PGA Jr. League

What is PGA Junior League? – PGA Junior League (PGAJL) is an opportunity for First Tee – Pittsburgh (FTP) participants to play golf on a team, with numbered uniforms, against other teams in a fun two-player Scramble format.  We have both 13U and 17U PGAJL programs for participants ages 7-13 and 14-17.  All games are played on Sunday afternoons from 3:30 to 6:00 PM, and we offer both Spring/Summer and Fall seasons for both programs.

PGA Junior League GameChanger Award – Our First Tee – Pittsburgh PGA Junior League programs have won four consecutive GameChangers Awards (2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022) as the largest program in the Tri-State PGA Section

Multiple Team Locations  – Players in the 13U PGAJL program will choose one of our programming locations.  We will have up to five teams at our Bob O’Connor Golf Course location in Schenley Park, one team at our Victory Hills location in Elizabeth, one team at our 3 Lakes location in Penn Hills, and one team at our All About Golf location in Butler.  When registering, please choose the appropriate HOME location for your 13U participant.

Players in the 17U PGAJL program will ALL be assigned to our Bob O’Connor location in Schenley Park, however the 17U games will be played at multiple locations.  The regular season schedule will be finalized once all participants have registered, and 17U games will rotate between the Bob O’Connor, 3 Lakes, All About Golf and Victory Hills throughout each season.

CLICK HERE to watch a short video to see how PGA Junior League works!!

PGAJL Code of Conduct

The following information and schedules will apply to ALL 13U and 17U PGAJL participants.

Regular Season Game Times – We will have one practice game and six weeks of regular season play on Sunday afternoons, with both practice and regular season games starting promptly at 3:30 PM and ending at 6:00 PM. Players will be expected to arrive at 3:00 PM so they have time to warm-up and walk to their starting hole.

Player Eligibility – Only ACTIVE members of First Tee - Pittsburgh will be eligible to play in our chapter’s 13U and 17U PGAJL programs.  Players ages 7-13 may register and participate in the 13U regular season, but only players ages 10-13 on or before July 31, 2023 will be eligible for the All-Star team and postseason competition.  Players ages 14-17 may register for the 17U regular season, which will use the same dates and locations for their games.

Registration Process, Timeline, Scholarships & Fees

The REGISTRATION process BEGINS January 30, 2023.

STEP ONE – Members MUST first register on the First Tee – Pittsburgh chapter website, and pay their $80 FTP fee to the chapter.  The chapter fee covers course usage at our participating affiliate facilities.  Financial aid is available to any families who need assistance in paying the chapter fee.  Participants will receive an email confirmation of their chapter registration.

STEP TWO – After completing the FTP registration process, you will receive a separate email from PGA Professional Eric Kulinna with additional directions and our UNIQUE ACCESS CODE.  The 13U and 17U programs are listed separately on the PGAJL website, and each program requires our unique First Tee – Pittsburgh chapter access code to complete the national registration.

STEP THREE – If you qualify for financial aid, you will also need a separate PGA Reach SCHOLARSHIP CODE to complete the PGA Junior League registration.  The PGA Reach Scholarship code will cover the national PGA Junior League fee, and allow you to register your child on the PGA Junior League website.  If you require a PGA Reach scholarship, please DO NOT begin the registration process until you have secured a unique scholarship code from PGA Professional Eric Kulinna.

STEP FOUR – Once you have the unique code(s) necessary to complete the national registration, families MUST then create and account and register on the PGA Junior League website (www.pgajrleague.com), and pay their $224 PGAJL fee.  The national fee includes the Coaching Fee ($125) and the Annual Membership ($99) that includes a Team Kit (Headwear, Home & Away Jerseys, Bag Tag, etc.) for each player.

Program enrollment is taken on a first come, first served basis, and will continue until a maximum number of players have registered, or registration closes, whichever comes first.  

National registration on the PGA Junior League website for the Spring/Summer 13U and 17U programs will CLOSE on March 26, 2023.

