(Peachtree Corners, GA & Pinehurst, NC) – U.S. Kids Golf, the leading brand in kids golf for more than two decades, and the Veteran Golfers Association, a national non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of Veterans and their families through golf, are working in tandem to increase the number of kids and families from military households playing the game.
This partnership will focus on two areas of concentration.
• The Veteran Golfers Association will conduct its first ever VGA Junior Championship in July 2018, to be held at Longleaf Golf & Family Club in Southern Pines, NC. To encourage participation in the event, U.S. Kids Golf will offer an exemption for one boy and one girl champion (between the ages of 9-12) into the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship in August. The World Championship brings in more than 1500 top junior players representing 54 countries around the globe.
• U.S. Kids Golf and the Veteran Golfers Association will also collaborate on ideas and programs that will encourage more participation in golf from military children, while continuing to support the VGA’s overall mission to serve the veteran community through golf. With 3500 members around the country, the Veteran Golfers Association has seen how golf can be an activity that builds camaraderie for Veterans nationwide, and further believes in its significant value for member families to share and enjoy together. Critical to that goal is getting more military children interested in playing the game; whether through access to equipment, more, proper coaching and/or tournament options. This mirrors U.S. Kids Golf’s mission statement “to encourage family interaction that builds lasting memories.”
“This is an important relationship for the Veteran Golfers Association” said Co-founder and President of the VGA, Josh Peyton. “So many veterans love golf, but even more, they love their families. Our partnership with U.S. Kids Golf will increase the opportunity for military families to share golfing memories together. Having the opportunity at an exemption into the premier kids championship in the world is going to encourage so many military children to not only play golf, but work hard at it.”
Peyton is a retired airborne ranger and Army Captain who used golf as a rehab mechanism following two years of recovery at Walter Reed Medical Center after being seriously injured in Iraq in 2011.
“Any time we can honor the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our Armed Services, we need to do it,” said Dan Van Horn, President and Founder of U.S. Kids Golf. “Even more, to be able to do so while bringing more kids into the game, and helping create special memories for families, that’s at the heart of our mission. So to work with the VGA is both our privilege and opportunity to do the right thing.”
For more information on the work of the Veteran Golfers Association or U.S. Kids Golf, please refer to the contact names provided.
About U.S. Kids Golf
U.S. Kids Golf is the world’s leading organization for growing, promoting and enhancing golf among youth and families. Founded in 1997, U.S. Kids Golf has both an LLC division (producing equipment that come in 3 lines, all specially engineered in length, weight, loft, and lie) and a Foundation that has a Tournaments division (TPA), a Coaches Institute (CI) and owns and operates Longleaf Golf & Family Club (as well as the U.S. Kids Golf Academy). In 2018, U.S. Kids Golf was recognized by the National Golf Foundation as one of the “Top 100 Businesses in Golf” based on influence, innovation, and social good among other criteria. For more information, visit www.uskidsgolf.com
About the Veteran Golfers Association
Founded in Pinehurst, NC in 2014, the Veteran Golfers Association (VGA) is dedicated to enriching the lives of Veterans and their family members through the game of golf. Annually, the VGA hosts more than 250 competitive golf tournaments for more than 3,500 VGA members across the country, culminating in a VGA National Championship. For more information, visit www.vgagolf.org.
Contact:
John Kim
U.S. Kids Golf
jkim@uskidsgolf.com
678 405 3408
Josh Peyton
Veteran Golfers Association
Josh@vgagolf.org
844 842 8387
