Introduction
Welcome to the page devoted to our younger members. This is where you can find out what is available to you as a Donnington Valley Junior to help you learn the game, meet new friends and establish yourself as a valued member of the Club.
Membership
Donnington Valley is a fully integrated golf club. This means that as a Junior you have the same playing rights as full members. Unlike some golf clubs you can play at any time of the day including weekends. You can find news and information about what is going on in the Junior Section on the notice board near the changing rooms in the clubhouse.
If you have friends who are interested in playing golf then please encourage them to consider joining Donnington Valley. It’s not expensive to join and the more Juniors we have the more, enjoyable, interesting and competitive your golf will be. Why not pick up a Junior Membership pack for them from the golf club office. We have one of the best records in the area for producing professional and good amateur golfers from our junior ranks.
Junior Organiser
Your Junior Organiser is Barry Banning. Barry runs the Junior Team which plays in the Hants and Berks league and also represents your interests at the Golf Club Committee. If you have any ideas about how the Juniors should be run or want to know more about the Junior Section then speak to Barry. He can be contacted on 01635 863467 or barrybanning@aol.com.
Nick Wood is helping Barry with the Junior Team this year. Nick can be contacted on 01635 32586
Junior Captain
Each year one of Donnington Valley’s juniors has the honour of being the Junior Captain. This years Captain is Will Wright. You can speak to Will over any issues that affect you as a Junior.
We wish Will every success and an enjoyable golfing year.
Handicaps
Junior handicaps are managed by the Club’s Competition Committee. Juniors are encouraged to get their handicap and reduce it as quickly as possible. Juniors can have an initial handicap of up to 45 so you do not need to be a fully competent player from the outset. To get your handicap you need to submit 3 cards for a full round, marked by another member who already has a handicap. If you have difficulty finding someone to mark cards for your handicap, or would just like someone different to mark one of them, then there are many members who would be more than willing to play with you to help you get your handicap. If you do need help with getting cards marked please contact either; Barry Banning, Nick Wood the Junior Organisers, or Will, the Junior Captain.
Competitions
You can enter all club competitions unless they have specific playing requirements. For example; there are some competitions that are specifically for Ladies only. Junior girls would be able to take part in these, but not Junior boys. There are also a number of competitions usually over the school holiday periods specifically run for all Juniors.
Coaching
Donnington Valley Golf Club has set aside an amount of money to be spent on Junior coaching. The coaching is usually arranged in small groups with one of Donnington Valley’s excellent Professional Team.
We hope to run the first coaching sessions in the Easter Holidays. Watch the notice board for further details.
Junior Team
Donnington Valley have run a successful Junior team in the Hants and Berks league for many years winning the league on a number of occasions. Our Juniors last won the league in 2008 and went on to represent the league hoping to secure a place in the national finals and ultimately represent England at La Manga in Spain.
The team consists of 6 players and 2 playing reserves. The team is chosen on merit and availability. The option to take playing reserves gives us the opportunity to allow the younger and newer players to gain experience of competitive matchplay golf and hopefully go on to become regular members of the team.
After each match the team has refreshments with their opposition and this is a great way to build camaraderie and enhance your social skills. If you are asked to play in Junior matches you will be required to pay a small match fee to help cover the cost of refreshments.
Points are awarded to each Junior when they play in matches. The number of points received depends on the result of your match. The top scoring Junior from each team throughout the season receives an award from the league.
Junior matches are usually played on Sunday afternoons.
The list of fixtures for 2011 is below:
20th March – League Captains Day Trophy at Newbury Race Course. Organiser and Junior Captain invited to play.
League fixtures
