How impactful is the junior program at Bobby Jones Golf Course in Atlanta? Just ask any one of the kids who have gone through there in the past few years. Or especially the parents. If you want further confirmation, check out the list of awards it has won since the course and facility reopened in 2018 with a completely new identity and mission statement.
That list recently grew larger when Director of Instruction Jason Kuiper and the Grand Slam Golf Academy at Atlanta’s Bobby Jones Golf Course — operated by Atlanta-area based Bobby Jones Golf Links – have been honored with three PGA Jr. League #GameChanger Awards, placing his program among the most impactful in the country.
The awards were presented at the 2026 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla. Kuiper was honored with:
- The 2025 Player Engagement #GameChanger Award recognizes coaches who embrace a range of programming for kids of all ages and families, as well as continued education.
- The 2025 Top 25 National PGA Jr. League Program Award honors the 25 largest PGA Jr. League programs nationwide.
- And the 2025 Largest PGA Section Program Award recognizes the largest programs within each of the 41 PGA Sections, in this case, being the Georgia PGA.
PGA Jr. League, the flagship youth pillar program of the PGA America’s nonprofit PGA Reach, has grown to more than 75,000 kids since it started as a pilot program in 2011 in four cities, including Atlanta. The idea was to model junior golf into a competitive team format, much like Little League baseball, attracting juniors from all sorts of backgrounds and means. They even wear jerseys while competing.
Bobby Jones GC General Manager Joshua Deal said the awards shine a great light on the facility, but these honors go way beyond the hardware. They merely reflect the hard work and dedication Kuiper and his staff put into growing the game at Bobby Jones Golf Course. The initiatives at Bobby Jones GC, which was completely renovated in 2018, include programs like PGA Hope (which works with military veterans), its work with the Shepherd’s (rehab) Center and Adaptive Golf, the PGA Family Cup, and PGA Jr. League.
“Jason spearheads that effort within the community and the honor is well deserved,” Deal said. “Jason would also be the first to say this recognition reflects the work the facility is doing as a whole and the positive impact we’re striving to make.”
Kuiper, who was hired in 2018, leads instruction through the Grand Slam Golf Academy, based at Bobby Jones Golf Course. The academy operates out of the B.J. and Jack Bandy Instructional Center, a state-of-the-art facility designed to support player development through advanced technology and personalized instruction. He credited his staff and the support he gets from the Bobby Jones Golf Course, a historic muni that was transformed into a reversible golf course with nine double greens, designed by the late Bob Cupp.
Kuiper credits the seven full-time instructors who work under him at the academy, as well as the support they get from the facility, for the tremendous success they’ve had with their junior programs, including the PGA Jr. League. He said it all goes back to the promise of growing the game and serving the community that the Bobby Jones Golf Course Foundation made when it reached out to private companies and donors more than a decade ago.
In turn, Kuiper has been provided the resources for success, which include range space and a private area on the range for teaching, as well as an instructional center that includes Trackman, Smart2Move Golf Force Plates, and Blast Motion Golf.
But most of all, the Bobby Jones Golf Course juniors, which number more than 6,000 to date, have access to the golf course, which is especially important for the PGA Jr. League.
“These kids are going to get access to the golf course because that’s the plan,” Kuiper said. “You have to make sure you’re doing it financially responsibly, and we are.”
In 2025, 409 kids took part in PGA Jr. League at Bobby Jones GC. They are broken down into four-week seasons with 64 juniors in each season. There are two seasons in the fall, two in the spring, plus, new for this year, there is a winter season. There are 16 on each team, broken down by ages, 7 to 13. Competitions are scramble formats.
“Parents can sign up for all of that if they want or do one season,” Kuiper said. “In a season, they do four practices and four matches, which is a nice amount.”
In addition, Kuiper also has a league for kids ages 4-6, who play on the par-3 course, the Cupp Links. “They still get their jerseys, and it’s competitive, but a little less serious,” he said. “To give that younger group a time of day is pretty rare.”
Plans also call for a summer league on the par-3 course.
Atlanta, GA – May 19, 2021: Various lifestyle images around Bobby Jones Golf Academy in Atlanta, GA. (photo by Kelly Kline)
And last year, Bobby Jones was chosen to do a PGA Opportunity League, which is funded through charitable organizations and completely free for the kids. For this, Kuiper worked with an organization called “Her Shot,” which is a junior program for girls of color.
Again, though, the PGA Jr. League awards are just the latest for the instructional program at Bobby Jones Golf Course.
“For the past seven years, we’ve had a different instructor be awarded their top 50 kids teacher awards (U.S. Kids). I’ve had multiple instructors also get the GRAA top 100 growth in the game award, which is pretty incredible. We’ve had multiple instructors get that,” Kuiper said.
The list of Academy awards and accomplishments includes Kuiper receiving Top 1000 Growth of the Game Elite Status from the Golf Range Association of America, recognized five years in a row. He was also named “Best in State” instructor by Golf Digest, and he won the Georgia PGA Patriot Award. Additionally, instructor Daneil Fowler won the GRAA Top100 Growth of the Game, as well as being named among the Top 50 Instructors in the United States by U.S. Kids.
The Academy was also one of 72 programs nationwide to win the Player Engagement Award. And it also served 100 veterans through PGA Hope with five six-week sessions in 2025.
Again, all of this fits with the mission. It’s about meeting people where they are on their journey in golf.
“We try to lean into the welcoming. We’ve got no dress code,” Deal said. “You’ve got Jason giving a lesson to a guy who might be a member at Atlanta Athletic Club next to a kid in gym shorts and his first set of U.S. Kids clubs, next to a young lady who’s on her break from a hospital down the road, just wanting to hit some balls. Come as you are and let’s love and learn this game together.”
Finally, Kuiper said he would like to challenge other facilities, if they can, to host PGA Jr. Leagues and make tee times available for kids.
“They’re beating the door down to get in, and I have a wait list for Jr. League and other programs, too,” he said. “We do it because the parents want it. The kids want it, and it’s a great program. And the few courses that do it are full and can only do so much. It’s going to take more than just Bobby Jones Golf Course to serve all these kids.”
