaining how to prepare for college golf. Thanks also to Trent Hicks of SportsDreams Consulting for providing the handout material. The Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association has information for anyone interested in playing college golf. You can call Bob or Melanie at 763/754-6641 and we will send the information to you.
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MINNESOTA PGA JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP… |
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We are still accepting entry forms for the 2000 Minnesota PGA Junior Championship. The 2000 Minnesota PGA Junior Championship for ages 14-17 will be contested at The Classic @ Madden's & The Legacy @ Cragun's, in Brainerd, Minnesota on July 11th and July 12th. The 2000 Minnesota PGA Junior Championship for ages 13 and under will be contested at Stonebrooke GC in Shakopee, Minnesota on June 20th. If you are able to fit this event into your busy schedule we highly recommend you take part!
The winners of the boys' and girls' division of the 2000 Minnesota PGA Junior Championship for ages 14-17 qualify to join nearly 100 of the nation's top junior golfers in the national PGA Junior Championship, August 23-26, at PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The 25th national PGA Junior Championship is open to boys and girls, ages 17 and younger, and features the boy and girl champions from each of the PGA of America's 41 sections, and winners from national junior tournaments.
Junior golfers who wish to enter the 2000 Minnesota PGA Junior Championship can obtain entry forms at local PGA golf facilities or contact the Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association at (763) 754-6641. You can also check out more information about the Minnesota PGA Junior Championship and download an entry form from this website.
The boy and girl champions (one boy and one girl) from the 2000 Minnesota PGA Junior Championship for ages 14-17 will receive free round-trip air transportation, meals and lodging to compete in the national PGA Junior Championship. The PGA Junior Championship, one of the premier events in junior golf, has attracted more than 145,000 juniors since its origin in 1976. Past competitors include many of today's PGA and LPGA touring professionals, including Justin Leonard, Phil Mickelson, Dottie Pepper, Michelle McGann and Tiger Woods.
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MINNESOTA PGA JUNIOR GOLF ASSOCIATION SCHOLARSHIP… |
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The Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association will be offering the Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association scholarships again in 2000. The criteria for this scholarship is not only based on playing ability but other interests as well. The scholarships are available only to 2000 Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association members who are going to be seniors in high school for the 2000-01 school year. The Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Committee will vote and make the final decision on whom they think is most deserving of the scholarships. Individuals interested in obtaining more information about the scholarship can call the Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association at 763-754-6641. Applications will be sent out to those requesting one later this summer and will be due sometime this fall. The Minnesota PGA Junior Scholarship fund was designed to help assist junior golfers who plan on furthering their education beyond high school. The Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association Scholarship Fund was established in 1996. Since its conception, each year at least one boy and one girl have been awarded a $500.00 Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association Scholarship.
The Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association would like to thank Alice Nowlin of Marshall, Michigan for the generous contribution that she made to the Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association Scholarship Fund. This was in honor of her late husband, Marshall W. Nowlin who was an avid scratch golfer. Again we appreciate this generous contribution that will help junior golfers in the years to come in furthering their education.
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TAYLOR MADE / ADIDAS JUNIOR GOLF CARD… |
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We are pleased to announce as part of your 2000 Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association membership you will receive a 2000 Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association Golf Card. This card allows the cardholder 10% off any purchase of Taylor Made/Adidas product at your nearest golf shop where a Minnesota Section PGA Professional is employed. NOTE - The card is not redeemable at any retail golf outlet. A special thanks to Mike Kruse, sales representative for the Taylor-Made Golf Company in the Minnesota Section for helping to put this together for the juniors.
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DATE CHANGES FOR EVENTS… |
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Date changes have been made for two events. They are the 2000 PGA Junior Championship Qualifier at Minnehaha CC in Sioux Falls, SD and the Junior Tour event at St. James CC in St. James, Minnesota.
On the official entry form for the 2000 PGA Junior Championship, the qualifier at Minnehaha CC is listed as taking place Friday, June 18th. Actually if you look at a calendar, Friday is June 16th - Is the correct date!
The other date change has been made for the Junior Tour event at St. James CC. If you look at the original schedule for the Junior Tour, event number 70 at St. James CC is listed as taking place on July 18th. Due to a conflict we have changed the date to Tuesday, June 27th. Start times for both of these events will remain as originally scheduled. Please make a note of these changes. If you are scheduled to play in either one of these events and cannot attend due to the date change let us know and you WILL receive a refund.
Select for a complete list of host facility phone numbers
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WE NEED VOLUNTEERS! |
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The Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Committee has decided to try something new for the 11 & Under Junior Tour events. We are looking for parents of the juniors who play in the 11 & Under Junior Tour events to volunteer as scorekeepers. We realize that juniors at this age sometimes have trouble keeping track of their shots and/or remembering their score for the hole. So if you are a parent of a junior who plays in this age group and are planning on attending the event. We are looking for parents to volunteer as scorekeepers. Reminder: you will be acting as a scorekeeper ONLY! Parents if you are interested in doing this call the Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association at 763-754-6641 or email us at info@minnesotajuniorgolf.com to volunteer your services
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