NEW DELHI: In what is a major boost for junior golf in the country, U.S. Kids Golf, the biggest junior golf foundation in the world, is making its maiden foray in India via a full U.S. Kids Golf India Tour.
The inaugural edition of the 2018-19 tour will be held across eight tournaments in six cities, with three events in Delhi NCR (Classic Golf & Country Club) and one each at Kolkata (Tollygunge Club), Bengaluru (Eagleton Golf Resort), Hyderabad (Boulder Hills Golf and Country Club), Chandigarh (Chandigarh Golf Club) and Pune (Poona Club Golf Course).
U.S. Kids Golf is recognized as the world’s leader in youth golf, dedicated to helping young players enjoy golf through better equipment, scientifically-designed tournament play with age-appropriate yardages, and new learning and coaching resources. For over 20 years, it has been at the forefront of junior golf development programs and between its divisions, has impacted over one million young players around the world.
It will be played across various age groups for boys, aged 6-18, as well as girls, from 7-18. The kick-off for the tour will be on 7 December at the picturesque Jack Nicklaus designed Classic Golf & Country Club in the outskirts of Delhi, constructed by SGDC India, the pioneers of golf infrastructure in the country.
The tour will also carry ranking points, and with participation in a minimum of four events out of the eight, the junior golfers will be able to gain qualification for the U.S. Kids World Championship, European Championships as well as the Teen World Championship. The world tournaments are held every year at the storied venue of Pinehurst, where tournaments like PGA Championship, Ryder Cup and U.S. Open have taken place.
U.S Kids Golf India President Rajesh Srivastava said: “With Golf now being a part of the Olympics and the Asian Games, and Indian golfers doing well internationally, it is about time that we focus on the right way of developing junior golf in India. With this initiative, we will be putting forward a scientific approach to the development of junior golf in the right environment with age-specific equipment and yardages to ensure that our kids grow their game, while enjoying the sport and also remain free from injury and fatigue. One of the major focus areas will be the certification of junior golf coaches and caddies, who are the first point of contact between a junior golfer and the game, as per U.S. Kids Golf global norms and standards.”
“Our vision is to promote junior golf in the country and take the game to masses, just like the journey of cricket in India and how it became the most loved sport from being an exclusive sport in its early days,” he added.
U.S Kids Golf founder and President Dan Van Horn commented: “It is a new era that is beginning in India for junior golf. With the help of very committed supporters of the sport in India, I am extremely pleased to announce the formation of a new entity, U.S. Kids Golf India. This effort includes not only the launch of the first nationwide kids golf tournament series but development of kid-friendly coaching for future players of the Country and an organized distribution of right kind of equipment for young players. U.S. Kids Golf is recognized as the world’s leader in youth golf (National Golf Foundation – Top 100 companies) and is proud to play a vital role in the development of golf in India for young players.”
The subsequent edition of the U.S Kids Golf India Tour 2019-20 is slated to be a year-long tour, with zonal and regional tournaments, culminating into a national championship.
