The Official Publication of the Texas junior golf tour TJGT Players of the Month TJGT What’s in the Bag? TJGT Christmas Wish Lists! TJGT Class of 2010’s Chelsea Mocio from FW Arlington Heights December 2007 JGM Rolex Oyster Perpetual 29MM Lady-Datejust Pearlmaster Haltom's Fine Jewlers Since 1893 317 Main St. Fort Worth, TX 817-336-4051 Official Rolex Jeweler Rolex Oyster Perpetual, Datejust and Pearlmaster are Trademarks Mental Game How Do You Respond? with Jeff Troesch OK High School golfers, put yourself in this scenario: You are in the summer before your senior year of high school. You have qualifi ed for the US Junior Amateur (or US Junior Girls). You are being recruited by a couple of schools, and both the head coaches of those schools are on the fi rst tee as you step up to play on the fi rst day. Things go relatively smoothly, as you are even par after the fi rst three holes of play, with a relatively straight-forward Par 4 coming up. You fl air your tee shot a little to right, get a bad kick into some brush and have to take a penalty stroke. You take your drop and hit your next shot, which barely catches the lip of the green side bunker and plugs. You hit your next shot, but it is thinned over the green, and about three feet over the heads of both of the coaches that are watching, into a water hazard behind the green. Another drop, and a flop shot to a tucked pin. Hit it 12 feet past, and two- putt for the dreaded “snowman”- an 8 on this Par 4. How does this scenario sound? Honestly, if this was you, how do you think you would respond? There is the potential to be distracted by the circumstance (huge event), the outcome (quadruple bogie), and the feared consequences (“neither coach will want me now”). What is your reaction to this? The answer is signifi cant, because in the world of golf (and life!) how you respond to this state of affairs is more important that what is happening to you. And ultimately, the college coaches with whom I interact are more interested in how you handle yourself in this situation than they are interested in what your score is. With all the work and effort that you put into your swing and your putting stroke, the truth is that most players would do well to work as diligently on how they act in response to circumstances like the one above. Recognize that the thing that you can control in this situation is your reaction, and understand that the more you control your reactions, the better it is for your game, and for your enjoyment of the game. How about this hypothetical situation above? It actually happened, and I was caddying for the young lady for whom this occurred this summer. She responded by staying calm, telling herself that she was capable of playing well from that point forward, and that no coach is going to make a decision because of one poorly played hole. She went on to play well for the rest of that round. After the round one of the coaches approached me and told me that among the most impressive things in the five hour round about this player’s game was how she behaved herself when she was struggling on that hole. Several weeks later this coach offered this player a full scholarship to attend a fine university next season. That moment in that round, which had the potential to be the beginning of an emotional downward spiral, actually became the turning point in the decision that coach was making. A great example of how you as a junior player can make the best out of a seemingly stressful experience- simply by choosing to respond to it with the best of attitudes. JGM PLAYING COLLEGE GOLF MAKING THE “RIGHT CHOICE” IN A COLLEGE Jeff Mitchell ProjectGolf.org Wouldn’t it be nice if you felt like you had some control over the outcome of, in most cases, years of practice, tournaments, travel and hard work? Well now you can. In this article, I hope to show you how you can be more informed, more thorough, and more comfortable with a very important decision. To start with, do you have an idea of what a school needs to offer for you to get the ultimate collegiate experience? Make a list and rank them in level of importance. The list should contain: 1. How strong is the program? How strong has it been? 2. Does the school offer the Academic opportunities you are looking for? 3. Does the geographic location of the school serve your needs and those of your family? 4. How good are the facilities. Does the school have practice facilities and golf courses that are going to give you the opportunity to achieve your potential? 5. Is the Tournament schedule strong, with great places to play and great competition? 6. Are you comfortable with the Coaches philosophy on tournament qualifying, instruction, etc.? 7. Does the school have a budget that allows you to stay up to date with equipment and travel? 8. Will the current team make-up infl uence your ability to play? 9. Is the level of scholarship you need available and do you understand the coach’s philosophy in renewals? Scholarships are one-year renewable and changeable each year. 10. Does the school’s conference alignment positively impact your opportunities? Conclusions: You can find out a lot about schools on the internet. Every team has a website with a lot of pertinent information. Other ways of finding information include: current team members that you know, former team members you have a chance to visit with, and unoffi cial visits. If you formulate a well thought out criteria, you will be able to make the “Right Choice”. Create a College Comparison Chart using the following information to help along the way. Across the top of your chart list your top fi ve choices when it comes to where you would like to play. Down the lefthand side list the following selections: Golf Program Academic Opportunities Geographic Location Facilities Tournament Schedule The Coach Budget Current Team Make-up Scholarships Available Conference Alignment Now go back up to the top of your sheet and go down from each school and rank them from 1 to 5 with five being the best. Add up your totals at the bottom and rank the schools accordingly. This should help you in your quest to make the right choice. Jeff Mitchell is the Director of Project Golf.org and the Director of the TJGT’s College Bound Membership Program. He is a former PGA Tour player making 111 career cuts inclduing winning the 1980 Phoenix Open. He spent 14 years as a collegiate head coach at Stanford and Texas Tech. NEWS & NOTES tjgt announces director for new college bound membership program Quite simply, the TJGT’s motto is “Come Play With the Best”. TJGT announces