Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36You’re never too young to GIGL Good reading material helps build their game GIGL has grown dramatically in just a few years 30 | January 2017 #juniorgolfmag Visit us at juniorgolfmag.net Golf Needs More Girls & GIGLs W hile rooting for Team USA during the 2013 Solheim Cup with my little sister Sadie, I became inspired to join an all-girls golf team. Unfortunately, no such team existed for a 10-year old girl like me anywhere in New England. So Sadie and I formed our own team and, with assistance from our parents, created an entire league called the Girls Independent Golf League. With GIGL (pronounced “giggle”) as the acronym, the motto became, “Golf Needs More Girls and Giggles.” We hoped to get three or four teams to participate. To say we exceeded our expectations would be an understatement. This season GIGL amazingly averaged 20 teams and over 200 girls at its alter- nate-shot, team tournaments. GIGL events take place at MGA Links in Norton, Mass., a par-3 course owned by the Massachusetts Golf Association in conjunction with The First Tee Program. The course has a large stash of golf clubs for our players to use for free. Merchants of Golf and Golphin have also donated clubs for the GIGL girls. Last year GIGL, which charges no membership fee, became an official 501(c)(3) non-profit orga- nization. Nobody associated with GIGL makes a dime from the modest $ 10 entry fees. Companies like Antigua, Garb, Serenity Hair De- signs, Titleist and Wiffle, Inc. have helped to keep the costs down with generous donations. The most incredible support, however, has come from the people who run our clinics that precede the tournaments. Some of those “GIGL Experts” include Hall of Famers Pat Bradley and Kay McMahon, current LPGA stars Brittany Altomare and Megan Khang, as well as former LPGA greats Michelle Bell, Pamela Kerrigan Johnson and Naree Song. All of this enthusiasm for GIGL has led to steady expansion. Last year we started a separate league called GIGL Plus, for experienced golfers. While still a team format, the matches are 9 holes of stroke play on full par-36 courses. This year a course called Stone-E-Lea, in Attleboro, Mass., allowed us to stage two-day 36-hole tournaments there – and they counted in the Jr. Golf Score- board rankings. We are now in the process of expanding GIGL to areas outside of Massachusetts. PGA Pro Mark Psensky is already getting things underway in the Chicago area. And after the Golf Channel aired a segment on GIGL this past season, there has been interest in setting up leagues in Canada, England and even Australia. To help bring GIGL to a course near you, just contact my dad at dbarend@comcast.net or visit www.giglgolf.com. If you want girls to golf it definitely helps if you can get them to giggle or, better yet, GIGL. Jillian Barend, now 14, lives in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, where she continues to work on her steadily improving golf game. BYJILLIANBAREND We hoped to get three or four teams to participate. To say we exceeded our expectations would be an understatement. This season GIGL amazingly averaged 20 teams and over 200 girls at its alternate-shot, team tournaments. Junior Rising Star Mia Gray 11 years old • Winner by 13 shots of George Holliday Memorial Junior Championship • Winner of season tour for Brunswick First Tee program • Undefeated for season against girls up to 17 years old • Team Captain of PGA Junior League team • Can drive the ball 240 yards Mia consistently outdrives the older boys and has won the local long drive competition two years in a row. Keep blasting away, Mia!