TUGR’s Journey and What’s Next

Nearly three years ago we set out to bring accurate rankings to golf amid the brewing controversies in the professional game. We started with professional rankings and quickly gained traction appearing on numerous podcasts, being published by every major golf outlet, and having our rankings used in multiple professional events as entry criteria. As our journey progressed, we realized that junior golf needed what we had created for professionals - an unbiased ranking system that couldn't be gamed. 

In early 2024, we published junior ranking and quickly became the largest and deepest database of junior golfers available. Our primary goal has always been to publish unbiased, understandable, and accurate head-to-head rankings, while capturing as many tournaments in the golf ecosystem as humanly possible. Every tournament matters no matter how big or small, no matter the tour, no matter the location.

The effort to democratize junior golf rankings from legacy systems was fully underway.

By employing a better methodology, we could ensure scale without sacrificing accuracy. Then, when we added our analytics package to the mix, our mission became clear: Help fuel smarter decisions, lower scores, and epic days on the golf course.

As quickly as our professional rankings caught fire, TUGR Junior grew even quicker! By August 2024 we released a technology tool that helps college coaches find players in an easier and more efficient manner. These tools are now used by college coaches across 24 different NCAA conferences and have become the primary technology solution for many Top-30 programs.

The Coaches Rankings - Announcing TUGR’s Next Chapter

We are thrilled to announce the next chapter of The Universal Golf Rankings as we've merged with the team at College Golf Experience (CGX) to run our business moving forward. Joshua Jacobs, the CEO of College Golf Experience and junior golf industry veteran of 20+ years, will lead the TUGR Team with College Coaches. Three different Boards of Coaches will run and manage the rankings, while adding value for College Coaches, competitive players, and parents. With the new team in place, TUGR plans to go where we only dreamed of going. We are excited for this next chapter.

Please read the press release below:

The founders of TUGR aren’t going anywhere. We will still operate the rankings through the transition and will eventually transition to advisory board members to help guide TUGR moving forward. Joshua and his team have BIG plans that are already underway. I couldn't be more excited for 2026.

On a personal note, I want to say Thank You for the past three years as it's been an exhilarating ride. While there were many late nights and early mornings operating TUGR, the 'Thank you' emails we received from so many of you helped keep us pushing forward as we strived to bring unbiased rankings to junior golf. The new team and College Coaches will do great things with TUGR. Be on the lookout for a few announcements in the coming weeks and months. 

The Coaches Rankings are updated: http://tugr.org

Thanks,
Jeff