Welcome to The Opening Tee Shot

Thanks for joining us this week! We're coming off of a busy weekend in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and can't wait to jump right in to this week's newsletter.

This week's newsletter includes:

📰 Recap of the Dustin Johnson World Junior Invitational.

💡 A brand new junior golfer spotlight.

⌚ Products for junior golfers.

-Sara and Chili

Hole #9 at TPC Myrtle Beach, home of the Dustin Johnson World Junior Invitational

📰 A recap of the Dustin Johnson World Junior Invitational

Our son Hamilton played in the Dustin Johnson World Junior in Myrtle Beach this past week and wow!—what a tournament! Hamilton played in it last year but didn’t play as well as he wanted. This year he was excited for several reasons, but mainly so he could improve on his performance from a year ago. There was a ton of excitement at the tournament this year too because Charlie Woods and Kai Trump were in the field and a lot of the juniors were talking about all the security and activity surrounding them.

The first day was absolutely beautiful, warm, and a great day for scoring. Many of the juniors I talked with knew the weather was changing and the next few days were going to be challenging. The scoring was the lowest on the first day. The second day was much harder and players had to deal with the wind blowing over 20 mph. This especially made the first three holes play very tough. The 4th hole seemed the hardest on day 2 and day 3 because the wind made this long hole even longer. To Hamilton, the front 9 was much harder than the back.  

With Charlie Woods and Kai Trump there, the crowds were quite a bit larger compared to last year. I personally saw about 300 to 400 people following Charlie, and witnessed the Secret Service in full force as Kai Trump played her way through!

The crowds died down after the cut and the last day being extremely cold and windy didn't help either. I noticed the scores were much higher than the other two days. Congratulations to the Overall Boys Champion Arrow Aarav Shah, who was the only player under par at -3 and congrats to Kayla Bryant for securing her win as the Overall Girls Champion at +3!

Hamilton ended up at +3 overall and T4, but he was pleased with the result. He loves this tournament and it's so well run. Plus the workers and the volunteers were incredible.The Dustin Johnson World Junior Championship is a wonderful tournament and I hope we go back next year.

Here's a pic of Hamilton meeting Dustin Johnson!

⌛ Junior golfer spotlight

This week's Junior Golfer Spotlight features Arley Jennings, a 13-year old from Spartanburg, South Carolina. She is focused on her dreams, highly goal-oriented, and working HARD every week to improve her golf game.You can follow along with her on Instagram @arleyjennings. 

How did you start playing golf and at what age?

I’ve always been around the game and on the course, but I didn’t start playing competitively until I was 10. My parents both played college golf.

Do you set goals?

I set goals each year! I have yearly goals and BIG goals. 

What are some of your goals for this year?

Some 2025 goals for me are: make all A’s, lower my scoring average to 75, average 85’ putts made per tournament, average 1 three putt or better in tournaments. 

What are your 5-year goals?

A couple of my BIG goals are play high level D1 golf and play on the LPGA tour.

What is your biggest achievement in golf?

My biggest achievement in golf was probably winning the PKB Tour Championship at Pine Needles and also winning their order of Merit last season.

What are you working on now?

I am currently working on gaining speed and flexibility. I also work out weekly with @achieve_wpt.

Who is your coach?

Chip Ridley is my coach- @nextshotbestshot_golfacademy. I am currently working with my coach on my mental game and strategies. We like to use Decade and learn to play "smart golf." I order Strackaline books for the courses I will play and go through the book the week before to mark out where the best places to hit it and where my misses should be.

What is your favorite restaurant?

My favorite food is Asian. I love all the noodles and rice!!

What is your favorite flavor ice cream?

My favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate.

What other hobbies do you have?

I love to travel! I’ve been lucky enough to visit Paris, London, Amsterdam, Portugal, and all over the Caribbean. One of my favorite places to visit is St. John, USVI!

💡Did you know we post all the videos of our Junior Golf Spotlights on YouTube? Subscribe to our channel and you'll see these amazing juniors in action!

⌚ Products for junior golfers

This week we have a special product highlight for you! 

If you have a younger, aspiring junior golfer in your household (or know someone who does), then grab a copy of Ali Scott's new children's book I Love Golf When. Ali is only 16 years old and she shares her passion for the golf game in this sweet book, perfect for inspiring young golfers and spreading positivity on the course. 

Ali was kind enough to gift us a copy and we wanted to make sure the Junior Golf Playbook family knew about it!

You can order here or check out @aliscott_ilovegolfwhen for more information.

Don't forget our list of products we like for junior golfers...many of them our golfer uses on a weekly basis!

• Foxden Fairways—clothing for the littlest golfer.
• JQ Golf Clothing—fun, vibrant golf attire for the entire family.
• WellPutt—a full assortment of valuable training aids
• Merit Golf Balls—golf balls designed exclusively for use by junior golfers, based on swing speed.
• Stack System—fantastic training aid for swing speed.
• SuperStroke—full selection of grips and accessories.
• Puttview—the most detailed view of the course and the ultimate tournament prep.
• PutterCup—simple, effective putting training aid, perfect for practice anywhere and on-the-go.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for the recommendation at no cost to you.

Thank you to UP Consulting for your continued support as a sponsor!

Thank you for reading along with us this week! ⛳

Do you know another junior golf parent who would like this newsletter? You can send this link.

Don't forget, you can always hit reply to this newsletter or email us at sara@juniorgolfplaybook.com.

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