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AJGA
Will Not Allow Distance-Measuring Devices in '06 |
Membership
survey drives AJGA decision
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The
American Junior Golf Association announced that it will not
allow distance-measuring devices during its 74 championships
this season. This decision came in response to the United States
Golf Association’s new entry in its 2006 Decisions on
the Rules of Golf giving tournament committees the option of
allowing such devices in competition.
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| AJGA
stencils provide yardages to the front of the green. |
The
two primary factors in the decision revolved around an unfavorable
AJGA membership survey and the AJGA’s concern over equal
access to yardage-finding devices.
In an e-mail survey of 283 AJGA members, 54 percent opposed
the use of distance-measuring devices during this season’s
AJGA tournaments.
“I think finding your yardage is a skill that every junior
should learn,” said Arnond Vongvanij, a first-team Rolex
Junior All-American who sits on the AJGA Board of Directors
as player representative. “To me, it’s an important
tradition of the game of golf.”
Another contributing factor involved equity among members. The
AJGA did not want to be put in the position of having some players
with a device and others without.
“The reality is some individuals have the financial means
to afford this piece of technology while others do not,”
said AJGA Assistant Executive Director Peter Ripa. “If
there was a way to provide a range finder to every player or
every group, we would revisit the idea and survey our members
again to see if their opinions change.
“We will closely monitor the impact of distance-measuring
devices at the collegiate level,” he continued. “At
this point, our members have spoken. We will continue to look
to those who make up our Association to guide us on the issue.”
The AJGA already takes a number of steps to aid competitors
in finding their yardages. At permitting venues, the AJGA Operations
staff paints AJGA-logoed stencils in fairways at 100, 150, 200
and 250 yards from the front of the greens. These yardages are
measured the days leading up to an event with a laser range
finder to ensure accuracy. Each player also receives a detailed
hole location sheet prior to the start of their round. The combination
of pre-existing course yardages, AJGA stencils and AJGA hole
location sheets gives all juniors the ability to determine their
yardages.
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