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A
New View
The
AJGA's new venues includes some of the country's top courses
By Matt
Crouch and Peter Ripa
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Rolling
hills, bright green fairways and sparkling blue water do very
nice to encapsulate a golf course. Sometimes, though, a course
by its design can do more than any words can describe. These
are the courses that the AJGA strives to bring to its members.
And this year, more than ever, the AJGA has one thing to say:
Mission Accomplished!
To complement the world’s top junior golfers, new courses
were sought out to add a little more difficulty and beauty to
the schedule. Nine tournaments will move to new venues for the
2004 season to bring that added level of difficulty and beauty.
Check
out these courses online! |
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The Sunrise Course at the Country Club of Mirasol in Palm Beach
Gardens, Fla., will serve as the host course of the PING Junior
at Mirasol, June 1-4.
Designed by Tom Fazio, the club is a private facility located
in a residential community. The Country Club of Mirasol is also
home of the PGA TOUR’s Honda Classic. AJGA alum Justin
Leonard carded a 24-under-par 24 to win the 2003 Honda Classic.
Another Tom Fazio course makes an appearance on the schedule
June 14-17 with the AJGA Glenwild Junior at Glenwild Golf Club
and Spa.
Located in Park City, Utah, it is the No. 1 ranked course in
the state according to Golf Digest.
After spending two years at the Cardinal Golf and Country Club,
the FootJoy Boys Invitational will move to Forest Oaks Country
Club, home of the PGA TOUR’s Chrysler Classic of Greensboro.
Forest Oaks is a residential community and private facility
in Greensboro, N.C., and was originally designed by Ellis Maples.
AJGA alum Davis Love III recently completed a re-design of the
course. Former AJGA staff member Mark Brazil serves as the local
tournament chairman for the event as well as working as the
tournament director for the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro.
Scheduled to open this spring, the TPC of Louisiana at Fairfield
will be the host of the Fore!Kids Junior at TPC of Louisiana,
June 21-24. The course is designed by Pete Dye with the help
of PGA TOUR player consultants Steve Elkington and AJGA alum
Kelly Gibson.
The course will also be the home of the PGA TOUR’s HP
Classic of New Orleans beginning in 2005.
After playing the Meadows Course in 2003, the AJGA decided to
go back to Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore., selecting the
Crosswater Course for the Rolex Tournament of Champions, July
5-9.
Sunriver Resort is no stranger to high-caliber players as it
hosted the 2000 NCAA Women’s National Championship and
is scheduled for the 2004 Men’s West Regional Championship.
Also on the agenda for 2006 is the NCAA Men’s National
Championship.
The course, designed by Bob Cupp and John Fought, is a Gold
Medal Resort according to Golf Magazine and is ranked
as one of the “Top-100 Modern Courses in America”
by Golfweek.
Rich Harvest Links in Sugar Grove, Ill., will host the AJGA
for the first time July 6-9 at the Midwest Junior Championship
at Rich Harvest Links.
The course is designed by its owner, Jerry Rich. Rich also serves
as the state coordinator for Hook-A-Kid-On-Golf.
The private facility was ranked as the No. 7 course in Illinois
by Golf Digest and was ranked No. 5 nationally among
new courses in 1999 by Golf Digest.
The HP Boys Junior Championship finds a new home at Arnold Palmer’s
Bay Hill Club in Orlando, Fla., July 26-30.
The course, designed by Dick Wilson, is also home to the PGA
TOUR’s Bay Hill Invitational.
The private facility is ranked the No. 7 course in Florida,
according to Golf Digest.
Canon Cup will be making a return trip August 2-5 to Caves Valley
Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md., after being held at the course
in 1997.
The East Team won in 1997 with players such as David Gossett,
John Klauk, Bubba Watson, Beth Bauer, Leigh Anne Hardin and
Angela Jerman.
The course is another designed by Tom Fazio and was ranked in
the “Top-100 Modern Courses in America” by Golfweek.
After nine years at Walt Disney World Resort, the Polo Golf
Junior Classic is on the move. After the success of the 2003
Canon Cup at Sea Island Golf Club, the Polo Golf Junior Classic
now proudly calls it home.
Another Tom Fazio design, the Seaside and Plantation Courses
at Sea Island Golf Club also serve as the home of the UBS Cup.
The course is also named one of “America’s Best
100 Golf Courses” by Golf Digest.
The resort is regarded as a Gold Medal Resort by Golf Magazine.
The Lodge at Sea Island was given a Mobil 5-Star Rating the
year after it opened.
With these new venues, 2004’s 73 tournaments may turn
out to be the best in the AJGA's history. |
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