It was another opportunity for our youngest of junior golfing talents to show what they can do at Eagle Ridge GC on Saturday and once again they REALLY impressed!

For those newcomers just reading about Wee Highlanders for the first time this report will hopefully give you a little understanding of why we do these fun events and why we need to hammer home the fact that these young kids really ARE the future of our great game!

We prefer not to try to define this group just by age as going forward we do want to attract as many new kids to participate as possible. Right now our Wee Highlander events are typically attracting boys and girls as young as 5 and up to 8 years of age… though having had some recent discussions with parents we feel the time is now right to lose any suggestion of age restriction.

The other thing to note is that our “Wees” are not beginner golfers. We are providing a fun competition platform for youngsters who already play the game or are being taught to play already, there is absolutely no requirement that they play to any particular standard as first and foremost it’s all about having fun however it’s also about building confidence and playing in a relaxed and supportive environment so it wouldn’t be the ideal place for a complete beginner who’s playing for the first time.

Our players on Saturday were a pair of young lady golfers. Both aged 7 and both have played with us before. That last fact is important to us as it suggests we have got the balance right between playing “competition golf” and “having fun” as kids just wouldn’t come back if it was in any way too stressful for them!

Kenzi Kacanich is without doubt our reigning champion. She has become our top player by attending, and winning, more of these events than any other player and already it’s become noticeable to those looking on that she’s not only developing her golfing ability but she’s starting to relish the challenge of competition too and that’s a huge positive step from being the shy little girl we first met a few months ago who was coming along to play her first ever golf competition!

Any golfer, regardless of age, will tell you that only comes through playing competition golf regularly and increased confidence and that’s even more important for any young golfer than striking a golf ball well!

Fast forward a few months and it looks like we are now lucky enough to have another fine young lady player as part of our Wee Highlanders family….Eden Wilkins.

Eden’s first Wee Highlander competition was a mirror image of Kenzi’s. At our first meeting she was shy and nervous too…once out playing though and that has quickly changed!

Kenzi and Eden playing together is an absolute joy to watch if you’re an impartial golf loving spectator..it’s most likely a bit of a roller coaster ride if you’re a parent or grand parent though! One thing is for sure though, there is never any lack of support from the huge group of family and spectators that arrive with our Wee Highlanders…and they support EVERY shot, not just their own player, that’s just how golf should be!

Both girls are developing their game in a fine manner and already both posses good technique from tee to green. Drives are mostly accurate and both girls have a very tidy short game. Usually, and this applies every bit as much to our older kids too, the difference is on the greens.

A good putting stroke played with confidence and accuracy will, in the vast majority of cases, prove to be the difference between players. It applies whether you are a Wee Highlander or an LPGA champion and when the margins of victory are so slim to begin with its usually measured over who was more able to finish off the hole by putting better.

It was the case here too. Going into the final hole both players were tied. Kenzi finished the hole by putting slightly better than Eden to take the medal with an excellent score of 32 ….Eden was SO close, only 2 strokes back with a 34.

As everyone knows we would dearly LOVE to get more of these youngsters out playing Wee Highlander competitions. We hope we can make this happen as we are anxious to ensure young players like Kenzi and Eden can feel challenged and we can keep things fresh for them too…as neutral spectators though we could watch Kenzi and Eden matches every week if we had to…its that good…well done girls, you were both excellent and a credit to our great game.

Eden may not have picked up her first Wee Highlander medal but she wasn’t too upset about that. As it was pointed out last time they played together the margin was significantly higher than just two strokes and that in itself speaks volumes for how well she is developing…and we hope enjoying her golf?

Kenzi was our winner and took home yet another Wee Highlander medal. Congratulations Kenzi from everyone at Highlander Junior Tour.

Thank you everyone who attended this Wee Highlander. Our next one is coming up at Harbor Hills CC in Lady Lake next Saturday and we hope you may be able to attend. More info can be found on our upcoming events page or you can Register Now by clicking the link HERE

See you all soon.