Heart of Ohio Junior Golf Association is celebrating its 33rd season of serving area youth age 9-18 within seven Central Ohio counties of Marion, Crawford, Delaware, Hardin, Morrow, Union and Wyandot. The non-profit, all-volunteer Association was begun in 1987 to educate juniors through a golf camp, seminar, 7-tournament tour, awards and scholarships toward college education.
One of the early events of the 2019 season is the golf camp scheduled for June 06. The camp is held for beginners and youth wanting to brush up on the fundamentals of the golf swing. Rules and etiquette on the golf course will be discussed. The camp will be held at Miracle Driving Range, Marion 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Campers will receive professional instruction, logo bag tag, towel, booklet handout and lunch. The cost is $17 plus $5 membership. Clubs for Kids are available for juniors needing golf clubs.
HOJGA will offer a seven-tournament tour which begins June 4 at Lincoln Hills, Upper Sandusky; June 10, Golf Club of Bucyrus; June 19, Marysville G.C.; June 27, Memorial Park, Kenton; July 02, Blues Creek, Marysville; July 08, Marion Country Club; July 15, Valley View, Galion. The HOJGA Chad A. Wheeler “Best of Best” playoff event for tournament winners and runnersup, is slated for July 23 at Lincoln Hills.
Juniors are placed in one of three divisions: 12 and under, 13-15, and 16-18. Age as of Sept. 1, 2019 determines which division each junior will play. The 13-15 and 16-18 divisions vie for tournament points which bring eligibility to win scholarships.
Cost of tournaments include: $25 registration fee ($5 membership fee, $20 for ten raffle tickets-incentive raffle-proceeds for tournament expenses). Fees for the tournaments include 9 holes $10 per tournament for 12 and under; 13-18 playing 18 holes, $15 per tournament. Early sign-up prevents tournament shutouts.
The HOJGA Scholarship program for 2019 will include the David J. Wensinger Player of the Year $2000, Ross Carley Memorial Player of the Year 1st Runnerup $1500, Wensinger Family 2nd Runnerup Player of the Year $500, HOJGA 3-Year Accumulative Point $700, NUCOR Steel Most Improved Golfer $500, K Of C Sportsmanship $500, the Marion County Youth Foundation MERIT $1000; Charles W. Emans Memorial Patriot $500 and the HOJGA 13-15 Player of the Year $700 Scholarship.
To help support the HOJGA Scholarship fund, Tournament Sponsorships are being offered. A gift of $300 would obtain a tournament sponsorship of choice of seven tournaments. The Company or Individual/s would receive newspaper and radio publicity within the 7-County Central Ohio area which HOJGA serves, signage posted and recognition at the tournament chosen, follow-up results and season’s-end newspaper/s publicity, also placed in the Year-End Booklet and www.hojga.org website.
The presentation of scholarships, awards, and raffle prize (Tommy Armour TA1 Set of Irons KBS Tour 95 4-PW) will be held at the Year-End Appreciation Banquet on July 25 at Kings Mill. Guest speaker, parents and friends will be invited to honor the season’s junior golfers.
Information and entry forms for juniors are on website (www.hojga.org) or call 740-389-6207. To sponsor a scholarship, tournament or contribute as a Patron, send to HOJGA, P.O. Box 821, Marion, Ohio 43301-0821.
