World’s Largest Junior Golf Event, world record in Pinehurst, North Carolina

Mar 25, 2024

Pinehurst, North Carolina, United States--Each year, the U.S. Kids Golf World Championships welcomes golfers ages 5-12 to championship courses in the Pinehurst area; with more than 2,200 junior players ages 5-18 competing during the 2023 event, the event set the world record for being the World’s Largest Junior Golf Event, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.

"Golf’s majors are over for 2023, or are they? Technically, the sport’s biggest stages for professionals ended over the weekend with the conclusion of the historic British Open," The First Call Golf says.

"But there will be some pretty heady golf being played in Pinehurst, North Carolina, over the next two weeks with more than 2,200 junior players ages 5-18 competing in the U.S. Kids Golf World Championships.

"Few places in the country have the golfing bandwidth to execute such a massive event like the Pinehurst area, with the tournament tapping into 14 area courses that are all within a 30-minute car ride from the resort steps. And there are some generous donations that show the area’s true support for the game’s future."

"While most participants are from the United States, Mexico, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa, there are also competitors from countries such as El Salvador, Armenia, Uruguay, Estonia, Slovakia, Barbados, China, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay and Nicaragua, according to Peter Stilwell, whose company, Tarheel Communications, has organized the outside-the-ropes operations of the event in Pinehurst for the last 18 years," The First Call Golf says.

"The first world championship in 2002 in Virginia drew just 220 players from five countries. Now, the parent organization U.S. Kids Golf operates 2,000 tournaments and championships across the United States and the world, with over 30,000 young golfers participating.

"Just in the Pinehurst area over the next two weeks, a combined 48,000 miles will be walked by competitors — equivalent to twice around the world — and 160,000 holes will be played."

"Each year, the U.S. Kids Golf World Championships welcomes golfers ages 5-12 to championship courses in the Pinehurst area," the official website says.

"These courses, this event, and the community of Pinehurst come together to produce the world's largest junior golf tournament, which provides a stage for golf’s next generation of stars to shine. The schedule consists of a Parade of Nations, Parent-Child Tournament, Trackman Demo Days, three rounds of championship play, and the Closing Ceremony.

"Following the three-day championship, the Van Horn Cup — a one-day best ball tournament featuring the top 12-year-old boys and girls — is contested on Pinehurst No. 4."

"U.S. Kids Golf was founded on the idea that properly fit equipment for kids would make the game of golf more fun and easier to learn. The results were conclusive and emphatic. Kids were enjoying the game more than ever. But then what? As U.S. Kids Golf founder and baseball fan Dan Van Horn asked at the time, “What good are bats, balls and gloves if they can’t play in games?”

"So the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship was born. Conducted in Jekyll Island, Georgia, the first event drew 220 players from 5 different countries. Even more, it set a standard for making tournament golf a family experience; specifically having parents take part in the event as caddies - a practice that many have credited as a highlight of their parent-child bond. At the end of the day, it means creating important lifelong memories for everyone. Additionally, the scaling of the course yardages at that championship - to allow players to set realistic goals for making birdies and pars - became an industry standard, and ultimately evolved into today’s widely lauded Longleaf Tee System," the US Kids Golf says.

"Tournaments have since become a vital pillar of the U.S. Kids Golf community. The World Championships, now held in historic Pinehurst, North Carolina, are premier events in golf. Together, these events combine to annually host more than 2,300 players from more than 50 countries, and serve as two of the largest golf championships in the world."