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 Nick Wood. Nick has recently taken over from Jeff Wicks who has successfully led the Juniors for the last few years. Nick 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 Nick. He can be contacted on 01635 32586 or 4nick.wood@tiscali.co.uk. Nick is also looking for a helper to assist with transport to Junior matches.

Barry Banning is helping Nick with the Junior Team this year. Barry can be contacted on 01635 863467.

Junior Captain
Each year one of Donnington Valley’s juniors has the honour of being the Junior Captain. This years Captain is Joe Wicks but we will be approaching someone early in the new year to take over from Joe and Captain the Juniors for 2009/10. Who knows - it could be you!

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 the Junior Organiser.

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 usually set aside an amount of money to be spent on Junior coaching and The English Golf Union (EGU) will give a grant of the same amount. The coaching is usually arranged in small groups with one of Donnington Valley’s excellent Professional Team.

Junior Team
Donnington Valley run a successful Junior team in the Hants and Berks league. Our Juniors won the league in 2008 and have gone on to represent the league in the Regional Finals with a view to securing 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 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 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.

See the Fixture page for details of the League Fixtures 2010

Sponsorship
Our sponsors this year are M3 Housing Ltd who have generously provided funds for the running of the Junior Team. This will be used for providing new shirts for the team members and subsidising meals and coaching. Our thanks go the M3 Housing for their generosity.