General Background Information 2024 1.1 2024 is the twenty-ninth year of the Junior Team Golf Home Nations Championship. Twenty four years ago the format was enhanced to identify the Junior Team Golf Champions of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales and then bring the four club teams together for the Home Nations Junior Team Golf Home Nations Championship (the JTGHN Championship). Prior to 2001 it was a two team final with there being no recognition of standing within a home nation country.
1.2 10 years later in 2011, coinciding with the establishment of the competition being featured on the SKY Golf mainstream schedules as a stand alone programme, the number of places in the JFGHN Championship increased from four to eight clubs. In 2023 the number of clubs participating was further increased to 12, including JTG’s First ever all girls team, the All Ireland girls champions, Westport, Connacht.
1.3 Over 1,500 clubs with close to one million members (i.e. in excess of 50% of GB & Ireland golf clubs) compete in the Championship. On average, each of the competing clubs have junior sections of around 60 youngsters i.e. close to 100,000 young golfers At least 25,000 juniors (18 and under, boys and girls), participate in approximately 100 junior leagues or similar competitions throughout Great Britain and Ireland, throughout the year. Success in these competitions earns clubs the right to be invited to play in an England, Scotland or Wales Regional Qualifier (see §1.4 below) teams progress to national semi-finals and hence to a National Final, as appropriate.
1.4 Since 2000 many of the Walker/Ryder and Curtis/Solheim Cup squads have contained players such as Matt FitzPatrick, Grant Forrest, Georgia Hall & Charlie Hull who have previously played in National or Home Nations JTG championship Finals. There are many more who have gone on to have careers as European Tour Professionals. Every year several junior internationals from the four Home Nations feature in the grand final. In these Championships, elite players find themselves playing alongside the mass of double-figure handicap teenage golfers who are the future backbone of the game.
1.5 Over fifty Regional Qualifiers and Semi-finals will be staged in June/July and in September/October. The Winner and, possibly the Runners up, from each Regional Qualifier will go forward to play in one of the ten National Semi Finals – Kirkhill (West), MacDonalds Cardrona (East) & Montrose (North) in Scotland, Lantrissant (South) & Mold (North) in Wales and Worksop (Midlands), Hexham (North East), Carlisle (North West), The Drift (South East) and Royal North Devon (South West) in England. These are followed during October by National Finals staged at Stirling in Scotland, Crowborough Beacons, Tunbridge Wells in England and Ashburnham, Llannelli in Wales and finally to the Home Nations Championship Final played over three days in March 2025
1.6 The Home Nations Championship Final (JTGHNF) see §1.5 above features the four National Champions and normally four National Runners up playing practice rounds followed by two/four stroke play and then two match play rounds over 18 holes.
1.7 The JTG 2024/25, together with the JTG England and JTG Scotland National Finals, plus, for the first time, the JTG Wales National Invitational Finals, will be the subject of a future programme which will be offered for broadcast on You Tube in the Summer 2025. During the course of the qualification process in the Autumn there will be a number of short e.g. five minute “promo” programmes placed on YouTube. During the course of the JTGHN Final there will be a series of taster programmes placed on YouTube. The YouTube version of the Home Nations Final including the JTG National Finals will be posted on www.juniorteamgolf.co.uk as indicated above. 1.8.1 The official squads for each team in the regional qualifiers, National Semi Finals, and National Final comprises six players and one/two junior organisers/managers plus one/two reserves. The squads are usually accompanied by an equal number of supporters, plus, for each of the National Finals and Home Nations Final, the JTG management and TV teams
1.8.2 The official squad for the Home Nations Final comprises eight players, plus one/two team managers/pros, a Chef de Mission and one or two reserve players for each of the participating teams i.e. over 100 pax In addition, a TV crew, journalists, sponsors and management – approx.. 20 pax. Note: For the Home Nations Final, the official squad indicated above is accompanied by an average of a further 12 supporters per competing club. i.e. another 60+ pax.
1.9 The JTGHN Championship has grown into one of the biggest and most prestigious junior team tournaments in the world. It is the only one in the British Isles. It is supported by the R&A, the four Golf Unions and the Golf Foundation.
1.10 Editorial coverage is achieved in regional/local newspapers, specialist golf publications and some national newspapers. Home Nations and National finals normally achieve “regional” news coverage in press, radio and television. To a lesser extent this is replicated for semi-finals and qualifiers.
1.11 Social media platforms assure interaction between players, past and present, as well as clubs, venues and JTG general supporters
1.12 As well as the title sponsorship to individual finals, i.e. all regional/quarter finals, semi- finals, England, Scotland and Wales National Finals, the Title/Co-title sponsorship of the Home Nations Championship as a whole, is also currently available. There is also a number of associate sponsor packages available at all stages of the competition.
1.13 The concept of venues entering into three to six year contracts with JTG, (the Championship organisers), to stage four regional/semi/national finals is now in its sixth year, having been introduced for the 2019 championships. In parallel with this development, the opportunity was created for brands to identify with a venue by becoming title sponsors to the relevant regional or national finals for the same three to six year period. Both venues and title sponsors usually start by agreeing to a one year package with an option to extend for a further two to five years
1.14It is planned to develop and licence similar National competitions in other countries in Western Europe in the near future, in parallel with the Home Nations final. Hence there will be the basis for establishing a European Championship, and eventually a Europe v USA Ryder Cup format event.