Junior Journey · Competition Day
First-time golf parents are often completely lost on the day — where to stand, when to be quiet, what's happening on the scorecard. This is the guide we wish someone had given us before Jacob's first competition.
Check the tee time and be at the club at least 30 minutes early — junior competitions almost always require registration, and marker cards or scorecards are often handed out on a first-come basis. Arriving late is one of the most stressful ways to start a round, for both of you.
If it's genuinely your child's first competition, it's worth calling the club or checking with the organiser beforehand so they know to expect a newcomer. Most junior organisers are used to this and are glad to help settle a first-timer in.
Your child — not you — should register if at all possible. It's a small thing, but it starts the day with them taking ownership, which matters more than it seems. Help them find their name on the draw sheet, locate their tee time and starting hole, and point them towards the practice putting green if there's time.
This is also the moment to make sure they know who their playing partners are for the round — most junior competitions play in groups of two or three, often with juniors they haven't met before. That's normal, and part of the experience.
This is the question every new golf parent has and nobody quite explains. Here's the honest version:
Most junior opens use one of a small number of formats — Stableford, Stroke Play, or occasionally Texas Scramble for team events. If you're not sure which, our Golf Formats guide explains each one simply, with a Stableford points calculator.
Juniors mark each other's cards, not their own — this is standard and part of the etiquette they're learning. If your child is playing with someone they don't know, it's normal for there to be a short pause after each hole while scores are agreed and written down. That's not a problem; it's just part of the pace of competition golf.
At the end of the round, both markers and the player usually need to sign the card before it's handed in. This matters — an unsigned or incorrectly totalled card can occasionally lead to disqualification, so it's worth a gentle reminder (to your child, not to the whole group) to check this before they leave the last green.
This is the part that shapes whether your child wants to do this again. Lead with something specific and positive before anything else — a good shot, a moment of composure, the fact they finished. Save any technical debrief, if there needs to be one at all, for another day.
Let your child tell you how the round went before you tell them how you thought it went. Often their version is more balanced than you'd expect — juniors are usually harder on themselves than any parent needs to be.