The organization will enhance the existing club for its members and develop a model U.S. Kids Golf Academy
PINEHURST, NC – U.S. Kids Golf Foundation (USKGF) made a longtime commitment in support of its mission with the purchase of Longleaf Golf and Country Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina. The sale, which included the Dan Maples-designed 18-hole golf course, driving range, clubhouse, tennis courts, swimming pool, and croquet court, totaling 175 acres, was recently finalized. The company’s mission is to help kids have fun learning the lifelong game of golf and to encourage family interaction that builds lasting memories. This core belief will be reflected in the renaming of the golf club to Longleaf Golf & Family Club.
The acquisition of the Longleaf Golf Club is part of U.S. Kids Golf’s strategic plan to develop a Kids Golf Academy near Pinehurst, “the Home of American golf.” U.S. Kids Golf brings twenty years of experience as the expert in kids golf to Longleaf Golf Club, and it is focused on bringing more golfers into the game.
“It has been a dream of mine, and our company, to be able to integrate more kids into a golf club life,” said Dan Van Horn, Founder and President of U.S. Kids Golf. “Longleaf is one of the favorite courses used for our World Championship, now in its tenth year in the Pinehurst area. It will be a perfect facility to develop a model kids golf academy and family club. Our focus will be on improving the facilities for the existing members, making the golf course more enjoyable for golfers of all skill levels. Additionally, we are in the early stages of creating a teaching facility for students to develop their game and for coaches to properly learn to teach the early stages of golf.”
Longleaf Golf & Family Club will continue to be managed by Peter Dejak, President of Signet Golf, a club management company with facilities in both North and South Carolina. Dejak, a long-time resident of Pinehurst, was formerly the golf course superintendent at National Golf Club. U.S. Kids Golf will relocate a staff manager for the property later this year, and there will be a U.S. Kids Golf Certified Coach on site as well. U.S. Kids Golf headquarters will remain in Georgia.
About U.S. Kids Golf
U.S. Kids Golf, LLC is based in Atlanta, GA, and manufactures equipment and related golf products designed for kids. It was created in 1997 when Founder, Dan Van Horn, recognized that his children were losing their interest in golf due to not having the proper equipment. In addition to more than 4,000 golf shops and retail locations in the United States, the company’s products also are available in over 75 countries worldwide.
The U.S. Kids Golf Foundation, a Georgia non-profit recognized as a 501(c)(3) public charity, was created in 2001 and provides services that include competition and instruction. The Foundation, through its Tournament Players Association (TPA), organizes more than 900 golf tournaments for kids each year, with over 10,000 individual players ages 5-18. These tournaments include Local Tours in 59 cities worldwide; nine U.S. based Regional Championships; seven international multi-day tournaments, which includes the prestigious European Championship in East Lothian, Scotland; and the pinnacle events held each year in Pinehurst, North Carolina, the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship and Teen World Championship.
Through its Coaches institute, the Foundation annually recognizes the Top 50 Kids Teachers in the world. Beyond this award, the Coaches Institute has provided training to over 1700 golf professionals in the U.S. and abroad through it Certified Coaches Seminars. Both the PGA of America and the LPGA provide continuing education credits for their respective members who participate in the program. The purchase of Longleaf Golf Club will give the Coaches Institute a home location to continue to develop best practices in support of the industry’s efforts to grow the game.
For more information about U.S. Kids Golf, please contact Lane Andrews (landrews@uskidsgolf.com) at 770-441-3077, ext. 625.
Connect with U.S. Kids Golf:
Website: www.uskidsgolf.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/USKidsGolf
Twitter: www.twitter.com/USKidsGolfFDN
Blog: www.uskidsgolf.wordpress.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com/USKidsGolfFDN
Connect with Longleaf Golf Club
Website: www.longleafgolfclub.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Longleaf-Golf-Country-Club/193388914054576
Contact:
Peter Ross Stilwell, 910.215.0861
peterstilwell@tarheelcommunications.com
www.uskidsgolf.com
