No Roster Named Yet
U.S. National Development Program
Team Alaska
The roster is empty. That is the whole point.
Somewhere in Alaska right now there is a 14-year-old grinding through a cold, wet round on a course that will be frozen in six weeks. This page is for that kid. The Alaska Golf Association, along with the USGA, Pacific Northwest PGA & WA Golf, are building the pathway that puts Alaska's best junior golfers on a state team - and into the national pipeline that runs through the USGA.
What This Is
A state team, feeding a national program
The U.S. National Development Program is the USGA's pathway for the country's top players - from competitive junior golf all the way to the top of the sport.
The State Junior Team Program is the front door. Its stated goal is to expand, strengthen and diversify the junior golf pipeline by creating development, competitive and talent identification opportunities inside each state for elite athletes ages 13 to 18. It runs through the USGA working alongside local golf associations.
The program launched in 2024 with seven pilot states and has rapidly expanded.
Alaska has not yet named its State Junior Team. We’re focused on giving our junior golfers more chances to compete, improve, and get noticed beyond Alaska. Every step forward brings us closer to putting Alaska’s young talent on the national stage.
Team Alaska
Where things stand
- Status
- No Alaska roster has been named. Nothing on this page reflects a selected team.
- Who it is for
- Alaska junior golfers ages 13 to 18 who are competing, posting scores and serious about where this game can take them.
- What we need from you now
- An active GHIN Handicap Index, scores posted from every eligible round, and a summer spent inside AGA competition.
- How you hear first
- Email the AGA to be added to the Team Alaska interest list. Criteria, timelines and applications go to that list before they go anywhere else.
Half The Roster
Every state team is half girls
That is not a target. It is the rule.
Team Alaska will include four athletes - 2 Boys & 2 Girls.
So the number that decides how strong Team Alaska is on day one is the number of Alaskan girls playing competitive golf this summer, posting every score, and putting a real record together. If that is your daughter, or that is you, the work starts now.
The Pathway
Nobody applies. You play your way on.
There is no form that gets an athlete onto a state team. There is a record, and the record is built in tournaments.
Alaska's selection criteria have not been set. When they are, they will be published on this page in full - every counting event, every point, every deadline. Until then, none of the following changes for an Alaskan junior.
Get a Handicap Index, and keep it honest
State team eligibility requires an established, accurate Handicap Index. Post every eligible score from AGA events. The 84 counts as much as the 71.
Play Alaska's championship calendar
Every AGA championship and junior event becomes part of your Alaska record. That record is what the selection committee sees.
The Team Alaska Committee ranks you
Scoring finishes and how you compete are what matter. The Team Alaska Committee will rank Alaska's junior golfers and identify the athletes ready for a state team.
The team is named
2 Boys & 2 Girls. Selection covers one year.
You earn it again
Every athlete plays their way back on. Selection happens every year.
Program Eligibility Standards
What the USGA requires of a state team athlete
These are the USNDP's standards for State Junior Team athletes nationally. Alaska-specific criteria will be added once set.
- The athlete must be a U.S. citizen.
- The athlete must be 13 years old by January 1 of the year they would compete on the team.
- The athlete must not have reached their 19th birthday by July 15th of that year.
- The athlete must not be enrolled in college for that school year.
- The athlete must have an established Handicap Index with eligible scores posted.
- An athlete is eligible for only one State Junior Team, determined by the state where the parent or guardian who claims them as a dependent filed their most recent state tax return.
Questions
Straight answers
Is there a Team Alaska right now?
No. No roster has been named and no Alaskan athlete has been selected. This page exists so Alaska families know exactly what the program is and what it asks of a player, long before any selection window opens.
When will Alaska's team be named?
A date has not been set, and we are not going to invent one. When Alaska's timeline is confirmed it goes on this page and to the interest list the same day.
How many Alaskans will be on it?
Team Alaska will include four athletes - 2 Boys & 2 Girls.
My kid plays in Anchorage. Is that a disadvantage?
Location inside Alaska is not the issue. Reps are. A junior in Fairbanks, Juneau, Kenai or Anchorage all face the same short season and the same travel math, and the ones who end up on a roster are the ones who put their name on a scoreboard as many times as the calendar allows.
What should we be doing this season?
- Get an active GHIN Handicap Index and keep it accurate.
- Post every eligible score, including the bad ones.
- Play AGA junior competition. All of it you can get to.
- Email the AGA and get on the Team Alaska interest list.
What do state team athletes actually receive?
Under the USNDP, athletes named to a state team receive at least two days of in-person athlete development per year, access to webinars led by the USNDP coaching and athlete development team, consideration for USNDP exemptions into junior tournaments, and a streamlined grant application for families demonstrating financial need. Team gear and additional programming vary by state.
Does making a state team mean making the U.S. National Junior Team?
No. The National Junior Team is selected by the USGA and is a much smaller group than the combined state teams. Being named to a state team does place an athlete inside the U.S. National Development Program for the following calendar year.
We split time between Alaska and another state. Which one applies?
Only one. Eligibility follows the state where the parent or guardian who claims the athlete as a dependent filed their most recent state tax return.
We want to help fund this. Who do we talk to?
The AGA office - golfalaska@gmail.com. Airfare is the single largest barrier for an Alaskan junior golfer, and it is where a sponsor's dollar goes furthest.
The Work Starts Now
This is how Alaska builds strength
One post, one event, one record at a time.
Alaska's competitive calendar is short. That means every event counts more. Every score posted stays. Every round shapes the ranking that the Team Alaska Committee will use to name a roster.
Be First To Know
The list opens before the team does
Criteria, timelines and every Team Alaska announcement go to the interest list first. Players, parents, coaches, and anyone who wants to help pay for the plane tickets.
Alaska Golf Association | golfalaska@gmail.com
The U.S. National Development Program and the State Junior Team Program are initiatives of the United States Golf Association. The program details on this page reflect USGA published standards for State Junior Teams nationally. Alaska's selection criteria, team size and timelines have not been established and will be published here when they are.