Pahrump Valley Junior Golf Association summer tournaments

The Pahrump Valley Junior Golf Association concluded play in their final summer tournament last weekend at Lakeview Executive Golf Course.

With tournaments being held the last couple months on Saturdays, co-program director Tori Peers, who grew up competing in the program herself, said the growth of her students has been fun to watch.

“They’re really growing into their game and they don’t want to lose, so their ball striking, especially this last month, has improved in leaps and bounds,” Peers said. “I love being around Pahrump, so being back and trying to give back to the community has been really rewarding.”

During this summer, the PVJGA focused on helping young golfers gain a better understanding of playing under official tournament rules while also hammering down on core fundamentals.

In tournament-style play, golfers are given nine holes to work on their driving, putting and striking skills.

Consistently competing weekly in practice and tournaments, Emmett Hopkins (5), Aydin Harding (7), Conner Nelsen (12), Daniel Smith (12) and Braydon Holseth (13) have been some of the core players for the PVJGA program.

“We have a strong group of five-to-seven year olds and a big group of middle school kids that we’re trying to continue to grow,” Peers said. “It’s really fun to watch the kids connect with each other and grow their friendships.”

In January, the PVJGA was relaunched by David Wilson and Peers to help foster in the next generation of local golf talent.

After having moved together back to Pahrump a couple of years ago, David and Tori found themselves wanting to establish a safe space for young golfers.

“The whole point of our program is to be a safe place to come out here, work on your game, learn how to play, learn the rules, and no one’s going to be judging you,” Wilson said. “We very much believe in the learning process. I understand it’s a marathon, not a sprint. So that’s why we want to start them young and keep them as consistent as we can.”

Partnering with golf legends Bob Hopkins and Larry Goins, who had a role in founding the original PVJGA, the program has been steadily gaining traction over the last seven months.

To offset the costs of the program’s activities, Tori and David have been hosting a weekly fundraiser called “Chase the Ace” every Tuesday night in the Mountain Falls Grill Room.

Participants can purchase raffle tickets for $1 which are drawn weekly. The lucky winner gets to choose a playing card from the board with values ranging from $50 to $100. If an Ace of Spades is pulled, the winner receives the current sitting jackpot.

“If your ticket gets drawn, it’s got a money prize associated with the card that you pick. It’s a really fun game,” Wilson said. “Everybody comes out and eats food, relaxes and has good conversation.”

The program has plans to take August off to allow students to adjust to the new school year but will resume in September with clinics and a monthly tournament.

“It’s really starting to pay off for them. It’s kind of nice when you get to see the fruits of their labor,” Wilson said. “The golf community in Pahrump has been awesome. David here at Lakeview has pretty much given us a tee time every week that we wanted. We’ve never had any issues with other players out here getting in people’s way. They’ve treated us like gold. And at Mountain Falls Golf Club, Elliot’s done the same thing.”

Contact Jacob Powers at jpowers@pvtimes.com. Follow @jaypowers__ on X.