Winternational Junior Series at Pinehurst
Winter weekend tournaments for high school golfers on Pinehurst-area courses, open to 200 members
December 5, 2026 – February 14, 2027
Multiple Pinehurst-area courses, Pinehurst, NC
- This is a series of eight separate two-day events, not one tournament. December 5-6 at Longleaf Golf & Family Club, Southern Pines ($180); December 19-20 at Pinehurst No. 5 ($180); January 2-3 in Whispering Pines ($170); January 9-10 at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, Southern Pines ($225).
- January 23-24 at Talamore Golf Club, Southern Pines ($170); January 30-31 at Mid Pines, Southern Pines ($195); February 6-7 at Bayonet at Puppy Creek, Raeford ($180); February 13-14 at Longleaf Golf & Family Club ($180).
- Entry starts with membership: $155, limited to 200 boys and girls who are full-time high school students during the series, with a limited number of eighth graders accepted. Applications for 2026-27 opened August 20, 2026.
- Members choose which events to enter and pay each event's entry fee. Entries close before 5 p.m. on the Wednesday before an event.
- Friday practice rounds are optional at certain venues and are not included in the entry fee.
Dates from Winternational Junior Series at Pinehurst: 2026-27 schedule, checked October 11, 2026. Confirm entry details with the organizer; Tessaira does not run this event.
Format, field and entry below come from Tessaira's profile of the event, not from the 2026 edition's own pages. The organizer's current entry rules decide.
Format
Eight two-day events on Saturdays and Sundays, from December 5-6, 2026 to February 13-14, 2027. The organizer's About page describes the series as 36-hole stroke play events. There are three divisions: junior-senior boys, freshman-sophomore boys and one girls' division. Players carry their own bag or use a push or pull cart, and caddies are not allowed.
Field
200 members · Membership application, then entry event by event
Membership is capped at 200 for the season, and the series says members are guaranteed entry into the events they choose
Application tip
Join first, then enter. Membership for 2026-27 is $155 and capped at 200, and applications opened August 20, 2026, so ask the series whether places remain before planning around it. Once a membership is confirmed, entries are handled through the series website, and they close before 5 p.m. on the Wednesday before each event. A member who fails to show for an event they committed to, with no prior explanation, is disqualified from the next one.
The story
The Winternational Junior Series at Pinehurst is a winter tournament series for high school golfers, played on courses in and around Pinehurst, North Carolina. Its list of All-Americans begins with the 1994-1995 season. It is a membership series: 200 boys and girls who will be full-time high school students during the series, plus a limited number of eighth graders, pay a membership fee, and the series says members are then guaranteed entry into the events they choose. The 2026-27 schedule lists eight weekend events, from December 5-6, 2026 at Longleaf Golf & Family Club to February 13-14, 2027 at the same course, with stops at Pinehurst No. 5, Pine Needles, Talamore, Mid Pines and Bayonet at Puppy Creek in between. Each event has its own entry fee, $170 to $225 this season, on top of the $155 membership. Players compete in three divisions: junior-senior boys, freshman-sophomore boys and girls. The series feeds two Pinehurst championships. Its exemptions page says the winner of each division earns an exemption into the following summer's North & South Junior Championship and the following winter's Donald Ross Junior Championship, and that its season-long All-Americans earn exemptions into the following Donald Ross Junior. Former members named by the series include Webb Simpson, Dustin Johnson, Jason Dufner and Johnson Wagner.
The venue
Each event is on a different course. The 2026-27 schedule lists Longleaf Golf & Family Club, Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, Talamore Golf Club and Mid Pines in Southern Pines, Pinehurst No. 5 in Pinehurst, a course in Whispering Pines and Bayonet at Puppy Creek in Raeford. Longleaf hosts both the first event and the last. The organizer says all events are played in North Carolina.
Course setup: The organizer's FAQ gives the setup by tee: boys in both divisions play the blue tees, or 6,700-7,000 yards, and girls play the green or red tees depending on the course, or 5,400-6,000 yards. The course changes from event to event, so the test changes through the season.
Coach verdict
The series publishes no coach attendance figures, so its recruiting value is in the record it builds: two-day winter results recognized by Junior Golf Scoreboard and the Carolinas Golf Association, and a route into the North & South Junior and the Donald Ross Junior.
Best for: High school golfers. The series is open to boys and girls who will be full-time high school students during the series, and a limited number of eighth graders are accepted. Boys are split into junior-senior and freshman-sophomore divisions, and girls play in one division.
College scouting: Not published by the organizer
Competitive insight
The value here is repetition in the off-season: up to eight two-day events between December and February, all in North Carolina, with results that Junior Golf Scoreboard and the Carolinas Golf Association recognize. Because members pick their events, a family can build a winter schedule around school rather than committing to all eight. The series also awards points toward its own Player of the Year and All-American honors, and those carry the exemptions.
What makes it different
Notable alumni
Is it worth the travel?
situational valueThe published costs are the $155 membership plus $170 to $225 for each event entered, with optional Friday practice rounds extra. A family that would travel in for single weekends should add lodging for each one and weigh the total against winter events closer to home.
Is my golfer good enough, or am I kidding myself?
The number nobody will tell you straight, against Tessaira's own scoring ranges for college golf, including when it is too early to say. Free, with no account needed.
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