Atlanta's home for
  junior golf since 1974

ATLANTA - The 2006 Annual Awards Banquet was held at Druid Hills Golf Club on Friday, September 8, 2006. Over 80 juniors in attendance were recognized for their outstanding performances on the golf course and in the classroom.

The AJGA was honored to have Mr. Walter Driver, President of the United States Golf Association, as the guest speaker for the event. Mr. Driver talked about the value of junior golf programs and stressed the importance of administrators, volunteers, parents and participants that make these programs successful. He reinforced the life-long benefits the game of golf has to offer, including the life lessons that can be learned and the friendships that can be made. Mr. Driver spoke fondly of the many memories and opportunities he has been afforded by being a part of the game and its various associations, such as the GSGA and the USGA. In closing he discussed the role of the modern USGA and expressed his hopes that we all will someday have the opportunity to, in some way, give back to the game of golf.

Each year juniors are recognized in the following categories: All-AJGA Teams (comprised of the top 10 juniors in each open Division and the top 5 juniors in each Club Division), All-AJGA Academic Team (juniors must be in high school and have a GPA of 3.5 or above), Most Improved Male and Female, Most Improved Aires (a program developed to engage inner city youth in the game of golf), Overall Boys and Girls Grand Champions, MAADA Award (named after our presenting sponsor and awarded to the junior with the most points overall at the end of the season) and the Male and Female Sportsmanship Awards (awarded to one male and one female who most demonstrate outstanding sportsmanship voted on by over 40 summer staff members).

This year's Most Improved Male award went to Anders Albertson from the Boys 12 and Under Advanced Open Division. In 2005 Anders had a stroke average of 76.2. Over nine rounds of golf in 2006, Anders’ stroke average dropped to 69.8. Anders was also awarded with a plaque for the Record Low Season Stroke Average for his play in 2006. The Most Improved Female award was won by Blaire Minter in the Advanced Open Girls Division. Blaire’s 2006 stroke average was 78 – a 4.5 stroke improvement over her 2005 stroke average of 82.5.  The Most Improved Player in the Aires Program was won by Wesley Gilmore whose stroke average dropped from 83.8 in 2005 to 77.7 in 2006. Wesley participated in the Advanced Open Boys 12 & Under division.

The Overall Boys and Girls Grand Champion perpetual trophies were awarded to Hanna Suh and John Stembridge respectively. Defending champion, Hannah, shot rounds of 74-78-72 for a tournament total of 224 to win her second consecutive championship. John, also with a tournament total of 224, recorded rounds of 71-77-76 to claim the boy’s division title.

Hannah Suh also captured the 2006 MAADA Award, claiming three 1^st place finishes, one 2^nd place finish and two 3^rd place finishes during the regular season. Hannah finished with a total of 197.5 points, beating Anders Albertson by just 2.5 points.

The 2006 Sportsmanship Awards were presented to Jonathan Keppler and Jordan Pence. For the first time in AJGA history, both winners of this award were chosen from the Intermediate Open Divisions. The Sportsmanship Award is presented each year to one male and one female player who exemplify the meaning of the word “sportsmanship”. These juniors go above and beyond the regular expectations of displaying etiquette and sportsmanship-like qualities on the golf course. The winners of this award are selected by the AJGA staff members who spend the summers at the tournaments with the juniors.

Please see the lists below for the All-AJGA and All-AJGA Academic Team members.

* Denotes Player of the Year which is awarded to the player with most points overall in each age division.

2006 All-Atlanta Junior Golf Teams