Pune: Poona Club Golf Course has been chosen as one of the six courses in the country as a destination for the US Kids Golf India Tour-a full-fledged structured tour for junior golfers in the country.
Golfers as young as 6-year-olds will be playing on the Tour, which is expected to give the much-needed fillip to the Indian golf.
In what is a major boost for junior golf in the country, the US Kids Golf, the biggest junior golf foundation in the world, is making its maiden foray in India via a full US 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 and one each at Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Pune, at championship golf courses.
US Kids Golf is recognised as the world’s leader in youth golf, dedicated to helping young players enjoy golf through better equipment, scientifically-designed tournament plays with age-appropriate yardages, and new learning and coaching resources.
For over 20 years, US Kids Golf has been at the forefront of junior golf development program and between its divisions, has impacted over one million young players around the world.
The US Kids Golf India Tour 2018-19 edition will be played across various age groups for boys, starting from age 6 & under till 18, as well as girls, from age 7 & under till 18.
The tour teed-off on Friday at the picturesque Jack Nicklaus-designed Classic Golf & Country Club in Manesar, near Gurugram.
Key ranking points
The US Kids Golf India Tour will 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 US Kids World Championship, US Kids European Championships as well as US Kids Teen World Championship.
The US Kids World Championship and US Kids Teen World Championship are held every year at the storied venue of Pinehurst, where tournaments like PGA Championship, Ryder Cup and US Open have taken place.
The US Kids European Championship 2019 will be held at prestigious courses in East Lothian in Scotland, such as Longniddry Golf Club, Royal Musselburgh Golf Club and Glen Golf Club; while the boys and girls 15-18 category will take place at The Renaissance Club, where the Scottish Open 2019 as well as Ladies Scottish Open 2019 are slated to be held.
Pune the final destination
Over the next three months, the US Kids Golf India Tour will travel to six venues with Poona Club Golf Course get to host the final event on February 6, 2019.
Tollygunge Club (Kolkata), Eagleton Golf Resort (Bengaluru), Boulder Hills Golf and Country Club (Hyderabad), Chandigarh Golf Club are the other courses where the Tour is set to travel.
“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,” said Rajesh Srivastava, President, US Kids Golf India.
Subsequent edition of US Kids Golf India Tour 2019-20 is slated to be a year-long tour, with zonal and regional tournaments, culminating in a national championship.
