THE rising popularity of golf among junior players has more potential players looking to take their game further.
This has led to the creation of the first Sunraysia Junior Golf Week tournament, which runs from next Tuesday to Friday across four Murray Darling Golf Association venues.
Developed by Drummond Golf Sunraysia Golf Range franchisee Garth Doherty, the tournament is open for any player under 18 who holds a Golf Australia handicap.
Players will compete and develop their skills across rounds at Riverside, Merbein, Coomealla and Red Cliffs golf clubs, with the prospect of more tournaments in the making.
“The concept came from the fact there is a huge amount of juniors playing golf, loving golf and looking to take their game a bit further after playing for about 12 months,” Doherty said.
“I looked at the benefits of playing golf in this area and one major one that gets overlooked a lot is the fact there are so many golf courses that are fantastic and are pretty much available all the time.
“I contacted four of the clubs to start with to put together a basic golf week, like we used to have for decades around here for senior golfers.
“They were all really keen to get on board. Moving forward, we’re talking to Mildura Golf Resort about having their own event, and I’ve spoken to Robinvale and they’re keen as mustard to hold one out there as well.”
Doherty believes the sport experienced a boom during COVID restrictions when it was one the few activities available.
He also believes the increased presence of the sport on social media has helped make it popular.
“More parents started playing, which got more kids into golf, families started playing and together now there has been a large element of kids trying it, liking it, continuing with it and becoming hooked on it,” he said.
“Social media engulfs a lot of teenage kids and one thing that’s happening at the moment is a lot of AFL stars, NBL and NBA players, Australian cricketers … they love playing golf and that’s what they put all over their social media.
“Teenage boys and girls are now, to a point, seeing golf as ‘the cool sport’, which is the first time in my 35 years of playing golf that I’ve ever been able to use those words in the same sentence.”
Entries are still available for the four-day event, which includes golf and lunch provided each day.
For details contact, Drummond Golf Sunraysia Golf Range on 5022 9440, or visit in store.
