Iowa is launching a state junior team that will expand the pipeline for elite local golfers as part of the U.S. National Development Program (USNDP), an initiative launched in 2023 by the United States Golf Association (USGA) to create critical development, competitive, and talent identification opportunities for golfers ages 13-18. 

Iowa is one of 20 states to join the USNDP’s state junior team program in 2027. The initiative launched in January 2024 with seven pilot states and continues to grow steadily with nine states in 2025 and 14 in 2026. With the 20 states joining in 2027, the USGA has officially reached their goal to establish a team in every state working in close partnership with allied golf associations, the PGA of America and its sections, and local junior golf programs. 

“The growth of the state team program in year three is an important step in building the national player pathway,” said Heather Daly-Donofrio, USGA managing director, U.S. National Development Program. “This program is about more than competition. It gives young players the opportunity to develop together, build relationships with teammates and proudly represent their home states, all while gaining greater access to resources that can support their growth. These experiences will strengthen junior golf locally and deepen the overall pool of talent nationwide.” 

The Team Iowa committee has been created to oversee team selection criteria, and the operation of Team Iowa based on the guidelines provided by the USNDP. The committee is composed of representatives from the IGA, Iowa PGA Section, and other individuals knowledgeable about junior golf in Iowa. There are eleven committee members from across the state of Iowa. The committee is currently working on finalizing a points list for select events and additional selection criteria for the team. The final details will be released by December 1, 2026. 

While Team Iowa is being announced today, there will not be athletes on the team until 2028. In 2027, athletes will have the opportunity to play their way onto the team by earning points in select events. In November of 2027, eight boys and eight girls will be named to Team Iowa by a combination of automatic selections from the Team Iowa points list and committee selections. Team Iowa athletes will begin programming in 2028. 

To be eligible to compete on Team Iowa, a player must be a U.S. Citizen and resident of Iowa. Each eligible player must be 13 years old by Nov. 15, 2027, have not reached their 19th birthday by July 15, 2028, and must not be enrolled in college for the 2027-2028 school year. A Handicap Index® is also required. 

Additional information on Team Iowa can be found here: https://iowagolf.org/teamiowa/ 

Announced in February of 2023, the USNDP is designed to ensure that American golf is the global leader in the game by focusing on six key pillars: talent identification, access to competition, national teams, athlete resources, player development and relations and athlete financial support. The Team Iowa program will focus on creating a developmentally appropriate, aspirational pathway for athletes within Iowa to compete at higher levels of the game. Members of Team Iowa will have access to elite developmental resources within our state through team camps and meetings as well as team apparel. 

More information about Team Iowa will be released in the coming months. Please email IGA Director of Development, Paige Hoffman, with any questions at [email protected].

The app evolves into a playing companion that golfers use before, during and after every round

The United States Golf Association (USGA) today unveiled the next iteration of the GHIN® mobile app presented by Sentry, featuring a comprehensive refresh of the design and innovative new features. The updated user experience focuses on a more streamlined, easier to use navigation flow, while keeping the familiarity and main purpose of the app – score posting – front and center.

Upon updating the GHIN app, users will immediately see a cleaner, more intuitive and consistent design. The user’s Handicap Index® takes center stage, with both starting a round and posting a score prominently featured as well. Using the GHIN app as a playing companion includes a dramatically simpler setup, faster scoring and stat tracking and enriched course graphics.

“Organizationally, we’re committed to evolving GHIN, with a goal of becoming the best overall golf app on the market,” said Tom Padula, managing director, GHIN. “Leveraging both modern design principles and direct golfer feedback, this redesign marks a foundational step that paves the way for an exciting future. We can’t wait for GHIN users to update their app and be delighted with the new visual experience and expanded feature set.”

The new Stats section, a key development in the GHIN app, shows players how different aspects of their game and performance are trending over time. Born out of the popular GHIN Rewind, which annually shows users how they fared during a calendar year, Stats is designed to help golfers engage more deeply with their scores and stats through better data visualization, meaningful metrics and an improved layout on a year-round basis.

Key Stats features include:
– New Stats Tab Navigation: Streamlined interface with dedicated subtabs to simplify discovery and highlight different aspects of your game.
– Overview: View key activity trends at a glance – rounds played, frequency and recent score patterns, while also adding relevant stats like birdies and three-putts per round.
– Scores: Modernized score history with cleaner visuals and sortable, interactive rounds.
– Handicap Index: A focused view on H.I. progress, including Differentials and milestones.
– Hole-by-Hole: Reimagined visualization of hole performance to spot patterns and opportunities.
– Advanced: New charts to track dispersion, putting performance and round trends.
– Courses: Course-specific insights including rounds played and average score per hole.

GHIN users in seasonal score-posting areas can now look forward to offseason play this year, with a forthcoming update that will allow players to save scores in the GHIN app for personal tracking, even if the area of the country they’re playing is not in an active score-posting window.

The Apple Watch experience has also been fully redesigned to mirror the updated look of the new mobile app and is now available for all users. General users can view yardage to the middle of greens, whereas Enhanced GPS users get distances to the front, middle and back of greens, as well as key yardages to hazards and layups. Players can now leave their phone in their pocket or bag and rely on the Apple Watch alone, with a cleaner interface built specifically for the smaller screen.

For public players, GHIN Challenges offers Allied Golf Associations the ability to create interactive leaderboards at golf courses within their communities. Designed to connect more golfers with a Handicap Index, GHIN Challenges offer a fun way to encourage friendly competition and show players of differing abilities how they stack up against each other.

AGAs can set up a GHIN Challenge at any course within their jurisdiction, as long as it has a Course Rating and Slope Rating. This feature was designed with public golfers in mind, allowing those playing at daily-fee or municipal courses to use their Handicap Index to compete fairly on virtual leaderboards using their net scores.

GHIN Challenges are now active and available to all AGAs, which can begin to set up leaderboards at golf facilities in their respective regions. Thirty-six AGAs are already participating, with over 750 Challenges created and more than 30,000 golfers involved.

Presented by Sentry, the GHIN mobile app is fully integrated with the World Handicap System and the Rules of Golf, which the USGA oversees in its governance function, to ensure fair and equitable play for all golfers. Those interested in a Handicap Index can download the GHIN app and sign up.

The GHIN app also offers a 30-day free trial for golfers who want to track progress but don’t yet have a Handicap Index; however, those wanting to participate in Challenges need to have an official GHIN number. More than 3.6 million golfers in the U.S. alone maintain a Handicap Index, representing a wide range of playing abilities.

The app redesign is being rolled out gradually to users over the next few weeks. GHIN.com is also scheduled to undergo a redesign in the coming months.

Download the GHIN app now on iOS or Android, and for more information about the app and its features, please visit www.GHIN.com.