one of THE BEST to direct the new College Bound Membership Program and become the TJGT’s College and Professional Golf Liaison. The TJGT has found one of THE BEST in Jeff Mitchell to run & manage the newly launched College Bound Membership Program. “I did not want just another assistant coach but a person with multiple years of running top level golf programs and a professional resume that would truly help parents and junior players”, says TJGT President Dave Jones. Jeff Mitchell’s resume includes fourteen years of Head Coaching experience at Stanford & Texas Tech. And, as a PGA Tour Winner (1980 Phoenix Open, over 110 career cuts made) he will continue to place TJGT as the leader in competitive junior golf tours. In his coaching career, Jeff coached many Academic All-Americans, numerous Academic All-Conference members, many All-Conference and All-American student/athletes. Jeff’s character and sincere desire to help junior players realize their dreams of playing collegiate golf will extend even more value to TJGT members. Jeff will also mentor our tour staff of over 60 High School golf coaches and counsel TJGT College Bound Members throughout each season. The TJGT is excited to have Jeff on board with the launch of the TJGT College Bound Membership Program. There is NO SUBSTITUTE for Head Coaching experience and Jeff will make a signifi cant impact on members whose desire is to receive a college scholarship playing this great game.” The TJGT organization has, over the past 8 1/2 years, produced over 850 collegiate golfers and our 2007 tour class saw 95% of TJGT seniors receive some level of scholarship. The TJGT is committed to leading the Junior Golf world in educating & informing players & parents on how to navigate the NCAA recruiting process as well as strategies for gaining exposure in the eyes of collegiate coaches. This program will be comprehensive in assisting and educating families on how to gain maximum exposure for scholarship opportunities and greatly assist families navigating the recruiting process. About Jeff Mitchell: Jeff Mitchell comes to the TJGT as the Director of PROJECT GOLF and as a 24-year PGA member with 23 years of teaching experience. Jeff played on the PGA Tour for eight years winning the Phoenix Open in 1980, registering thirteen top-ten fi nishes, and making 111 career cuts. Jeff is the 1978 Texas State Open Champion. Jeff was a golf coach for ten years at his alma mater, Texas Tech. Jeff coached the women’s team for all ten years. He was the Southwest Conference Coach of the Year in 1993 and 1996. He was Director of Golf over men and women from 1998-2000 while at Texas Tech. From there, Jeff moved to the men’s program at Stanford University and coached from 2000-2004. Jeff has conducted over 200 clinics and has been a Junior Golf Camp Director for fourteen years. Most recently Jeff was a runner up in the Golf Channel’s “Big Break VI”. TO THE PARENTS Bobby Minor, Publisher Tomorrow’s Not Promised Part 2: Last month in To The Parents I talked about tomorrow not being promised and we never know when our last time to play 18 holes will be. I was deeply saddened when I heard the news that 19-year-old Tanner Mayo would never play another round of golf because he died in a car accident coming home from a Halloween party last month. I was blessed to have known Tanner pretty well. He played several tournaments on the Young Guns Junior Golf Tour that I co-founded a few years back and he practiced frequently at Leonard Golf Links where my son and I have spent many hours practicing. If you know Tanner and ever saw his really cool white Ping Hoofer bag that he used, he got that from my son Caleb in a trade for a Nike bag he had. Tanner was a great kid and will be missed dearly. The following is an article that ran in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Posted on Sun, Oct. 28, 2007 2 teens killed as truck speeds out of control Five weeks ago, Stacey Murphy was widowed when her husband, John Murphy, was electrocuted while working as a lineman for Oncor Electric Delivery. On Saturday, she lost her older son. Tanner Mayo, 19, and his friend Christopher Loftin, 18, were killed when they were thrown from a pickup that veered off Farm Road 1187 near Benbrook, rolled over and fl ipped into a tree. A 17-year-old girl who was riding in the truck was injured. After her husband’s death in the accident in Forest Hill, Murphy said, Mayo had become a second father to his 5-year-old brother, Cade, picking him up from school and riding four-wheelers around their Fort Worth home. “Riding four-wheelers was just something Cade did with his daddy,” Murphy said. “Tanner tried to fill that gap somewhat. Cade loved his big brother. He said he was going to grow up to be as tall as his brother.” Mayo was driving the pickup when it crashed in the 7700 block of Farm Road 1187 just after 1 a.m. Saturday, according to a report from the Tarrant County medical examiner’s offi ce. Neither Mayo nor Loftin was wearing a seat belt. Deputies said the driver was speeding and lost control. The two teens were pronounced dead at the scene, the medical examiner’s report said. A 17-year-old passenger in the truck was taken by helicopter to a Fort Worth hospital with serious injuries. She told a deputy at the scene that she thought the truck was traveling more than 100 mph, according to Terry Grisham, executive administrator for the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department. Deputies did not identify the girl but said she was wearing a seat belt. Murphy said she didn’t know where Mayo and Loftin were going when they were killed. Mayo, a 2006 Aledo High School graduate, was living on his own while attending Weatherford College, where Loftin was also a student, she said. Mayo attended Western Texas College in Snyder on a golf scholarship last year before transferring to Weatherford College, Murphy said. He and Loftin, a 2007 Aledo High graduate, worked together at Crown Valley Golf Course in Weatherford until a month ago, she said. Mayo fi nished second in the Fort Worth city boys golf championship in 2006. He also played on the Aledo team that fi nished fi fth in the Class 4A state tournament in 2005. Murphy said her son quit his job so that he could concentrate on his studies and spend more time practicing before trying professional golf. “We told Tanner he needed two years of college before we would sponsor him for the PGA Tour,” Murphy said. “He was a good kid. Both him and Chris were good kids.” God bless you Tanner... 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