National junior golf tours.
8 national-level junior tours and sanctioning bodies. The tours every competitive junior should know about, and that college coaches use as a baseline résumé check.
American Junior Golf Association
AJGAThe premier national junior tour. AJGA Rolex Junior All-American honors and Rolex Rankings are the recognized benchmark for college recruiting. Invitational events at top venues; selective entry.
Rolex Junior Rankings are the de facto recruiting currency.
Hurricane Junior Golf Tour
HJGT200+ events across 30 states. Accessible national entry point for competitive junior golfers: open entry, broad geographic footprint, suitable for players building a tournament résumé.
Largest open-field junior tour by event count.
U.S. Kids Golf
US KidsThe dominant tour for ages 5–18, with the U.S. Kids World Championship at Pinehurst as its flagship event. Local Tour events run weekly across hundreds of regions.
World Championship at Pinehurst (~1,500 players, 50+ countries).
International Junior Golf Tour
IJGTNational + international events at premier venues. Strong Southeast and Florida presence. Multi-round formats with college-recruiting field strength.
Future Champions World Tour
FCWTWorld-class junior events with strong Florida and California presence. Known for venue selection and exposure to international junior fields.
Peggy Kirk Bell Girls' Tour
PKB Girls' TourGirls-only national tour run by the Carolinas Golf Association. Named after LPGA pioneer Peggy Kirk Bell. Strong development pathway for female junior golfers focused on college recruiting.
Largest girls-only junior tour in the country.
Notah Begay III Junior Golf
NB3 JuniorFoundation-run junior tour focused on Native American and underserved youth golfers. Combines competitive events with development programming.
The First Tee
First TeeYouth development organization with 150+ chapters nationwide. Introductory and developmental programming rather than tournament competition, but the gateway into junior golf for tens of thousands of juniors annually.
150+ chapters; the most common entry point into junior golf.
About national junior golf tours
A national junior golf tour runs a multi-state competitive schedule and is recognized by college coaches as part of a serious junior recruiting résumé. In the United States, the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), founded in 1978, sits at the top of the pyramid. Its Performance Stars system gates entry to the closed AJGA Invitational events, and its Rolex Junior Rankings are the primary scouting reference for Division I college coaches.
Below the AJGA, the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour (HJGT) runs the largest event-volume junior schedule in the country, giving players hundreds of tournament slots per year and counting toward independent ranking systems like Junior Golf Scoreboard. US Kids Golf dominates the ages-12-and-under category through its Local, Regional, and World Championship structure, while the International Junior Golf Tour (IJGT) and Future Champions World Tour (FCWT) run year-round international and resort-destination schedules.
For girls specifically, the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls' Tour (operated by AJGA) is the leading girls-only national circuit. The Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship and the First Tee national network provide additional development pathways alongside scholarship and mentorship infrastructure. Most competitive juniors play a mix: AJGA for ranking, HJGT for reps, plus selective marquee invitationals like the Press Thornton Future Masters and the Donald Ross Junior Championship.
For how these tours differ in practice, see our breakdown of AJGA vs. HJGT vs. FCWT vs. US Kids. Chasing an AJGA invitational specifically, how to qualify for AJGA events walks through Performance Stars and Open qualifying. How junior golf rankings actually work covers Rolex and Junior Golf Scoreboard scoring in more detail, and junior golf age divisions explains how age brackets differ across these tours. Building out a season, summer junior golf 2026 maps the busiest stretch of the calendar.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between AJGA and HJGT?
The AJGA is a selective sanctioning body: Performance Stars gate entry to its closed Invitational events, and its Rolex Junior Rankings are the primary scouting reference for Division I coaches. The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour (HJGT) is an open-entry, high-volume tour that gives players far more playing opportunities and counts toward independent rankings like Junior Golf Scoreboard. Most competitive juniors play both.
What age does US Kids Golf cover?
US Kids Golf dominates the ages-12-and-under category through its Local, Regional, and World Championship structure. Players typically move into AJGA-sanctioned and other national-tour events as they reach their early teens.
Do I have to play the AJGA to get recruited for college golf?
No. AJGA results carry the most weight with Division I programs, but a strong HJGT, regional, or state record can still build a competitive recruiting profile, especially for D2, D3, and mid-major D1 programs that weigh a broader mix of results.
What is the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls' Tour?
The Peggy Kirk Bell Girls' Tour is a national girls-only circuit operated by the AJGA. It runs alongside the AJGA's mixed and boys' schedule as the leading girls-specific national tour.