Since its inception in 1939, the Flint Junior Golf Association has provided an opportunity for young golfers to learn, play, and enjoy a game that they can play for a lifetime. The FJGA is a program for all youth from age’s 8 through 18 who live or go to school in Genesee County. With annual memberships ranging up to 2,500, the FJGA is recognized as the oldest and largest junior golf program in the country.
The FJGA is divided into three divisions: a 5-hole division (ages 8-11); a 9-hole division (ages up to 14 for boys and 15 for girls); and an 18-hole division (ages up to 18). The entry fee is the only fee paid all year and there are no additional weekly costs. This fee includes a bag tag, a rule book, a ticket to the Buick Open (a local PGA event that also holds a clinic for our players that day), pre-season instructional clinics, and discounts on instruction during the season for those who are having difficulty with the game.
The
schedule also indicates that we break up each division into groups. We
have four groups in our 5- and 9-hole divisions (three boys groups and
one
girls group) and three groups in our 18-hole division. This means we
have 11 groups operating at different courses each week.
The Flint Junior Golf Association is dedicated to the development of
young men and women through competitive junior golf. The association
is the largest
organization of its kind, with a current membership (boys and girls ages 8-18)
of more than 1,250 junior golfers from Genesee County.
The purpose of the FJGA is to provide positive life experiences for junior golfers through competitive golf while setting high standards to preserve the integrity and traditions of the game.
One of our goals is to develop character through the structure and the rules of the game. An example of how golf builds character is that it is the only sport where participants call penalties on themselves. Golf also teaches other life skills like patience, good sportsmanship, and the ability to focus on the task at hand. We also hope that we are exposing our youth to a leisure activity that they can enjoy, no matter what their ability level might be, for the rest of their lives.
Our education of the game begins with introductory clinics for beginners, and is followed with rule books, rule tests, literature on etiquette, and our parent and golfer expectations. In addition, we offer discounts on lessons from local golf professionals to help those who are struggling and therefore not having fun.
The success of the program is due to two factors:
The generosity of the golf courses who give us the use of their
facilities. Almost every public and private golf course
in the county participates
in the program with the heaviest burden falling on the
four City of Flint courses
which are all used every day of our program.
The dedication of our supervisors who work at the courses
all day to make things run smoothly.
The FJGA is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization operating
under the auspices of the IMA children's Recreation Fund
and governed
by an exective committee.
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