| ELIGIBILITY:
1. Junior golfers with demonstrated financial hardship, with current family circumstances that either preclude or very substantially limit the ability to pay junior golf tournament entry fees with approved and recognized junior golf associations in Southern California.
2. Juniors need to demonstrate reasonable competitive backgrounds in either recognized junior tournaments or school competitions. Junior golfers with limited competitive backgrounds may still be eligible based upon their stated golfing goals and a favorable recommendation from an approved tournament operator or golf professional indicating a readiness to begin playing competitively. Note: Juniors just starting golf instruction or only playing recreationally should not apply to this program. Significant playing experience and knowledge of rules and golf etiquette are essential prerequisites for this program. For juniors seeking more basic and still affordable forms of instruction and introductory competition, PLGA can refer you to various other programs with which it is associated.
3. Juniors (17 or younger at the time of application) not currently attending college or junior college may apply. Aid is available annually from the time of grant through the following June 30th. Applications will be accepted all throughout the year even though the program cycle goes from July 1st to June 30th.
PROGRAM CRITERIA AND BENEFITS:
1. The maximum amount of aid per junior is established each year. Juniors can receive aid for any number of tournaments (no minimum or maximum) annually subject to remaining funds and co-payments as described below. Grants given after December 31st may be prorated to a lower amount for the remainder of the year.
2. Aid is generally only available for actual and direct competition costs, and therefore typically may not be used for membership into junior golf associations. However, effective 7-1-09, we will (subject to approval) pay 100% of the applicable annual membership fee for the SCPGA Junior Tour for qualified applicants. This application needs to be made directly to SCPGA, which will then contact us. Also effective 7-1-09 since SCPGA offers direct financial aid, applicants may only apply to the PLGA program for assistance to play in SCPGA events once they have demonstrated that they have fully exhausted the aid offered by SCPGA and that their case is one of extreme financial hardship.
3. Level of aid available per tournament – This program is designed to assist juniors, but does not cover 100% of the entry fee into any tournaments. In each case, the junior or his/her family will be responsible for a portion of the entry fee (co-payment). For one-round tournaments on short (non-regulation) courses, the junior shall pay the tournament operator a $25 co-payment, and then PLGA will cover the balance, subject to remaining grant funds in the junior’s account. For one-round tournaments on regulation courses, the junior shall pay the tournament operator a $30 co-payment, and then PLGA will cover the balance, subject to remaining grant funds in the junior’s account. For two-round tournaments on regulation courses, the junior’s co-payment will be doubled to $60 subject to the same provisions above. Any other situations will be reviewed and determined by PLGA on a case by case basis.
4. Financial Aid is available for one-day or for multi-round tournaments (subject to the provisions in #8 below regarding multi-round tournaments).
5. Program guidelines and funding levels may be changed during the year depending on program demand and annual resources.
6. Any exceptions to any published guidelines will be considered on a case by case basis, along with requests for financial assistance to enter and/or cover travel expenses for regional or national golf competitions or requests for lower co-payments under cases of extreme financial hardship.
7. Aid under this program is not transferable and may only be used by the junior for which it has been approved.
8. PLGA shall receive a status report from the tournament operator on each approved junior participant after he/she has completed playing in the first two tournaments using this financial aid program. This review shall include various factors including but not necessarily limited to level of conduct and sportsmanship, playing ability, timeliness and whether any information provided by the junior and/or his/her parents/guardian on this application should come into question or be found misleading or inaccurate in any way. PLGA reserves the right to discontinue benefits and terminate any juniors from this program for cause after these initial two tournaments, or for that matter at any future time upon the discovery of any information deemed by PLGA to disqualify the applicant. Any reported conduct by any junior deemed inconsistent with the rules of golf or sprit of competition or general good sportsmanship shall also be grounds for immediate suspension of program benefits. Unless an exception is granted by PLGA, financial aid may not be used for multi-round tournaments until after the junior golfer has been successfully recommended following this initial two-tournament phase.
HOW TO APPLY AND RECEIVE FUNDING:
1. The junior golfer and his/her parent or guardian must submit the application form printed below annually to PLGA. It may be submitted at any time during the year, and will determine eligibility through the following June 30th.
2. PLGA’s goal is to notify each applicant within two (2) weeks of its receipt of a completed application. Incomplete applications may cause undue delays or simply be rejected. We may need to contact you with questions or for additional information in some cases. Requests for further information or application clarification may be via email or by phone, and will only be by letter if these two means are not available. Final application decisions will be sent by email and only through U.S. mail if email is not available.
3. Financial aid is only available for approved junior tournaments and tours. However, any event may be deemed eligible by PLGA on a case by case basis subject to its prior review and consent.
4. The Johnson Junior Golf Tour (JJGT) is currently our preferred provider under this program, and using the PLGA aid program for its tournaments is very simple. Once approved for the year’s financial assistance, the junior simply submits his/her entry to Russ Johnson/JJGT with the designated co-payment (see above). Upon completion of the tournament and verification of participation, PLGA will then directly remit the applicable aid and remaining entry fee directly to the tournament operator (done monthly). The tournament operator shall be responsible for verifying that each junior seeking entrance with financial assistance has been properly approved by PLGA for this program for the current year, is in good standing and has sufficient credit remaining in his/her account for the balance equal to the difference between the tournament entry fee and the co-payment amount. JJGT and junior participants will receive periodic reports showing their financial aid account balances and remaining available funds throughout the year.
To use the program for aid in non-JJGT events, please first contact Lew Murez (marnina@earthlink.net or 310 529-4424). Upon approval, generally you will need to pay the full amount to the tournament operator in advance, and then obtain reimbursement from PLGA after participation in the event has been verified.
5. At the end of each calendar year, each participating parent will receive a short progress report and program evaluation form to complete. Returning this form directly to PLGA annually is mandatory. Any applications received the following year from applicants who did not return these forms the previous year may automatically be rejected.
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The PLGA Foundation is committed to promoting more opportunities for organized competitive golf at all levels, but it starts with Junior Golf. For a number of years, the Foundation has informally assisted junior golfers with economic need from throughout Southern California to play in various tournaments that their families otherwise would have not been able to afford.After studying how we could best assist junior golf at the present time, the PLGA Foundation has designated funds to launch a formalized and expanded version of this long standing initiative. The documents available here set forth our new Junior Golf Financial Aid Program, with an inception date of July, 2008.