Welcome to The Opening Tee Shot

Hi there and thanks for joining me here! 

It's been another nail-biting week of competition, like so many of you are feeling in these last few weeks of summer. Our son is headed home from the U.S. Amateur after the first two rounds of stroke play at the Olympic Club. While not the result he was hoping for, it's been an incredible experience in a new part of the country for him. He will also be playing with many of these amateurs soon on a regular basis and he met so many great new people.

In all our years of watching Hamilton play, this week he experienced a first — he had a golf ball stuck in a tree on #18 during Round 1. I'm sure it's a more common occurrence than I ever realized, but he was forced to retee when it happened. Whoever says golf is boring to watch has clearly never had a junior golfer in their life!

It looks like there are a handful of juniors moving on to match play in the U.S. Am: Miles Russell, Logan Reilly (Class of 2025), and Luke Colton are in, as well as Mason Howell and Pennson Badgett. Such an amazing accomplishment and best of luck to all of them!!

In other news, today is the one year anniversary of us publishing The Opening Tee Shot! For those who are new here, this newsletter and content operated for several years under Junior Golf USA. Last summer my husband and I purchased the publication and have since made changes. While trying to maintain the original spirit and intent of Junior Golf USA, we've:

• Updated the name
• Continued publishing the newsletter almost weekly
• Enhanced the Instagram content
• Launched the new website juniorgolfplaybook.com
• Offered free downloads
• Added video resources
• And have much more planned for the future!

Thanks again for being here each week. It feels like we're just getting started.

-Sara and Chili

A view of San Francisco from the Lake Course at the Olympic Club. It was about 60 degrees and foggy. 

⛳ New junior golf spotlight

This week we're featuring 13-year old Logan McGinn. What impresses me the most about him is not only is he an extremely talented golfer, he plays multiple other sports and maintains high academic standards. Keep it up Logan! 

Hey! I’m Logan McGinn — 13 years old from South Williamsport, PA. I graduate in 2030 and I’m a Superior Honor Roll student and National Junior Honor Society member.

I started playing golf at 2 years old with my dad. He’s also been my swing coach from the start. He’s studied the game inside and out and I’m super grateful for everything he’s done to help me become the player I am today.

Favorite golf influencers: 

Grant Horvat & Roger Steele — they keep it real and fun.

Biggest accomplishments: 

Winning the Callaway Junior World Championship at age 8 + 3x Top 10 at U.S. Kids Worlds + DCP National Finalist in 2023 + Future Masters Champion

This year’s goals: 

Qualify for U.S. Junior Am, win an AJGA event, and keep getting better everyday. 

Favorites:

Texas Roadhouse 🥩 | Peanut Butter Swirl 🍦 | Morgan Wallen 🎵 (hope I can golf with him someday!)

Other hobbies:

Basketball 🏀, hanging with friends, and making golf content.

My Dad’s IG handle is @ThatOneGolfDad

🏌️ ICYMI

• Last week we had a special spotlight featuring Dakota Cunningham. If you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, you can read about his journey here. 
• AJGA is going to Hawaii! Did you see where it will host its first tournament in the Aloha State?
• Here's a good explainer you can reference on the differences between junior golf and amateur golf and why it matters.
• I love this spotlight on junior golfer Graham Schmidt from Andale, Kansas who just won the U.S. Kids World Championship 10-year old division — for the second year in a row!

A coyote casually strolling along the fairway at the Olympic Club

Thank you to UP Consulting for your continued support as a sponsor and drop us a line if you're interested in affordable sponsorship opportunities with Junior Golf Playbook.

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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