Why Drive, Chip & Putt is the best event in junior golf

I have been blessed with the opportunity to play many tournaments over the course of my golf career, from local junior events to the U.S. Women’s Amateur. However, nothing will top the 2017 Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club. 

The Drive, Chip and Putt is a nationwide junior golf competition put on by the Masters Tournament, the United States Golf Association and the PGA of America. Aimed at growing the game among young players, this program tackles golf’s history of exclusion and emphasizes making it accessible to everyone. Local qualifiers are running now through July for the National Finals in 2026, and I strongly urge every parent of a young golfer to consider signing their children up to participate.

It is no secret that golf is an expensive sport. If a child wants to get into the game, parents must consider the cost of clubs, lessons, tee times, tournament registration fees and travel. The Masters flipped this script by making the Drive, Chip & Putt free for anyone to enter. The first level of qualifying occurs at 357 sites, averaging over seven per state and giving young golfers the chance to participate in a high-profile competition with minimal cost to their families. When I qualified for the final stage at Augusta, flights, hotels, transportation and food were all covered. Growing up in a family that was conscious of the expense of traveling and playing in tournaments, having the financial burden removed and being able to focus on enjoying the event was a blessing. 

For kids entering the game for the first time, the concept of playing 18 holes for more than 4-5 hours can be very overwhelming. The Drive, Chip & Putt is much shorter as kids only have nine shots to hit: three drives, three chips and three putts. I was 12 years old when I started playing in 18-hole tournaments for the first time. I went from seeing tournaments like fun nine-hole events where I could hang out with my friends to more serious competitions where scores were paramount. This was initially exhausting and draining, but when I participated in the DCP, I was reminded of why I loved the game.  

Throughout my experience at the local, subregional, regional and national levels of the Drive, Chip & Putt, I never felt like I was just a player. At every stage, I received gifts like ball markers, backpacks and towels, and the staff were always the first to cheer me on. Then, when I made it to the finals, the Masters took the term “southern hospitality” to the next level.  

We were welcomed at the airport with a huge “Welcome Players” banner, and a chauffeur drove us to a hotel in downtown Augusta. Equipped with free hitting bays, practice greens, a bottomless candy and snack supply, games and a pool, this hotel was a child’s (or any golfer’s) dream stay. Just a couple of minutes down the road, there was a course to practice at, decorated with Drive, Chip & Putt banners.  

The night before the event, The Masters hosted a player’s banquet where I met Chairman of Augusta National Fred Ridley, then-Executive Producer of the Golf Channel Molly Solomon, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, golf instructor Michael Breed, Oregon golf legend Peter Jacobsen and LPGA great Annika Sorenstam (just to name a few). I have been able to maintain some of these connections, which have shaped my future career after graduation.  

On the day of the competition, we were provided with shirts, hats and players’ pins that represented the region we were from (I wore white for the Northwest). We drove down Magnolia Lane and were dropped by the driving range, where I saw Vijay Singh hitting balls about 10 spots away. When we walked up to the driving competition, Jordan Spieth gave us high fives in his green jacket. I wasn’t sure if my heart was going to completely stop or explode out of my chest.

Unlike the previous stages, at the National Finals players hit two drives, chips, and putts instead of three. The competition started on the main driving range, where players warm up before The Masters. The stands behind us were packed with families, members and guests, and I had never seen so many people watching me hit a golf ball in my life. I actually wasn't incredibly nervous at this point, in each of the previous competition stages I kept all of my drives in the fairway so I had some confidence that I could continue that trend here. The biggest thought I had walking up to the tee box was "I hope I am not aiming too far right (a tendency of mine) and pulling left, because then everyone in the stands will see it." My drives may not have been the longest in the field, and I am not exactly sure how accurate my aim was, but I did manage to keep them in the fairway and walk to the second stage, chipping, with my head held high.

The chipping competition was held on a practice green in the Tournament Practice Area of Augusta National. The shot was about 15 yards, sloping uphill and slightly right to left when the ball slowed down. This was the only place where my Dad, walking alongside me as my caddie, and I had a disagreement in strategy. I wanted to hit my comfort club, a 60-degree wedge, but my Dad encouraged me to at least take a sand wedge up there and play more of a bump-and-run shot. So, I took two clubs to the tee box and, with shaky hands, hit the sand wedge on my first chip. Unfortunately I underestimated the roll of Augusta's greens and rolled the chip 11 feet by. I saw this as justification for my strategy and immediately pulled out the 60-degree wedge, hitting the second chip to three feet. In hindsight, I should not have been rewarded for that decision, but I suppose the golf gods saw fit to cut me a break just that once.

After chipping, we were taken to another practice green to warm up for 10 minutes before the official putting competition. I dropped my first ball about 10 feet from the pin, hit the putt and watched my ball roll 20 feet past the hole and off the green. I wish that was an exaggeration.

As I was led from the practice green to the 18th hole, where the putting competition took place, I felt more nervous than I ever had before in my life. The first putt was 30 feet uphill before flattening by the pin, tempting players such as myself to overestimate the force required and smash it by. Terrified of repeating the fiasco on the practice green, I left my putt three feet short and quickly walked to the second putt. The final putt was a 15-footer running straight downhill and sloping heavily right-to-left. With the camera directly in front of me, I hit that putt with confidence and thought it was in the hole the minute it came off the face. Unfortunately it just slipped by, but I kept it close enough to the hole that I still received points.

I placed seventh out of the 10 competitors in my division, which made the competitor in me upset at the time. It was a competition of inches, as a roll of the golf ball on these lightning greens was the difference between 20 points and none. However, looking back I can say with certainty that standing on the 18th green as one of the few women allowed to play or compete at Augusta at the time (this was before the Augusta National Women's Amateur) was the most incredible moment of my golf career to date. 

After the last putt dropped, the players and their families had lunch in the Founder’s Club before returning to the hotel. Thankfully, the magic wasn’t over.

The next day, we all got tickets to watch the Monday practice round and walk the hallowed grounds of Augusta National alongside members and other guests. Throughout my time on the property those two special days, the members of Augusta National went out of their way to welcome us, sharing stories that made us feel welcome at one of the most exclusive clubs in the world. 

A few weeks later, after we’d returned home, we received a package from The Masters with a flash drive containing the television broadcast of the event and professional photos that I will treasure forever. In the dozens of tournaments I have been privileged enough to play, none have made me feel as special or valued as the Drive, Chip & Putt. 

Looking back, my biggest piece of advice for players considering entering the Drive, Chip & Putt is to practice what you will see: 15-yard chips, 6, 30, and, 15-foot putts from all angles, and drives between self-created 40-yard fairways (for example, hitting drives between two trees on the range), and continually keeping score on your performance just like the competition. This practice plan set me up for success and got me to Augusta National, and I hope it can help do the same for you.

Local qualifiers - you can find the dates and locations here - continue through July, so if you’re wondering if your child/children should sign up, I highly suggest that they do it. Drive, Chip & Putt didn’t just make me a better golfer, it reminded me of why I play. Every kid deserves that chance.