Welcome to The Opening Tee Shot

Presented by Line Lion

Be clutch every time.

Hello my friends and thanks for joining me this week! 

I hope everyone reading had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We were spoiled here in Augusta with beautiful weather and for the first time in several years, we didn't have a golf tournament we were rushing off to. It was so great to be home for the week (and thankfully I didn't have to cook this year either).

The weather has turned quite chilly now but there's still a good amount of golf practice going on. Our son is prepping for an amateur tournament next week, so there's not much time to rest. It seems like in golf, no matter the age, there's always something you can be working on!

-Sara and Chili

⛳ Welcome our newest sponsor: Line Lion!

With winter practice on the brain, it's a perfect time to introduce you to our newest Presenting Sponsor here at Junior Golf Playbook. We are proud to partner with Line Lion, which is a phenomenal putting aid that I think your junior golfer can greatly benefit from.

You need to see the design to see how simple — yet effective — the Line Lion is. We've been testing it out here at our house and I promise you, it will challenge your thinking around alignment. 

The best part is, it works outdoors, on carpet, on a putting mat, or wherever putting practice takes you. I was so impressed when I opened it and saw it was literally the size of a sleeve of golfballs. 

If you're looking for a great holiday present or stocking stuffer, then Line Lion is perfect for the golfer in your family!

💡 Junior golf spotlight

We have another first this week with our junior golf spotlight — our first international golfer! Meet Ron Rodrigues, from Adelaide, South Australia. It's great watching Ron because he's not only a talented junior golfer, he's an entrepreneur too. Get to know Ron below (and no, I didn't ask him if he loves a Bloomin' Onion as much as I do).

How did you start playing golf and at what age?

My grandma took me out and I fell in love at 10.

Who is your swing coach?

Dylan Thomas golf.

Who is your favorite social media influencer?

Good Good or ghg.

Do you set goals and What are some of your goals for this year? 

Yes. To become a single digit Handicap and improve my putting and swing speed.

What are your 5-year goals?

Move to the USA and play in AJGA, hopefully.

What are you working on now?

My Swing Speed and my baby draws, and always putting.

What is your favorite restaurant?

Miles Las Vegas.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Mint.

Who is your favorite singer?

Kendrick Lamar.

What other hobbies do you have?

I play every sport under the sun. I made State for golf, tennis, Aus footy ,basketball and running and I’m working towards my golf brand @breakingparappareal on ig. 

🏆 2026 Junior golf "majors"

I'll admit when our son started competing more regularly in junior golf tournaments, I was totally unaware there were "majors" for juniors, in the same fashion as what the pros face each year (minus the huge paychecks, of course). 

I wanted to share this list with you from AmateurGolf.com in case you were like me and unaware.

I will also share these became an important piece with goal-planning. At the beginning of each year, our son Hamilton would set yearly goals and it almost always included something with a major. But to hit the goal (no matter what it looked like), he would need to back up and formulate the plan on how he would achieve it.

While winning one is certainly on the mind for many junior golfers, there are other wins they can set their sights on and push their growth. It could also include:

• Qualifying for major.
• Maintaining better composure under pressure-packed rounds compared to last year.
• Finishing in the Top 10 of a qualifier or tournament.
• Improving their score from last year's qualifier or tournament result.   

Take a look at the list below. Will this be a part of your junior golfer's goals for 2026? 

2026 Junior golf majors (boys and girls):

• Jan 3–6 — Junior Orange Bowl International (Coral Gables, FL)
• Jan 16–20 — ANNIKA Invitational (Heathrow, FL)
• Feb 13–16 — AJGA Simplify Boys Champ. (The Woodlands, TX)
• Mar 6–8 — Dustin Johnson World Junior (Murrells Inlet, SC)
• Mar 11–14 — Junior Invitational at Sage Valley (Graniteville, SC)
• May 22–25 — AJGA Team TaylorMade Inv. (Streamsong, FL)
• Jun 8–11 — AJGA Wyndham Inv. (Greensboro, NC)
• Jun 22–24 — North & South Junior (Pinehurst, NC)
• Jun 22–26 — RLX Ralph Lauren Junior Classic (Farmingdale, NY)
• Jul 6–9 — Wyndham Cup (Plymouth, MA)
• Jul 13–18 — U.S. Girls’ Junior (Durham, NC)
• Jul 20–25 — U.S. Junior Amateur (Bethlehem, PA)
• Jul 29–31 — Boys Junior PGA Champ. (Frisco, TX)
• Sep 3–6 — Junior Players Champ. (Ponte Vedra Beach, FL)
• Sep 7–8 — Junior Solheim Cup (North Brabant, NED)
• Sep 19–21 — Junior Presidents Cup (Medinah, IL)

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 [email protected].

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