Staff WriterIf junior golf had a home-from-home, it would probably come with a Northumberland postcode. Close House will once again be the beating heart of junior golf in 2026 as it stages both a qualifying event and the grand final of the PING Junior Masters, underlining its status as one of the UK’s go-to venues for developing young talent.
Recently crowned Junior Golf Programme of the Year, Close House isn’t just polishing trophies – it’s doubling down on its long-term mission to give youngsters proper tournament golf, not just a bucket of balls and a pat on the head.
A Junior Series That’s Starting to Look Suspiciously Like a Tour
The 2026 PING Junior Masters series is being dialled up a notch. Nine qualifying events will be played across seven counties, giving ambitious juniors the sort of schedule that wouldn’t look out of place on a seasoned pro’s calendar – minus the courtesy cars and appearance fees.
Each qualifier is played off nett scores, which is a clever way of saying: bring your handicap, not your excuses. By levelling the playing field, a far broader spectrum of junior golfers gets a genuine chance to book a place in the showpiece grand final on Close House’s Championship Colt Course.
From every venue, two boys and one girl in each of the Under 12, Under 15 and Under 18 categories will punch their ticket to Close House. The result? A properly mixed, inclusive field, representing clubs from across the country rather than the usual cluster of big-name academies.
The format isn’t just about handing out medals. It’s about exposing kids to tournament conditions – scorecards that actually matter, other players watching, parents nervously pretending not to – and accelerating their development in the process. In short, it’s exactly what the PING Junior Masters was designed to do.
From British Masters Sideshow to Must-Play Junior Series
The PING Junior Masters has come a long way since it first teed off in 2017, launched alongside the British Masters at Close House. What began life as a smart add-on has quietly grown into one of the UK’s most exciting and accessible junior circuits.
It helps when you’ve got a former Ryder Cup star in your corner. Backed by PING Europe and championed by Close House Attached Tour Professional Lee Westwood, the series offers young golfers something most of us never had: a taste of elite competition in a properly professional setting.
Westwood has watched it grow from a good idea into a seriously credible platform.
“Since we launched the Junior Masters in 2017 alongside the British Masters at Close House the programme has gone from strength to strength,” commented Lee Westwood, official Attached Tour Professional at Close House.
“I am immensely proud of how it has evolved, providing young golfers the chance to compete at some fantastic courses across the UK whilst gaining invaluable competitive experience. Congratulations PING and Close House for the award winning initiative.”
When a player who’s seen everything from Ryder Cups to major Sundays says your junior series is getting it right, you’re onto something.
A Cornerstone of the Close House Junior Pathway
For Close House, the PING Junior Masters isn’t a marketing bolt-on – it sits right at the heart of how the club thinks about youth development.
“The Junior Masters is a cornerstone of our junior pathway,” said Jonathan Lupton, Managing Director at Close House. “It provides a competitive platform for talented young players while also supporting our wider grassroots initiatives. Our goal is not only to host great tournaments but to help create long-term engagement with the sport.”
That “long-term engagement” line matters. Anyone can stage a one-off junior day with a few token prizes and a tray of sausage rolls. What Close House and PING are building is a pathway: taster coaching in schools, proper junior programmes at the club, then a national series that gives kids a reason to keep practising when the weather turns grim and the PlayStation starts calling.
PING Putting Its Money (and Prizes) Where Its Mouth Is
PING Europe will once again supply the prizes for the grand final, a tangible sign that this isn’t just a logo-on-a-banner arrangement. The brand has long been associated with nurturing golfers from junior level to the world stage, and the PING Junior Masters fits neatly into that story.
Dave Fanning, European Marketing Director at PING Europe, couldn’t be clearer about why the company remains invested: “The Junior Masters perfectly reflects what junior golf should be about – opportunity, development and enjoyment. We’re proud to support a series that continues to grow and create memorable experiences for young golfers.”
Opportunity, development, enjoyment – that’s essentially the mission statement for the whole series, neatly wrapped up in three words. And with each passing year, the PING Junior Masters looks more like a proving ground for the next wave of British and European talent.
Bigger Than a Tournament: A Community Pipeline for the Game
The impact of the programme goes far beyond the final leaderboard. Through the Junior Masters initiative, the Close House PGA Teaching Team delivers free coaching to more than 1,000 schoolchildren every year.
That’s not just a few assembly talks and a chip-and-putt day – it’s a genuine outreach effort, introducing golf to kids who might never normally get near a driving range, never mind a championship course.
By linking that grassroots activity to a visible, aspirational event like the PING Junior Masters, Close House is helping golf shake off its old stereotypes. The message to youngsters is simple: this game is for you, and here’s a pathway to prove it.
All Roads Lead Back to Close House
With nine qualifiers, three age categories, and spots on offer for both boys and girls, the 2026 PING Junior Masters will funnel a nationwide field back to Northumberland for the season finale on the Championship Colt Course.
The grand final at Close House will give the qualifiers a full “tour experience” day – the kind of thing that makes a junior golfer’s eyes light up and their parents wonder if they’ve accidentally created a future tour pro.
One thing is certain: when the best young players in the country walk onto the first tee at Close House in late October 2026, they won’t just be chasing trophies. They’ll be stepping into an environment that feels, just for a day, like the big time.
And if the PING Junior Masters keeps growing at this pace, for some of them, it might just be a dress rehearsal.