PGAJL participants MUST register with both First Tee – Pittsburgh on our chapter website, AND with PGA Junior League on their national website.  Your child’s registration in the FTP PGAJL program is not complete until you do both.

PGA Junior League Captains – PGA Professional Eric Kulinna will serve as the PGA Junior League Captain during the regular season for all 13U and 17U teams, and coach the 13U and 17U All Star team throughout all post-season competition at the Sectional, Regional and National levels.  He will be assisted on a weekly basis throughout the regular season by Assistant Captain Aaron Lindauer from First Tee – Pittsburgh coaching staff.

Team Coaches & Scorekeepers – Our PGA Junior League program will only work with engaged Parents and Guardians, and we encourage you to get involved and volunteer.  Each 13U PGA Junior League team will need TWO adult coaches, and at least TWO adult scorekeepers each week.  Parents and Guardians who are interested in being a Team Coach should contact PGA Professional Eric Kulinna, and he will assist you in completing the required background check.  Once the team rosters have been finalized, we will have a MANDATORY 90-minute Coach Training session on Sunday, April 16, 2023 from 3:00 to 4:30 PM at BOGC.

Team Formation – Once registration closes, we will form teams, with rostering to be completed within a week at the latest. Team rosters will be determined by age, ability, member level, and programming location.  We will strive to get evenly matched teams, and make sure that each team has at least two trained adults who will serve as coaches during the games.

Team Kits & Player Uniforms – Each player will receive both Orange (Home) and Blue (Away) jerseys with their number and team name on the back, and headwear to be worn during games.  They will also receive a PGAJL T-Shirt, bag tag, and a drawstring bag to keep their gear in.  All PGAJL teams will have their last name printed on the back of their jerseys.

Regular Season Practices – We strongly encourage all PGAJL participants to be actively enrolled in FTP programming classes.  Golf skill development will be tracked using the FREE Operation 36 app (www.Operation36.golf), and all FTP PGAJL team members are eligible to attend our Guided Play and Practice class on Thursday nights at BOGC from 5:00-7:00 PM.   Coaches Eric Kulinna and Aaron Lindauer will be available during that time, along with the adult volunteer team coaches, to work with individual players on developing their golf skills and knowledge of scramble and match play strategies.

Coach Training – Once the 13U teams are formed, coaches will be notified, and a Coach Training will be held on Sunday, April 16, 2023 from 3:00 – 4:30 PM at BOGC.  The Coach and Assistant Coach for each team will be primarily responsible for setting the lineups before each regular season game, making sure that official scorecards are kept for each match, and posting the game scores. .  

Team Orientation & Team Kit Distribution – All the players, coaches, and parents/guardians will meet together as a team on Sunday, April 23, 2023 at BOGC.  The players will get to meet their teammates and coaches, and will receive their uniform kits.  The teams will have the opportunity to conduct an “intrasquad” practice together on the course.  More information regarding game dates and locations will be provided as soon as possible before the start of the regular season.

MyPGA App – The PGA of America has developed the MyPGA app to share information about the PGA Junior League program.  Coaches will post pairings and results, and can communicate delays and other pertinent information through push notifications on the app.  Parents can also digitally share photos and videos with each other.  The MyPGA app is available at both the Apple and Android stores, and all parents/guardians are strongly encouraged to download the app to their phones, and learn how to use it, as it will be our primary communication platform during the season. 

Postseason Competition > 13U & 17U Divisions – Both the 13U and 17U divisions of the Spring/Summer programs will have a postseason competition.  Eight 13U players and six 17U players will be selected to the All-Star teams that will represent  First Tee – Pittsburgh at the Sectional, Regional and National levels.  Additional detailed information on this process will be available at the conclusion of the regular season.

Postseason Practices & Fees – FTP PGAJL All-Star team members in both 13U and 17U divisions must be available to practice and compete in August 2023.  All-Star team members will be asked to attend practices at a location(s) to be determined to prepare for the Section Championships.  The PGA of America has introduced additional fees at the Regional and National levels, and should our teams advance to those levels, the chapter will seek a sponsor to cover the costs incurred.