About Us
Founded in 1996 by Dan Van Horn,
the story gets better with time.
Driven By Our Mission
The mission of U.S. Kids Golf is to help kids have fun learning the lifelong game of golf and to encourage family interaction that builds lasting memories. We do this by excelling as the world’s leading provider of properly fit equipment and accessories, creating kid-friendly development programs, training coaches globally, and hosting more tournaments than any other organization in golf.
The vision of families spending time together outdoors and playing golf is our true passion, and many people throughout the golf industry have joined us in our efforts. We are thankful for their role in giving kids the lifelong game of golf.
Our History
U.S. Kids Golf, LLC was started in 1996 to solve the problem its founder, Dan Van Horn, experienced when getting his sons, ages 5 and 8, into golf. "They were enthusiastic at first, but their interest quickly dropped. They weren't having fun," Van Horn recalls. "At the time, I didn't realize that cutoffs and junior clubs were too heavy; they were not only hurting my kids' swings but also their desire to play." That's when the former golf professional and engineer began developing Ultralight kids clubs, which were designed to be 25% lighter than adult and most junior clubs. Since then, parents and golf professionals worldwide have seen the incredible difference that lightweight and correctly fit clubs have made in their young player's swing and enthusiasm for the game. Today, the company is the world's leading provider of equipment and services for young players.
Pictured here is Dan Van Horn with his son, David, in an early promotional video for our equipment.
The U.S. Kids Golf Foundation
In 2000, recognizing the need for both junior coaching programs and competitions to be scaled for the needs of young players, two critical initiatives were started to help fulfill the U.S. Kids Golf mission: Play & Learn and Tournaments. With the launch of just one event that year, the first World Championship held in Jekyll Island, GA, immediate success was achieved, spurring the formation of a separate non-profit corporation in 2001, the U.S. Kids Golf Foundation. Today, the Foundation continues its operations as a recognized 501 (c)(3) public charity.
Tournaments
U.S. Kids Golf hosts more than 1,600 events worldwide each year, making us the largest golf tournament organization in the world. Players compete in each event in separate age and gender divisions.
Additionally, the U.S. Kids Golf tournaments were the first to encourage parent participation by having Mom or Dad caddie for the young player. Initially seen as radical when first introduced, this concept has become an important and distinguishing hallmark of U.S. Kids Golf events. Today, many junior golf tournaments worldwide have adopted similar practices.
Coaches
In 2004, to provide recognition for those coaches doing exemplary work in training kids and to help parents find kid-friendly coaches, the U.S. Kids Golf Top 50 award was conceived. Yearly, at the PGA of America Merchandise Show, coaches are recognized for their outstanding ability to teach the game to kids. Those receiving the award three times become Master Kids Coaches. So far, over 200 Master Kids Coaches have been recognized, and hundreds more Top 50 coaches have been selected one or more times.
In 2013, recognizing a vast gap in training for golf coaches and to help fulfill its mission, U.S. Kids Golf began offering a continuing education program to assist golf professionals in structuring and conducting their youth golf programs. Early that year, the U.S. Kids Golf Certified Coach accreditation program was launched. Participants complete day-long training and must pass required testing from U.S. Kids Golf and the Positive Coaching Alliance. To date, over 6,000 coaches from more than 70 nations have participated in the training either in-person or online.
