Juniors Prospered At Roxiticus, Royce Brook , Galloping Hill

The just completed summer season saw New Jersey youth receive golf training at a number of venues around the state.

Roxiticus Golf Club in Mendham conducted a variety of youth-oriented programs for the second consecutive summer.

Royce Brook Golf Club in Hillsborough completed its 11thseason of its popular Academy of Golf.

And Galloping Hill Golf Course in Kenilworth also conducted a variety of junior camps and clinics.

Todd Hojnacki, the head professional at Roxiticus since 2001, distributed an 18-page Junior Golf Book beginning in 2013.

“The men and women each have a golf book that details each event and includes a club calendar of events. We expanded it for the Juniors,” Hojnacki explained.

“One of the reasons we did it was to bolster interest among kids in golf. We go through cycles where some years there are more youngsters playing, some years less. We wanted to bring more kids to the program.”

The junior golf book is e-mailed to families and hard copies are also printed. The book includes different areas for different ages and for different skill levels.

“Beginners start with plastic clubs and plastic balls. It’s very basic. When they get a little older, we teach them about golf etiquette,” Hojnacki said. “The goal is to accommodate kids from those who have never picked up a club to those who, when they get older, will represent the club in a junior golf league.”

The National PGA started a Junior Golf League for youth 13 and under in 2013. Roxiticus was placed into a local league with 20 kids on the team. The kids played two-person scramble for three holes. Then substitutions were made to ensure that each youngster played three holes. All golfers walked the course together. The kids got to know each other.

“For kids older than 13, we had Interclub matches with Somerset Hills, Mendham, Spring Brook and Fairmount. Members love having the book. They can plan accordingly.”

For more detailed instruction Roxiticus conducted a summer day camp to introduce kids to competitive golf at three different levels depending on their age.

“Junior Play Days are a big hit. We have kids play with kids they haven’t gotten a chance to play with and therefore can make new friends. There is also instruction given at the Play Days.

“The problem we’ve been running up against in golf is that kids commit themselves to one sport, such as basketball or baseball or swimming, and it includes travel teams and goes year round. Our program allows them the opportunity to learn about golf,” Hojnacki said.

Royce Brook’s summer programs are among the best in the nation. Anthony Latham, the director of instruction at the course, won the 2013 New Jersey PGA Junior Golf Leader Award. Royce Brook’s Academy of golf ranks in the Top 25 in the nation.

The academy includes multi-day golf schools, short-game school, on-course instruction, specialized ladies and juniors clinics and all of it is conducted on what is considered one of the top practice facilities in the state.

Royce Brook’s two championship courses were both awarded four stars in Golf Digest’s “Place to Play.” A junior golf clubhouse is utilized for lectures, video reviews and bad-weather activities.

“Our programs consistently attract boys and girls of all ages and provides an opportunity to have fun, get fit, and build healthy habits and relationships through the learning of the game of golf,” Latham said. “Our curriculum offers activities for all skill levels and is modeled after US Kids and PGA Sports Academy guidelines and is taught by award-winning professionals and lecturers.”

Royce Brook offers a variety of instruction including the Junior College of Golf (JCOG), half and full-day summer camps, PGA Sports Academy, year-round clinics and workshops, PGA Junior Golf League, private client development, and high school and college recruitment programs.

“The Junior College of golf has been helping junior players reaching their potential since 2001. The program is designed to prepare students for high school or college competition and players must be invited by a selection committee,” Latham said. “Our advanced camp is for kids with a passion for golf and a desire to evaluate their future potential in competitive golf. It is modeled after the JCOG program.”

The golf camps offer a great way to enable children ages seven to 16 a friendly, fun and educational golfing experience. The golf professionals provide a positive learning environment where juniors learn at their own pace. They lrn golf fundamentals and how to interact with others. The camp also teaches basic understanding of rules, etiquette and a variety of golf shots so they can begin to enjoy the sport.

The PGA Junior Golf League is compared to Little League baseball and is designed for children ages 13 and below. Teams are formed and play in a scramble format in aa setting that is fun and less stressful.

The Royce Brook programs have produced a number of outstanding golfers including Alice Chen of Princeton, 2013 NJSGA Women’s Amateur Champion, two-time NJSGA Junior champion, and high school state champion who attends Furman University.

Others include Peter Kim, 2012 N.J. high school Player of the Year now at West Point, Paloma Santiago, Mercer County champion now at Methodist University, Franca Hurtado, Pennsylvania State Champion, Curren Mody, 2011 NJSGA Junior champion now at Peddie School, and Serena Chen, national finalist in the Drive, Chip and Putt competition, among others.

The Learning Center at Galloping Hill has 52 stalls, 20 of which are covered and heated, 46,000 square feet of putting and chipping areas, practice bunkers and a nine-hole practice course. The Learning Center offers a wide array of both private and public lessons and clinics for all skill sets.

Junior summer camps run each week in the summer and there are also spring and fall programs.

This past summer, Galloping Hill offered three varying junior summer camps, a mini-camp for ages 5 to 10 that met for two hours each day over a week; a junior summer half-day camp for 8 to 16 year old golfers and a junior full-day camp for those ages 10 to 16.

Junior golf clinics were also conducted on the property.

The junior summer camps ran nine weeks in the summer, with 150 kids taking part, ranging in age from 5-to-16, with approximately 60 percent of the students taking part in the full-day camp.

“The growth has been great. Every year we have more and more kids,” said lead instructor Chip Ranco. “The baseline and format of the programs has been successful. It’s based on programs we have run in the past.

“Any time the kids have fun in camp, they learn more. Our instruction is a compilation of skills testing in a fun setting. For the instructors, there is a lot of gratification. On the golf course, we make sure they learn etiquette and maintenance of the golf course. The kids come from all over, Morris County, Middlesex County and Essex County. A lot of it is word of mouth,” Ranco added.