Junior Golf Grows Up
by Joe Maxwell
In the late 1940s, back when Robbie Webb was a boy on Mississippi's Gulf Coast, children weren't let on golf courses.
"I was the first junior who got to play (the Great Southern Course) when I was 11 years old," explains Webb, former PGA pro at the Canton Country Club or Deerfield Country Club.
Times have changed for the state's junior golfers. Course access and excellent instruction abound compared to Webb's day.
And the Mississippi Junior Golf Association (MJGA) is at the center of it, enjoying support from area pros and sponsorships by businesses including BankPlus.
"I love to see the kids out there," says Margo Coleman, executive director of MJGA and the Mississippi Golf Association.
Coleman learned golf in Arkansas from her father and she knows the value of starting early.
"I think junior golf is one of the best parts about my job. To see the kids succeed is very special. When I see a player break 80 for the first time--you can't wipe the grin off that youth's face."
Today, more than 300 junior golfers in Mississippi enjoy a summer tournament season. The best of them qualify to play in the Viking Classic Junior Pro-Am, which this year will be Tuesday, September 16, just before the pros play their four-day PGA event.
Viking Classic Director Randy Watkins created the Junior Pro-Am as a part of the Viking schedule two years ago when he took over the pro event.
"That's the most rewarding thing that I do," says Watkins. "The Junior Pro-Am got started the minute I got involved in this tournament. We are the only PGA tour even in the world that does it."
The unique opportunity has not been lost on the state's "young vikings."
"I love it," says Brandon¹s Kevin Brady, who will play in the Pro-Am a third time. "I'm excited. It is great to have pros playing with us."
"It's a great experience to see how the pros practice and then actually get to play with them," says an un-intimidated Fletcher Johnson. "I like seeing if I can match them; I like trying to cover them up, trying to hang with them."
Veteran Mississippi club pros surely shake their head at junior golf's progress. "Years ago a club's golf professional was basically the best player in the area," notes Jimmy Gamblin,PGA pro at Northwood Country Club in Meridian. That meant there was little real instruction for kids.
But Northwood was always an exception. "The Northwood parents have always included the kids with them playing golf, bringing them out on the course," says Gamblin, who learned the game there himself.
Northwood junior golfers in the '50s and '60s filled NCAA Division 1 programs; they included Dan Draughn, Mike Taylor, John Lang, Johnny Dement, Bobby Parker, Chuck Rey, Tom Harston, Royce Wilkerson, Don Bounds, as well as Gamblin.
When Robbie Webb took the pro job in 1963 at the Canton Country Club, he brought a resolve to make golf available to interested youth.
"We were always welcome to play at Robbie's course," recalls Watkins, who also tips his hat to in-state greats like Bob Travis, Max Tullos, Mike Taylor, and Cotton Hill.
Other PGA pros like Ken Lindsay and Ben Nelson helped Webb fan youth golf's flame in the 1970s. They ran the Dr. Pepper Tour series, which was sponsored by Southern Beverage Company.
More recently, one-time Jackson Country Club pro Ernest Ross (now golf coach at Ole Miss), ran along with his wife the Jackson Junior Invitational Golf Association, which staged a youth tourney series in the Jackson area.
When Ross left for Ole Miss, JJIGA faded out. Today, junior golf competitions are exploding nationally, along with all the other youth sports. Top tournament organizations field year-round competition, drawing college scouts' eyes.
Several Mississippi junior golfers play at the national level, and Old Waverly Golf Club teaching pro V.J. Trolio instructs many of them.
"We have a lot of good players coming up," says Trolio, "but we need to let those players know that there is no problem shooting 66. We need them to understand that practice is not going out to the range and hitting balls."
Meanwhile, MJGA offers its top-notch in-state tournaments that resemble the feel of a major college or pro contest.
Coleman and her staff stress improving golfers¹ games, their etiquette and respect for others.
"It's a gentleman's game," says Brandon junior Brady, a comment mentioned by other juniors interviewed. "Golf has taught me to be a gentleman in all of life."
Coleman hopes more sports families will explore golf. "It gives you a game to play with your family, and you can play your whole life. It teaches young people values such as honesty. It's my passion," says Coleman.
It may, in fact, be more addictive than baseball, softball and soccer combined.
Back in the late 1940s, Robbie Webb had to wait until he was 11 to find that out. The 69-yeard-old hasn't kicked the habit yet.
He still teaches juniors whenever he can, and they still come to him to learn.
Why bother to pass the game on? Webb is asked.
"To tell you the truth," he replies, "I've never really thought that much about it because I have always been having so much fun." SS
joe@thesportingspirit.com
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