This years Reid Trophy, the English Golf Union (EGU) U14 competition, was won by English boy Harry Bigham from Redbourn GC. While this is a solid win for English golf, the future and integrity of the event is under threat with the increasing proportion of international competitors.
There are reasons for some serious concerns.
In previous years the Reid Trophy field comprised of about 60% English and 40% international competitors. In 2014 we saw a marked 10% increase in international players making up 50% of the 144 strong field International, resulting in more English boys being balloted out.
What are the implications?
Chances are that this trend will continue and intensify in the coming years.
Many of the International Country Federations have ramped up their junior golf efforts and are starting to reap the benefits of their work by developing a strong talent flow. Foremost are countries like France, buoyed by their Ryder Cup bid, Spain, Germany and Italy. But entries from the likes of Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and from Scandinavia are on the increase as well. This is partially driven by the lack of or weak national U14 events locally, but mostly by the desire to benchmark performance on an international level, which in itself is the right thing to do.
The current application process for the Reid trophy only takes the players handicap level into consideration. It seems ironic that if an English player plays in an international event, CONGU handicap adjustments are not made, because of a lack tournament details. Yet international handicaps are accepted at first sight and adjusted to a CONGU equivalent.
If unchecked the current development will be to the detriment of English talent, who should have the ability to compete on a national or even international level. But in the future just the sheer volume of “eligible” players applying from foreign shores will stack against them. This will not even be a reflection of lack of resources, coaching expertise or talent management in England.
It is not the responsibility of the EGU to run a pan-European U-14 competition.
A lot of money and other resources are deployed, at national and county level, to get juniors into golf and keep them in golf, yet little is done for juniors to allow them to compete in their own national event, especially in the younger age groups.
Ask any competitive junior golfer in the U14 age bracket and they can tell you exactly what the handicap requirement is for the Reid Trophy. For some the end will justify the means, in other words they will do anything in order to get the handicap to a point that will ensure their participation.
Such pressure cannot be good for player development and the game overall, both in the short and long term.
Looking at the Reid Trophy results in detail, there are some players who have played in this competition, some a second or even a third time, without even getting close to their listed handicaps, whether that is in the Reid or even other international events. This holds true for both English and International competitors.
Most countries place restrictions on international entries for their national championships either by allocating a fixed number of international slots with the slots reallocated to local competitors if not utilised, or by other means such as a required local in-country golf club memberships.
The time has come for the EGU to consider capping the number of slots for international participants. International players should ballot themselves out, rather than English boys.
In addition to the current application process, the EGU should also set aside slots for County Unions to nominate players based on their tournament performances in local events and tours, like the ones that are run in Surrey and BB&O for example. This would encourage and support development activities at county level and also provide an additional pathway to the national championship.
The EGU should also consider the introduction of an U12 competition as a 1 day event. There are enough competitive juniors in England to make this a viable proposition and it provides a hand-off from the work the Golf Foundation does. This will provide continuity as well reduce the pressure to work towards unrealistic handicap levels.
Lastly, Junior Golf in England is a highly fragmented offer. Other countries have a Junior Golf Association to oversee a more structured approach and different pathways particularly with regards to competitions. There is a requirement in England for this to be implemented, and the EGU needs to take the lead, even if there are a number of different stakeholders involved. It is the juniors that are loosing out at present.
A lot is being made of Juniors being the future of the game, there are a number of great initiatives in place, but decisive action needs to be taken now to shape current and future activities.