Junior Inter-club Challenge was an ‘outstanding success’

The Brisbane Golf Club’s Director of Golf, Joe Janison, has branded a recently completed Inter-club challenge for aspiring junior golfers as a concept that ‘will certainly continue’.

“It was an outstanding success,” the 2022 National Club Professional of the Year, who was one of the instigators of the embryonic event, enthused.

Juniors representing four clubs – BGC, Indooroopilly, Nudgee and Royal Queensland – participated in the Inter-Club Junior Challenge which was played over the four Sundays in February.

And although BGC won the ‘final’ against Royal Queensland after remaining undefeated throughout the event, Mr Janison said that in the overall scheme of things, the result was irrelevant.

“The idea of the concept was to give our up-and-coming juniors – from all four clubs – the opportunity to compete in match play, oppose a junior from another club and gain some experience at this new level of competition,” he said.

“These kids were aged from 11 to 15, with handicaps varying from 8 to 30, so they could be considered the ‘fringe’ juniors – those showing some promising potential. But they don’t play Junior Pennant golf, so this competition helped fill a gap in the experience they can gain.

“It is, literally, a springboard to the next level.”

Teams were mixed and, because of numbers, several times boys and girls competed against each other in the handicap matchplay competition.

And while Mr Janison played down the impressive performance of the BGC juniors, Chief Executive Geoff Kuehner was lavish in his praise of the club, the juniors, and the coaching staff.

“This is a wonderful achievement for our club and exemplifies, once again, the excellent work being done by our Junior Academy,” he said.

“Joe Janison, Asha Flynn and the team currently work with 115 students in our Junior Academy, and this is the result of the excellent tuition offered. The flow-on effect is undeniable, and the coaching prowess of our team speaks for itself.”

Six juniors from each club competed against each other in the inaugural event, with BGC represented by Justin Lee, Sklya Taylor, Marco Limans, Oscar Simpson, Timur Fattakhov, Lilly Dellar, Miheli Dissanayake, Sam Proskefalas and Allanah Factor.

For the record, BGC won the ‘final’, against Royal Queensland, five matches to one.

“The original thought when planning the concept was to start small – with four clubs – and see how it goes,” Mr Janison explained.

“And I can say the positivity from all involved – the juniors, their parents, the clubs and members in general – was terrific. It was actually quite amazing. From our point of view the concept will continue, and certainly has the potential to expand.”

NOTE: Asha Flynn, the BGC Women’s and Junior Development Manager, was last year named the National PGA Coach of the Year in Game Development. – TONY DURKIN