We take great pride at Rothley in having one of the best and most active junior sections in the county.
There are regular junior competitions throughout the school holidays, and once they have gained an official handicap juniors are encouraged to play in the ladies’ and gentlemen’s competitions.
Katie, our assistant professional, runs regular coaching sessions on Saturdays during the summer months that are open to members’ and non-members’ children and provide an excellent introduction to golf.
2006 has been a fantastic year for the Junior Team with the honour of being Leicestershire Junior Champions and representing the County in October at the National Finals at Woodhall Spa.
We have a thriving junior section and offer social golf, competitions and coaching for all standards at our fabulous established parkland course.
We are a friendly private members club. All members and their guests observe traditional standards of dress, course etiquette and polite behaviour.
Our club is committed to offering a friendly, fair and safe environment for the junior members. It may assure parents or guardians to know that we have recently achieved the nationally recognised “Junior Golf Mark”. This is a formal guide or code of conduct for golf clubs and covers all aspects of their involvement with juniors.
Our junior members enjoy almost unlimited access to the course and facilities. For this reason we ensure that conduct, playing etiquette, rules and finally mentoring for official competitions are taught, and tested at appropriate stages of their development.
Please find below a brief information list, based on the most commonly asked questions. If you are interested in joining you can contact the office on 0116 2302809.
Frequently Asked Questions
What age is a junior member? Under 18 years of age, by 1st April of the new summer season.
What is the youngest allowed? If always accompanied by an adult playing member, there is no strict rule but this is usually above 9 years old. Normal junior membership (unrestricted) is based on the individual playing standard, linked with safe conduct and etiquette experience – usually around 11 years old.
What is the cost? Approximately £140 per annum. There is no joining fee for juniors.
What standard do you have to be? If you generally are scoring 3 over par or less per hole. Or if you are attending coaching sessions and your PGA professional advises joining a club, we will consider your application.
What experience of course etiquette is needed prior to joining? If you already play golf on a regular basis, have a handicap or attend our Junior Coaching sessions, you will not be required to take an etiquette check. However you do require an etiquette test the charge is £15 and should be arranged via our Professional Shop tel:0116 2302809. This charge halves if we can arrange another applicant to also attend. The charge for group coaching is £4.00 per session and there is a minimum of 6 sessions.
When is RPGC improvement and etiquette coaching available? These are run in groups between May and September on Saturday afternoons by Katie Tebbet our assistant PGA Professional. If you attend these and inform Katie of your interest in becoming a member, she will inform the Junior Organiser when you are ready to join.
Are there junior only competitions? Yes, during all school holidays we play stableford points competitions open to all juniors including those with a junior handicap (between 28 and 54). In the summer holiday these are weekly. We try and mix the playing partnerships each time and this is a great way for the members to make new friends. We also have traditional annual board events e.g. Junior Knockout, Summer Cup, Holiday Cup. These are mainly for official handicap players.
Can juniors with official handicaps enter the club competitions? Yes they are welcome, but must accompany an adult competitor.
Can girls join and also enter the junior competitions? Yes they are very welcome.
How does a junior get an official handicap? The junior organiser monitors and amends the junior handicaps according to competition performances and general play. These often improve dramatically with regular play. When the gross scores regularly fall below 100, a rules test and competition mentor programme is arranged. After these are successfully completed, we approve entrance into the official C.O.N.G.U. system. You are then entitled to play in all RPGC competitions with adults and indeed in any open competition in the world!
What entitlements does a junior member have? Free access to the course (when competitions are not being playing). Access to the practice ground, clubhouse, changing rooms, showers etc. Members may sign in guests occasionally at reduced green fees. Members may enter all club competitions and be selected for club teams once official handicap is achieved. There are usually competition entry fees to fund prizes (reduced for juniors).
Is there a junior team? Yes, we enter a County Match-play league and play against other local clubs home and away. A keen player with a handicap of below 20 will have a good chance of making the team.
Are there opportunities for the better players to advance? Yes – we offer free coaching sessions at the beginning of the season for the junior league team squad. We also have links to the County who will offer free coaching and matches for the elite players. The senior scratch team play against the top teams in the county. Young players with a handicap of 5 or below would be welcome to join this squad.
What are the next steps for an application?
Most new applicants are beginners and we need to check the playing standard and on course etiquette. The easiest way to do this is by attending Katie Tebbet’s junior group coaching sessions held on Saturday afternoons. Katie works from the Pro shop and is an assistant PGA professional.
If this is not convenient, or not necessary, our etiquette test must be attended prior to your application being further processed. This is also run by Katie who joins applicants for 3 holes of play.
Once we are happy with your playing standard and etiquette knowledge, we will arrange a meeting with our Junior Organiser. He will explain all other aspects and benefits of membership and then quickly process your application.
We hope all the above information helps your decision and explains the process. If you decide to apply, we look forward to meeting with you shortly.
If you require any further information please contact:
JOHN HARDWICK our Junior Organiser:
Home: 01509 236858
Mobile: 07860 841874
Email: john@double-disc.co.uk
OR The office on 0116 2302809 or Email: admin@rothleypark.co.uk
