This July, visitors from all over the world will come to the Bremerton area for what may be Kitsap Peninsula’s top major sporting event ever. Gold Mountain Golf Club will host USGA’s U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, which will bring more than 150 top youth golf players from as many as a dozen countries, along with their families, about a hundred USGA officials, another hundred college coaches and an international press contingent (the event is also televised).

The championship, which will be free for spectators to watch, is estimated to bring an impact of about $1.3 million over one to two weeks to the local economy.

“It’s the world’s biggest golf tour for 17 and under. You’ll get (to see) many future tour stars in this championship,” said Scott Alexander, Gold Mountain’s director of golf.

Owned by the city of Bremerton, Gold Mountain Golf Club (www.goldmt.com) will be the first municipal course and only the second public course to host this six-day event. To pay for the cost of hosting it, the golf club has to raise $250,000, and planning efforts started as soon as the event was awarded more than two years ago and kicked into high gear last year.

“We’ve knocked on many doors and engaged a lot of people,” Alexander said.

This is the second time a major golf event has put the spotlight on the facility. In 2006, Gold Mountain hosted the U.S. Amateur, the oldest golf championship in the country and one that has the most coveted amateur titles. Alexander said they’ve been vying for that honor of hosting it for about 10 years — but once they applied to host the U.S. Junior Amateur, it was awarded to Gold Mountain the next year. He said part of the reason is because the USGA was impressed with the community involvement during the U.S. Amateur, including support from local businesses and volunteers.

“To host two USGA national championships in a five-year period, even for the best courses in the country is very rare,” he said.

Gold Mountain Golf Club has consistently ranked at the top in the state and in the nation. Its awards include a 4.5 star rating (highest in Washington) and best in the state by Golf Digest, Best Public Course in Washington by Golfweek Magazine, as well as second best value in the country behind Bethpage Black (Long Island, NY) by both Golf Digest and ESPN.

One of only three 36-hole golf ranges in the state, Gold Mountain opened its Cascade Course in 1969 with nine holes, adding nine more in ‘71. The Olympic Course opened in 1996 with 18 more holes and immediately got accolades: It was voted second the best new public course in the United States the following year.

The city added the Olympic Course at the urging of Alexander, who saw a need for more space. He backed it with hard data, too: For a year, staff kept track of how many times they’ve turned away rounds because they were booked.

“It’s been a great investment for the city,” he said. “It’s helped bring tourism to our area.”

The national events are making that investment even more solid. Alexander said avid golfers seek out courses where USGA hosts major events. “Many educated golfers travel around and have the desire to play the best courses in the country — things like this set you apart and put you in front of those avid golfers,” he said.

Already, golf is a major boost to the Kitsap economy. As one example, Gold Mountain has partnered with McCormick Woods Golf, Trophy Lake Golf & Casting and Silverdale Beach Hotel to offer a “stay and play” package. Alexander said the program has helped book about 1,000 hotel nights and brought in $375,000 in program fees alone every year — and those numbers doesn’t include the many people who don’t know about the package and do the same thing independently.

A major reason for Gold Mountain Golf Club’s high rankings is the topography, “the creative design the architects came up with to challenge the best players while making it playable for beginners, Alexander said, because “it’s a challenge to make it good for both types of players.”

Being part of the design process was a highlight of his career — as is hosting two major championships.

“About 95 percent of people in my business don’t get to do either golf course design or host a national championship,” he said.

But as exciting as the championships and other events (including NCAA regionals) are, Alexander said what he likes the best about the job is providing the best experience for the everyday golfers, making many new friends and being involved in the community. “When you’re doing a national championship… everything has to be top notch and there’s no reason not to carry that over to everyday play,” he said.

Alexander has been playing golf since he was 4 years old, growing up in a golfing family. He played golf successfully through high school and college but decided not to take the professional route with the PGA. Instead, he wanted to become a golf pro but was discouraged by many people, who told him golf is a tough business with long hours.

“I tried the insurance business for a while and realized the hours didn’t bother me but I wanted to do something I loved,” he said. “If it’s going to be long hours, it might as well be doing something you love.”

About 26 years ago, he came to Gold Mountain Golf Club as the head golf professional, taking over the ownership of the pro shop and the management of the city-owned course. He was in his late 20s at the time. A few years later, he also took over ownership of the restaurant, Tucker’s.

“With my personality and thinking outside the box, owning my own business has been a good fit,” he said.

Daryl Matheny came to Gold Mountain more than 20 years ago as an employee, and soon became a partner in the business. An Olympic High School grad who grew up in Bremerton, Matheny started out in the sport as a teen thanks to his father and has played competitively in the state’s junior association.

Now the head pro, he said having his office on the golf range has great perks. He loves being able to step outside and hitting a few puts. Not that he has much time — just organizing national championships has entailed days that start as early as 4:30 a.m. and go on until late evening. Seeing the final product in 2006, however, has brought in a lot of satisfaction, Matheny said — and now that they proved they could give the visitors the “wow factor,” they’re ready for the next round.

“We got so much satisfaction not only for the facility but for the city, the volunteers and the community, we really wanted to do it again,” he said.

The two business partners said the business has both allowed them to continue being immersed in their passion for golf as well as an opportunity to help many others enjoy the game.

Alexander, who doesn’t get a chance to play except once every two to three weeks, said he doesn’t miss the game as much since he played a lot when he was younger, not to mention he loves the new challenges he has.

“I still love the game but what challenges me the most is running the business successfully,” he said. “I love creating new ways for people to come and play.”