By Rex Grayner, SVP of Business Development, Hurricane Junior Golf Tour
Every December, the junior golf world gathers in Orlando for the biggest weekend of the year. Families arrive from every corner of the country. Players walk into a competitive environment that feels different from anything else they experience all season. It is the final exam. It is the reward for months of work. It is the moment when juniors see where they stand and what comes next.
But the 2025 National Championships felt even bigger. The weekend carried a different energy. It showed how far the Hurricane Tour has come in its eighteen year history, and it showed where junior golf is heading. It was not just a great event. It was a turning point. A glimpse into the future of the sport.
Here are six things that stood out.
The Kickoff Party set the tone for the entire weekend
We opened the weekend at Island H2O Water Park, and it instantly felt like something new for junior golf. The pools were drained. The slides and attractions were shut down to the public. What remained was a massive open-air venue that gave families room to spread out, enjoy food, take photos, listen to music, and settle into a beautiful Orlando evening.
Parents kept telling us they had never attended a junior golf event with this kind of atmosphere. Kids ran into friends they met earlier in the season. Sponsors were active. Television crews captured the energy. It was festive without being chaotic. It was structured without feeling stiff.
A kickoff event does not win a tournament, but it absolutely sets a tone. This one did exactly that. It made the weekend feel important before a single player reached the first tee.
The weather cooperated when it mattered most
Forecasts all week pointed to rain. Enough to make players nervous. Enough to keep parents checking radar. Enough to challenge our operations team across eight championship sites.
And yes, there were pockets of showers. But the heavy downpour waited. Every division finished 36-hole play before the storm arrived late Sunday afternoon. That alone felt like a win. It allowed juniors to compete on schedule. It allowed leaders to finish under real-time pressure. It allowed awards presentations to unfold the way they should. And it avoided a complicated finish that no one wanted.
Sometimes the best part of tournament weather is not sunshine. It is timing. This weekend, the timing worked.
The competition showed exactly where junior golf is heading
From the opening round, the level of play made a statement. Kids arrived prepared. They stayed composed. They carried themselves like seasoned competitors. There were stretches of scoring that would not look out of place at a college invitational. There were recoveries and decisions you usually see from older players. There was a resilience that stood out across every division.
This was the clearest picture yet of how strong junior golf has become. It is not only talent. It is emotional maturity. It is course management. It is the ability to absorb setbacks without letting a round slip away.
College coaches who follow our tour already understand the depth of talent emerging across the country. This weekend validated it again.
The HJGT staff lived the purpose of this company
Our staff put in long days across eight championship locations. Early mornings. Late nights. Scoring tents. Rules decisions. Logistics. Media. Customer support. All of it.
But something about this weekend brought out the best in everyone. Staff members watched kids achieve personal bests. They saw hugs on the final green. They watched first-time qualifiers soak in every moment. They saw parents cheering, crying, filming, celebrating. They saw the impact of their work right in front of them.
That reconnects people to mission. Junior golf runs on effort, but it also runs on purpose. Our team showed both.
Our sponsors and brand partners elevated everything
The brands who support the Hurricane Tour played a major role in shaping this weekend. Some activated at the Kickoff Party. Some delivered premium products and experiences on site. Some provided tools and resources that helped juniors prepare. Others supported behind the scenes to make everything feel seamless for families.
The common thread is that none of it felt transactional. These partners showed up because they believe in junior golf and want to contribute something meaningful to the players and parents who invest so much into this sport.
Purposeful partnerships always reveal their value on weekends like this.
The golf courses gave these kids a stage worthy of the moment
The National Championships are only possible because of the courses and course staff who open their doors to us at the busiest time of the year. They prepared championship conditions. They supported our tournament directors. They kept everything moving during high traffic hours. They created an environment where players felt the magnitude of the moment.
Families will talk about these venues for years. Juniors will remember specific holes, greens, tee shots, and walks up 18. None of that happens without the commitment of the facilities that trust us to run world class junior golf events on their property.
What this weekend taught us
When everything came together. The Kickoff Party. The weather window. The elite competition. The staff effort. The partner support. The excellence of the courses. It painted a clear picture of what junior golf can be when every piece moves in the same direction.
It becomes more than a tournament. It becomes a memory. It becomes a chapter in a young athlete’s story. It becomes the weekend players think about when they set goals for next season.
This is why we do what we do. For the players who compete with heart. For the parents who support the journey. For the staff who carry the mission. For the partners who help create moments that matter. For the courses that give juniors a stage worthy of their talent.
National Championship Weekend is the crown jewel of our season. It also reminds us that junior golf is rising, and we will keep raising our standards with it.
The next chapter starts now.
