The recognition program for the world’s most outstanding youth instructors is dominated by golf staff professionals at U. S. club and resort properties, including 15 who achieved Master Kids Teacher status for now having made the Top 50 list three times. All of the winners will be recognized with a special presentation on January 24th at the PGA Show.

Developed through a joint partnership with the U.S. Kids Golf Foundation, the program helps golf course operators strategically expand existing tee complexes to make the game more accessible to a broader range of players. The initiative is modeled off the renovation of Longleaf Golf & Family Club in Pinehurst, N.C., where as many as seven tees per hole were added in 2016.

U.S. Kids Golf, which bought the Southern Pines, N.C. facility in 2015, will be redesigning and then operating a new restaurant, Heartwood at Longleaf, to replace the Filly & Colts restaurant that had been independently owned. Other improvements include converting existing greens to Bermuda grass, constructing a Golf Academy Learning Center, and enhancing the irrigation system.

The nonprofit organization has purchased the Southern Pines, N.C., property, renaming it Longleaf Golf & Family Club. The acquisition is part of the organization’s strategic plan to develop a Kids Golf Academy near Pinehurst.

The family-oriented organization has reached an agreement to buy the Southern Pines, N.C., property in an all-cash deal, as part of its plan to establish a national golf academy.

U.S. Kids Golf has opened applications to honor 2014’s Top 50 who have dedicated their careers to developing youth golf in their communities.