BGA Junior Golf Academy
High-Performance Junior Golf Pathway
The Junior Academy (Elite Program) is designed for top junior golfers who are committed to competing at a high level and striving to become among the best in the country.
This program is the next progression after Future Stars and represents a shift from development to high-performance training, where players are expected to take ownership of their preparation, practice, and performance.
🏆 Who This Program Is For
Highly committed junior golfers competing at provincial and national level
Players progressing from Future Stars
Juniors aiming for elite junior rankings and long-term performance pathways
Families who understand that elite performance requires time, discipline, and accountability
👉 Progression Pathway:
Young Guns → Future Stars → Junior Academy (Elite)
Entry is by assessment and invitation only.
🧠 Elite Player Development Focus
At this level, players are developed as complete performance athletes, focusing on:
Advanced problem-solving and decision-making
Technical consistency under pressure
Ownership of practice and preparation
Emotional control and resilience
Professional habits, communication, and self-reflection
Players are guided, but also expected to take responsibility for their own game.
📱 CoachNow – Accountability & Transparency
All Junior Academy players receive:
A personal CoachNow training space
Compulsory practice video uploads
Weekly goals, drills, and coach feedback
Full documentation of training and progress
Parents are connected and can see exactly what their child is working on, creating transparency and accountability.
🕒 Weekly Training Structure
This program combines coaching, supervised practice, competition, and on-course performance, supported both in person and online.
Monday – Practice & Partial Supervision
Open practice day
Coaches available to guide, assist, and correct
Focus on applying previous coaching
Tuesday | 3:00 – 6:00
Technical coaching and performance training
Structured practice blocks
5:00 – 6:00: Chipping & Putting Competition
Played on the 10-hole short-course
Winner receives a golf ball
Short winner interview uploaded to CoachNow
Wednesday – On-Course Performance
9-hole competitive round
Course management and decision-making
Pre- and post-round evaluation
Thursday | 3:00 – 6:00
Coaching session (technique & performance focus)
Reinforcement of weekly objectives
5:00 – 6:00: Chipping & Putting Platform Competition
Friday – Supervised Practice
Guided practice environment
Coaches oversee and assist
Players upload practice videos to CoachNow
Reinforces discipline and ownership
Saturday | 9:00 – 12:00
Catch-up session if a day was missed
Optional supervised practice
🧠 Mental Performance & Lifestyle Support (Optional Add-On)
Mental performance support is available as an optional add-on, not included in the base program.
This includes the TAIS – Attentional and Interpersonal Style Inventory, a powerful mental performance assessment used to understand:
Focus patterns
Pressure responses
Competitive behaviour
Interpersonal tendencies
This process is led by Hendrik Buhrmann (Head Performance Coach), who has specialised in the mental side of golf for over 18 years.
The TAIS process has been used with elite professionals such as
Louis Oosthuizen,
Richard Sterne, and
Dean Burmester.
Mental coaching, tournament support, and pre-/post-event evaluations are available online and during competition periods.
💪 Physical Support & Assessments
Physical assessments conducted by Willie van der Berg (out-contracted specialist)
Movement and conditioning aligned with golf performance
Coaches provide ongoing basic movement and technique-related exercises
Ensures physical readiness without overloading junior athletes
👨🏫 Coaching & Performance Oversight
Program delivery supported by Andre Louw and Ross
Overseen by Hendrik Buhrmann, ensuring:
Training quality and structure
Correct development pace
Alignment between practice, competition, and long-term goals
🎯 Purpose of the Junior Academy (Elite)
Prepare juniors for elite-level competition
Develop independent, disciplined performers
Build consistency under pressure
Create professional habits on and off the course
Support long-term performance pathways
This is not just coaching — it is an elite development environment.
We’ve Coached more than 150 tournament winners at BGA
“FIVE WAYS TO PICK A HIGH-QUALITY TEACHER OR COACH
Great teachers, coaches, and mentors, like any rare species, can be identiɹed by a few
characteristic traits. The following rules are designed to help you sort through the
candidates and make the best choice for yourself.
1) Avoid Someone Who Reminds You of a Courteous Waiter
2) Seek Someone Who Scares You a Little
3) Seek Someone Who Gives Short, Clear Directions
4) Seek Someone Who Loves Teaching Fundamentals
5) Other Things Being Equal, Pick the Older Person
”
Coaching Staff
ANDRE LOUW
Andre is heading up as head coach for the academy, Andre is a PGA of South Africa graduate with a National Certificate in Officiating and Coaching Sciences. He attended TUT Golf Academy in 2005 and 2006 and won his Zululand Colors for Golf from 2000–2002.
Andre has 5 years of experience in the competitive golf world and 26 year in coaching. Learn more about Andre.
Hendrik Buhrmann
Seasoned professionals, Hendrik Buhrmann, head up the performance coaching at BGA.
Hendrik has 40 years of experience in the competitive golf world and 20 year in coaching. Learn more about Hendrik.
Hendrik Buhrmann
Ross Theron
Ross Theron is a fully qualified PGA Professional with a passion for junior golf development. Known for his clear communication and positive energy, Ross creates a supportive environment where young players learn, improve, and grow in confidence.g. Learn more about Ross.
