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Best in junior golf coming in August

"Records will definitely be broken – with the high calibre of kids in this competition, this I know for sure.

"Records will definitely be broken – with the high calibre of kids in this competition, this I know for sure."

Confident words from Whistler Golf Club’s head professional, Alan Kristmanson, during his announcement that the club has secured the American Junior Golf Association’s prestigious Future Links Tournament Aug. 20-23, 2001.

The AJGA is the largest junior golf organization in the word and was the proving ground for top ranked alumni players such as Tiger Woods and Canada’s Mike Weir. The AJGA will be holding two tournaments in Canada this year in partnership with the Royal Canadian Golf Association, the first event being in Toronto this July. Approximately 90 boys and girls aged between 13 and 18 years will compete during the four-day Whistler event, with half the field guaranteed to be Canadian. Six Sea to Sky corridor contestants are predicted to make the cut, based on recorded rankings and performances.

Kristmanson says the high profile tournament is the perfect vehicle to showcase the $2.5 million worth of renovations carried out on the golf course over the past year.

"This is the first time the event has been held in British Columbia so we are pretty excited about the exposure it will bring the players and the facilities here," he said.

Exposure it seems, is a quality that many Canadian golfers lack, compared to those in the United States. Kristmanson says this tournament goes a step towards addressing this imbalance.

"It’s tough in Canada because we’re so spread out that sometimes it’s hard to get found out about, but now they get to play against the top level American kids and get their player profiles on the AJGA Web site."

AJGA chief operations officer, Peter Ripa, say more than 200 colleges in the U.S offer full-tuition golf scholarships, and sharp-eyed college coaches use the Web to identify up and coming talent.

"The golf ball does not know where you live, it just goes in the hole and these coaches want the top players regardless of where they live."

Expectations are already running high for top tournament performances on Whistler Golf Club’s 18 hole, par 72 course.

Kristmanson says: "I expect to see some 65, 66 scores and a 210 would probably win it on a three-day par 72."

However he says results will be weather dependent, as windy conditions on the course can make golf a lot tougher. Being 2,200 feet above sea level and still subject to the coastal weather systems also throws up a few surprises, he adds. In snowboarder terms, Whistler has "phat" air.

"A lot of people get fooled when they come to play here," he laughs. "They think because we’re at altitude the ball will go a lot farther but it doesn’t because the air is thick."

He says Alberta golfers in particular will have to adjust their clubs because they are used to playing at 4,000 or 5,000 feet where "the ball goes forever."

However, the challenge for young golfers shooting for scholarships goes beyond adapting to the local conditions. Ripa says conduct, style and appearance are vital ingredients for succeeding in the world of junior golf. In other words, slovenly dressed golf rebels such as Adam Sandler’s character in the comedy movie Happy Gilmore need not apply.

"College coaches looking for people who handle themselves as ladies and gentlemen and dress as such, which means a tucked in shirt, no earrings for the guys, caps on forward and gentlemen removing their hats when they come indoors."

Ripa says team sports especially seem to tolerate a climate of casual or untidy dressers in the name of "individuality" but says the AJGA fosters traditions, values and integrity within the game of golf.

"Only 33 per cent of our overall budget is accounted for by our members through fees," he says. "The rest comes from sponsorship, so to be associated with that level of support, we have to deliver a professional event and a level of appearance associated with the best players in the world. Perception is king in everybody’s eyes."

Bending to the sport’s strict social codes, however, doesn’t seem to be putting off young players. Ripa says golf is enjoying its greatest surge in popularity yet among young people, largely thanks to role models such as Tiger Woods.

"More and more kids are excited about the game – and it’s cool to play, where 10 years ago there was a stigmatism that only the geeks and nerds played golf."

Ripa says gender equity programs in the U.S are also bringing more females into the game and women’s teams are fast growing in strength and size.

Ripa says a downside of golf’s growing popularity among youth are those wanting to cash in on it, such as agents posing as "friends" and pushy parents.

"There are those parents with stars in their eyes," he says. "Here in Canada you’d call them the hockey parents, who try to live their lives through their son or daughter." He says the AJGA tries to keep parents and ambitious kids’ feet on the ground in terms of stressing the importance of an overall college education and restricting competitors to five events a year to avoid burnout.

"When they leave the competitions, they’ll be better people as well – it’s a total social and sporting experience."

The Whistler Golf Club expects a strong turnout of Whistler volunteers for the tournament, in terms of billets, scorers and sign-holders.