GAM Championship Season Begins At Washtenaw Golf Club April 20

GAM Championship Season Begins At Washtenaw Golf Club April 20

The Golf Association of Michigan begins its 2024 championship season this weekend with the GAM Girl’s Championship at Washtenaw Golf Club.

The tournament features top Michigan female amateur golfers under the age of 19.

At last year’s kickoff, Jessica Jolly of Rockford won the overall title. Sophia Lee of Midland took the 15-and-under age division.

In the overall division, Washtenaw will play to 5, 701 yards. The 15 and under group will play at 4, 896.

Round one begins at 8:30 am on Saturday, April 20, 2024. The second round takes place on Sunday, April 21.

For the past five years, Washtenaw hosted the GAM Junior Kickoff tournament for both boys and girls. To accomodate the high school sports seasons (the boys play in the spring), that event now has been split in two. The GAM Junior Boys’ Championship has been moved to August 20-21, 2024 and also will be held at Washtenaw.

  “This allows our junior golfers a playing opportunity when they are less likely to have conflicts and makes room for a larger field as junior golf continues to grow,” Ken Hartmann, senior director of competitions and USGA services, said.

As an aside, it is a great thing for courses to set aside time for state competitions — and in particular junior competitions. High level players performing kabuki theatre for the media does not grow the game. The soul of the game lies not with pros, but with everyday players at their local courses. Clubs like Washtenaw providing opportunities for juniors to compete grows the game. So do programs like Youth on Course Michigan, which gives youngsters access to $5 golf.

With institutions like the Golf Association of Michigan and clubs like Washtenaw, I think the future of golf is in safe hand, regardless of what happens at the pro level.