The American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA) has brought back a program to showcase creativity in golf course architecture among young people. “The Great Junior Golf Design Challenge of 2021,” encourages children to design their own golf hole and gives families and educators an opportunity to involve children in the art of golf course design.

First introduced in 2020, the Challenge is simple. Young people ages 17 and younger may submit design ideas for golf holes of any par, style or strategy, and from whimsical to serious. A submission may be created in any medium (pencil, markers, crayon or digital) as long as it fits within the provided border from ASGCA. Scans or photos of designs may be sent via email to juniordesign@asgca.org  or uploaded via Twitter to @ASGCA to be shared on social media and ASGCA.org. Complete information may be found at https://asgca.org/the-great-junior-golf-design-challenge-of-2021.

A new aspect of the Design Challenge is that a “top design” will be selected and the winning designer will receive $250 from ASGCA Foundation. A matching donation will also be made to the designer’s local First Tee chapter. All submissions will also be entered into a drawing, and two names will be selected to receive merchandise from U.S. Kids Golf.

 “Last year, the ‘Great Junior Design Challenge’ came together quickly and was a perfect anecdote for children and families when COVID-19 hit,” ASGCA President Forrest Richardson said. “This year, ASGCA is thrilled to have the involvement of our friends at U.S. Kids Golf. There is boundless energy and creativity shown in these designs, and we look forward to seeing what this year’s Challenge produces.”

 The Great Junior Design Challenge was the brainchild of Jay Smith, an aspiring golf course architect based in McAlpin, Florida, working with Nathan Crace, ASGCA, and Lester George, ASGCA.

Crace shared his experiences. “As a young boy, I spent hours drawing imaginary golf holes on plain paper and by age 10 I had built three holes on my parents’ land in Indiana. Hopefully, this challenge will give boys and girls that same spark to display their creativity for everyone to see!”

“It affords children the opportunity to express their creativity by imagining and graphically depicting their version of a fun and remarkable golf hole,” George added.

–NCGA Staff