Great Gorge to host pair of national park golf championships

The Great Gorge will host two International Park Golf Association of America-sanctioned tournaments this summer as part of its inaugural 2026 1Club Park Golf Tour, bringing national competition to New Jersey’s first park golf course.

The North American Park Golf Championship will be held July 25, followed by the inaugural 1Club Park Golf Classic on Aug. 22. Registration for both events is now open.

The Aug. 22 tournament will serve as a qualifier for the World Park Golf Championship in Japan, with the top male and female finishers earning the opportunity to represent the United States.

Often described as “the pickleball of golf,” park golf originated in Japan and is played with a single flat-faced club and a larger ball on a shortened course. The sport has more than 2 million participants worldwide and is played on more than 2,000 courses.

”We’re incredibly excited to host not just one, but two premier Park Golf championships at 1Club this summer,” Great Gorge General Manager David Killin said. “These championships are a major milestone for us, for Vernon and for the continued growth of the sport nationwide.”

The North American Park Golf Championship will feature two 18-hole rounds, with awards presented to the top three male and female finishers.

The 1Club Park Golf Classic will also consist of two 18-hole rounds and will determine the U.S. representatives for the World Park Golf Championship.

Both tournaments are limited to 72 competitors and are open to men’s and women’s divisions. Participants will compete in a morning shotgun round followed by afternoon tee times and will receive breakfast and lunch as part of the event.