Tournaments

The Foundation conducts more than 1,600 tournaments annually, from Local Tour events in over 200 markets to State, Regional, and International championships as well. It also hosts the U.S. Kids Golf World Teen Championship (aged 13-18) and U.S. Kids Golf World Championship (ages 5-12) each summer in historic Pinehurst, North Carolina.

History: In 2000, U.S. Kids Golf recognized that unlike other sports such as baseball, soccer, or gymnastics, golf was the sport where young players didn’t have organized competition to provide aspirational goals, marked progress, and add an important social component to their development. The decision to host a World Championship was made. Over 2,000 players from 47 states and 62 countries participated.

Additionally, the first World Championship introduced some new ideas into the world of junior golf including:

Though these ideas were initially considered radical and met with significant skepticism, they have now become features of what has made U.S. Kids Golf Tournaments the largest and most popular golf events for kids in the world.

In 2001, the U.S. Kids Golf Foundation was officially incorporated. Tournaments became a part of the Foundation, formally organized as a non-profit status to help further junior golf development throughout the world.

In 2013, the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship was the subject of a Netflix documentary, The Short Game, which chronicled the efforts of a number of young players in their quest to become a world champion. This highly-rated film, produced by entertainment stars Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, has served as an inspiration to hundreds of thousands of players in numerous countries and often cited by players today as to why they got into golf or began competing in tournaments.

Today: In 2019, the Tournaments division enjoyed its most productive year ever, hosting more events and serving more players than any organization in the world.

Even more, U.S. Kids Golf Tournaments have become an important part of developing relationships between parents and their kids and players who compete and enjoy their time with other players. We are grateful to hear endless stories of the lifelong friendships that have formed between players, whether in the same town or across the globe.

For more on U.S. Kids Golf Tournaments, including rules, registering, and our Priority Status system, click below.