1. What is the Northern Junior Golf Tour?

The Northern Junior Golf Tour in association with PING and our other sponsors prides itself on delivering high quality, professional events for Junior Golfers aged 6 – 18 years old across Northern England.

We run a 9 hole (Rookies Tour) and 18 hole (Masters Tour) tournament at each qualifying event. 

The Rookies Tour is for Juniors aged 6-14 years old played over 9 holes. You can play in these events with or without a handicap as there are separate divisions to suit different abilities. Golfers will play off the Red or Forward (Blue) tees depending on their age/ability, competing in an Order of Merit for a chance to qualify for our Grand Final at Thonock Park Golf Club (The Home of PING).  Each event will be Stroke Play maximum score event (+5 max per hole), with scores submitted to WHS for handicap purposes for those playing from Red tees. There are 15 events taking place in 2024. 

The Masters Tour is our initiative aimed at junior golfers aged 18 years old and under who would like to compete in a series of 18 hole competition across Northern England. We’re proud to be delivering these events at some of the best clubs in the region and hope you enjoy the challenges that lays before you. 

There are 14 qualifying events in 2024 including 4 Major Championships, plus other Team events throughout the year. 

Each event uses live scoring incorporating a digital leaderboard, professional first tee set up, and fantastic prizes for Gross and Net winners across all of the age groups. 

Junior Golfers will need to have a WHS Handicap of 28.4 or better for boys and 36.4 or better for girls to play in these events. 

2. Do I need to be a member of a Golf Club to play in your events?

No, it doesn’t matter if you have an official WHS handicap or not, as we have different categories within the Tour to cater for everyone. You would need an official handicap to play in our Masters Tour (see above for criteria)

3. What is the criteria to enter the Northern Junior Golf Tour?

Rookies Tour – Aged 6-14 years old as of the 1^st January 2024 & can enter with or without a WHS Handicap.

Masters Tour – Aged 18 years old and under as of the 1^st January 2024 with a WHS Handicap of 28.4 or below (Boys) and 36.4 or below (Girls) *We have now got a Division for Girls Under 21. 

4. I don’t live in the North of England, can I still enter?

Yes, you can enter any events that you wish.

5. Are Caddies allowed on the Northern Junior Golf Tour?

Yes, we allow caddying. However, we expect children to make their own decisions, select their own clubs and read their own putts on the green. In essence, “caddying” really means only being able to carry the junior’s Golf bag – that’s it!

6. How do the events work and how do I qualify for the Grand Final?

The Rookies Tour

There are 4 different playing categories within the Northern Junior Golf Tour; Beginner Boys, Beginner Girls, Intermediate Boys & Intermediate Girls. Within each category we’ll have different age bandings / handicap bandings. For example, Beginner Boys (Ages 6-7 years) would play off the Blue tees in a Stroke Play tournament with adapted rules. 

Each player competes in an Order of Merit with the Best 6 scores out of 14 to count. Players will qualify via the Order of Merit with the top 4 from each Division qualifying for the final.

The Masters Tour

We have changed the age bandings for the Masters Tour in 2024 with the following categories: Boys: Under 12’s, Under 14’s, Under 16’s and Under 18’s. Girls: Under 12’s, Under 5’s & Under 21’s. Within each age category we have separate competitions for Boys and Girls who play in a Gross and Net format. (Please note, categories are subject to change depending on the number of entries within each banding). 

Players must play in at least 6 events to qualify for the Grand Final as the Order of Merit will be determined by using the best 6 scores out of 17 events.

7. How do I book a place on your Junior Tour?

You need to visit www.northernjuniorgolftour.co.uk and create a free account, complete your personal details, then click on the events you wish to enter for 2024. 

8. My son/ daughter doesn’t have a CDH number so I can’t complete the registration form?

If you don’t have an official WHS Handicap then put a ‘0’ in the Membership Number column and a ‘0’ in the Handicap box. & this will then allow you to proceed through the registration process. We’ll be able to pick this up and assign your son/ daughter to the correct 9 hole Division. 

9. Can I walk around with my Son and Daughter?

Yes, we’d encourage family members to walk the course and encourage the playing group, all events are family friendly.  However, please let the players make their own choices on the course.

10. Where do I find the tee times and results?

All tee times will be emailed out to you within one week of your event and all results are emailed out once the competition is closed. You will also be able to visit www.northernjuniorgolftour.co.uk to view the tee times, results and order of merit standing anytime.

11. I want to enter my 6 year old daughter who doesn’t have a handicap, how long will each hole be on the Rookies Tour for her?

We very much want to encourage participation and make the course playable for everyone so we have different divisions throughout the Tour. As a 6 year old girl she would be playing off the Blue Tees in the ‘Beginner Girls’ category. Typically, the holes are approximately no longer than:

Par 3 – Up to 120 yards

Par 4 – Up to 225 yards

Par 5 – Up to 275 yards

12. How does the live scoring work? Do I need to download an app?

Yes, you need to download the Golf Genius App which is available free of charge via App Store for iPhone or Google Play for Android users. Once you’ve downloaded the app we’ll give you a unique Golf Genius Identification code (GGID) when you arrive at the venue. 

It’s simple to use and allows you to view the field in real time with a live leader board. 

13. What is a maximum score event?

For speed of play purposes, we will be setting a maximum acceptable score of five over (+5) for all events.  This means that the maximum score on a par 3 would be 8, for a par 4 a score of 9, and for a par 5 the maximum score the golfer plays to and records is 10.  These scores are acceptable for handicap purposes under WHS rule. 

14. What are the benefits of becoming a Northern Junior Golf Tour Member in 2024?

You can become a Tour Member which entitles you to the following benefits:

– 10% off every event in 2024

– Priority entry 

– PING Cap 

– NJGT Branded Head Cover

– Northern Ball Marker Tees 

– NJGT 2024 bag tag

– Branded draw string bag

– Society pack including pencils, tees, pitch mark repairer. 

All of this is available for £39.99 and is available exclusively on our website.

15. When do I receive my members pack for 2024?

We will have your members pack available at your first event so please just ask one of the coordinators at the registration desk when you arrive. 

16. Can I use the same email for two players when I register my son and daughter?

You can add information to the email address to make it unique. For example: 

The Son has the email of ‘thesmiths@njgt.com’ 

The Daughter could use the email ‘thesmiths+1@njgt.com’ 

Everything after the + sign is viewed as additional information via Golf Genius & that way both players can have the same email address, but remain unique in the system.