Program Content
In its broadest sense, our training program can be divided into 4 parts, Mental, Physical, Technical and Strategic aspects of the game.
At the BGA Golf Academy, you will work with coaching team for the duration of the time. Unlike other popular academy’s, the student sees little of the head instructor. At BDGA, the student actually works directly with top coach’s at the academy.
Discipline, ownership, and respect in our academic curriculum are a feature of life here, but also demonstrate a track record of academic achievement in their school work.
Competitive Training Cycle
Various elements that influence a player's skills
We follow a systematic training approach and give attention to the various elements that play into a player’s skill development. We utilize times of Teaching, Coaching and Group Training to help players develop their skills and knowledge of the game.
Golf Facilities
Eagle Canyon Golf Estate in Johannesburg, South Africa is the home of the BGA Golf Academy. It is a fantastic facility, with Championship golf course, kikuyu grass driving range with large grass teeing area, golf studio, gym, spa, luxurious club house and a big, bent grass chipping green with two greenside bunkers
Large grass teeing area.
Studio and short game area with course in background.
Luxurious clubhouse
Driving range has the best chipping green in Johannesburg
Pitching range with short game targets inspired by Zach Johnson
Greens on range
Targets for testing and skills assessments, driving, iron play, short game
Physical Training
We work in conjunction with Willie Van Berg.
A dedicated physical trainer implementing the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) concept.
Individualised screening and program development for each student is outsource
Integration of fitness routines to enhance overall athletic performance, not part of the fee
WHY BGA ?
The answer is simple… No one else in the country has what we have. No one else has that we have, who can teach you how to think, how to believe in yourself, how to commit, how to PLAY the game. Can use his expertise along with our cutting-edge technology to improve your ball striking, short game, putting, etc. Old school meets new school at the BGA Golf Academy.
BGA Junior Academy
Contact Andre
andre@bdgagolf.com
or
083 273 1079
“FIVE WAYS TO PICK A HIGH-QUALITY TEACHER OR COACH
Great teachers, coaches, and mentors, like any rare species, can be identified by a few
characteristic traits. The following rules are designed to help you sort through the
candidates and make the best choice for yourself.
1) Avoid Someone Who Reminds You of a Courteous Waiter
This species of teacher/coach/mentor is increasingly abundant in our world: one who
focuses his efforts on keeping you comfortable and happy, on making things go
smoothly, with a minimum of effort. This is the kind of person who covers a lot of
material in a short time, smiles a lot, and says things like, “Don’t worry, no problem, we
can take care of that later.” This is a good person to have as your waiter in a restaurant,
but a terrible person to have as your teacher, coach, or mentor.
2) Seek Someone Who Scares You a Little
In contrast to encounters with courteous waiters, encounters with great teachers/
coaches/mentors tend to be filled with unfamiliar emotion: feelings of respect,
admiration, and, often, a shiver of fear. This is a good sign. Look for someone who:
Watches you closely: He is interested in ɹguring you out—what you want, where
you’re coming from, what motivates you.
Is action-oriented: She often won’t want to spend a lot of time chatting—instead,
she’ll want to jump into a few activities immediately, so she can get a feel for you
and vice versa.
Is honest, sometimes unnervingly so: He will tell you the truth about your
performance in clear language. This stings at ɹrst. But you’ll come to see that it’s
not personal—it’s the information you can use to get better.
It’s worth noting that the word “coach” originally came from kocsi, the Hungarian
word for “carriage.” You’re not looking for a buddy or a parent figure. You’re looking
for someone solid, someone you trust, someone with whom you take a journey.
3) Seek Someone Who Gives Short, Clear Directions
Most great teachers/coaches/mentors do not give long-winded speeches. They do not
give sermons or long lectures. Instead, they give short, unmistakably clear directions;
they guide you to a target.
John Wooden, the UCLA basketball coach who is widely considered one of the greatest
teachers of all time, was once the subject of a yearlong study that captured everything
he said to his team. Wooden didn’t give long speeches; in fact, his average utterance
lasted only four seconds. This underlines a large truth: Teaching is not an eloquence
contest; it is about creating a connection and delivering useful information.
4) Seek Someone Who Loves Teaching Fundamentals
Great teachers will often spend entire practice sessions on one seemingly small
fundamental—for example, the way you grip a golf club, or the way you pluck a single
note on a guitar. This might seem strange, but it rejects their understanding of a vital
reality: These fundamentals are the core of your skills (see Tip #10). The more advanced
you are, the more crucial they become.
5) Other Things Being Equal, Pick the Older Person
Teaching is like any other talent: It takes time to grow. This is why so many hotbeds are
led by people in their sixties and seventies. Great teachers are ɹrst and foremost
learners, who improve their skills with each passing year. That’s not to say there aren’t
any good teachers under thirty—there are. Nor is it to say that every coach with gray
hair is a genius—they’re not. But other things being equal, go with someone older.”
Security
Eagle Canyon has a reputation for being one of the most secure estates in South Africa.
The estate maintains a high standard of security with zero tolerance for incidents
State of the art 24 hour estate security
Video monitors on perimeter walls
Electrified fencing controlled access
Security patrols
Gate controlled access within the estate itself