Making Golf the Most Kid Friendly Sport in America.
The Kid Friendly Golf Foundation is a national educational initiative that helps parents, golf facilities, and golf coaches build a kid-friendly culture in golf — so every child feels welcomed, encouraged, and inspired to play for life.
Golf, finally designed with your kids in mind.
Parents have always had to guess: will the staff be patient with my kid? Will we be rushed? Will we feel out of place? We started Kid Friendly Golf to take the guesswork out and put families first.
Find welcoming courses
Search a trusted map of approved courses near you, and choose your best fit for a home course.
Join a Kid Friendly Program
Discover every junior program your local course runs — Operation 36, PGA Jr. League, First Tee, US Kids Golf, and more — right inside your parent portal.
Join the movement
Be part of the parents and families helping make golf the most welcoming sport in America.
The 5 Kid Friendly Standards
One national framework for what "Kid Friendly" actually means — five standards that every approved course and every approved coach agrees to live by. Built with parents, so you know exactly what to expect before you show up.
Welcoming
Every kid remembers how they were welcomed the first time. We make sure kids and parents feel welcome from the very first hello.
A welcoming greeting at the bag drop, clear signage, and a pro shop that welcomes young golfers instead of intimidating them.
Welcoming introductions at the first lesson, eye-level conversations with kids, and a tone that tells families they belong here.
Value
Kids can't play golf if their family can't afford to bring them. Approved courses and coaches price for families, not just adults.
Junior rates, family tee-time pricing, and access options that make bringing a kid to the course a habit, not a splurge.
Transparent lesson pricing, group and semi-private formats, and package options that fit a real family budget.
Programming
Kids grow in golf through structured, age-appropriate experiences — not one-off rounds or occasional lessons.
Year-round junior programs like Operation 36, PGA Jr. League, First Tee, and US Kids Golf give kids a place to keep coming back.
Age-appropriate curriculum, camps, clinics, and clear progression paths kids and parents can follow over time.
Recognition
Every milestone matters. Approved courses and coaches celebrate junior moments with real Kids Golf Passport stamps.
Courses stamp the Kids Golf Passport at the pro shop or on the course to mark first rounds, first pars, and other on-course milestones.
Coaches stamp the Kids Golf Passport during lessons and programs to celebrate breakthroughs, effort, and skill milestones along the way.
Fun
Kids don't stay in golf because it's serious. They stay because it's fun. That is the standard, not the bonus.
Games, relaxed formats, family hours, and a culture where laughter is part of the round.
Games-based teaching, creativity, and energy — lessons kids can't wait to come back to.
The Golf Passport Program.
Every Kid Friendly Approved course your kid plays. Every milestone they hit. One passport. A lifetime of memories.
Every Kid Friendly Approved course and coach counts — a new stamp wherever you travel, tee it up, or take a lesson.
First hole, first par, first birdie, 9, 18 — every milestone unlocks a stamp in the dashboard.
Watch the passport fill up round after round, course after course, year after year.
Parents aren't just asking, "Where can my kid learn golf?"
They're asking the questions nobody at the facility hears:
"Where won't my kid get yelled at?"
"Where will my daughter feel comfortable?"
"Which course actually welcomes beginners?"
"Where are family tees?"
"Where are there other kids?"
"Where will the staff treat us like guests?"
That problem has never been solved. We're solving it.
The Michelin Guide for family golf.
Restaurants have health inspections. Hotels have stars. Environmental groups certify businesses. Golf has had no national standard for how families are treated. Until now.
When parents look for a course, they'll look for the Kid Friendly Approved™ badge. When facilities want to win those families, they'll pursue it. That's how culture changes.
We complement. We don't compete.
Other programs own instruction and competition. We own one thing nobody else does: The standard for how kids are treated.
Standards
One national rubric — the 5 Kid Friendly Standards — that every approved course and coach commits to.
Advocacy
A unified voice for parents and the next generation of golfers at every level of the game.
Research
The annual State of Junior Golf report. Kid Friendly Approved. The Best Cities for Junior Golf.
Discovery
A national directory and map that helps parents find welcoming courses and coaches with confidence.
Culture Kits
Tools that help facilities ritualize the small things that make kids feel like rockstars.
A Movement
Working alongside coaches, facilities, governing bodies, and existing junior programs. Not replacing them.
Help us change golf for kids.
Join thousands of families helping golf become the most welcoming sport in America. Free guides, the approved map, and updates from the movement straight to your inbox.