This past week the Pinehurst area came alive with the arrival of the annual U.S. Kids Golf World Championships, which is comprised of the U.S. Kids Golf Teen and Kids World Championships. The kids and their families descended upon Pinehurst and surrounding areas in late July and through early August as they honed their skills and competed on our area’s toughest courses. 2015 marked the 10th year our area has hosted this event featuring over 2,000 youngsters, ranging in age from 5- 18 years representing 50 states and 50 countries!
The players and their families arrived fired-up for three days of tournament play plus all the festivities. It was also a time for our community to shine with over 600 volunteers giving their time, plus the 13 participating golf courses and their golf pros who generously donated their facilities and their time. It was reported that the kids played over 6,000 competitive rounds of golf in three days!
We always love hosting the kids and watching them play but the highlight for me was the parade of nations. The children gathered together under their country’s flag and paraded through the historic Village of Pinehurst. It’s a heartwarming sight and it makes me proud to think one game is responsible for bringing together children from around the world where we all celebrate, speak one common language, and have one love…the game of golf.
If you haven’t seen the documentary The Short Game you need to do so. It is a Netflix full-length documentary filmed during the 2012 U.S. Kids Golf World Championships. It follows eight players ages 7 and 8, as they prepare to play in the World Championships. The award winning film provides thoughtful overviews and insights into this very special event and it’s participants. It can be purchased on DVD and is also available on Netflix.
Our area is especially proud to be the new home of the U.S. Kids Golf Foundation which recently purchased the Longleaf Golf & Country Club and renamed it Longleaf Golf & Family Club. All kinds of changes are taking place at the club and a new golf academy is being built. The U.S. Kids Golf Foundation website is a wonderful resource and tool for learning more about children’s golf and tournament play. Go to www.uskidsgolf.com. I especially love their mission statement:
“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.”
If you would like to build lasting memories of your own in Pinehurst call or text me at 910-528-6427 and we can schedule a time to tour the beautiful properties and homes of the Sandhills region.
–Lin Hutaff