Golf Is For Everyone: The More The Merrier--Let's Grow The Game

I wish you all a Happy Sunday and a Happy First Day Of Spring. Today is going to be very busy for myself and my wife as we present an Easter Concert at our church. We are busy in final rehearsal and today have a Palm Sunday Service at the church as well as the performance at the church. With that in mind, I though I would have something special for you.
Rich O'Brien is a contributor to this blog and has written a post about growing the game of golf. Rich has published several articles in numerous publications and this particular piece was published in The Charleston South Carolina Golf News. Enjoy the piece and I will be with you again tomorrow with a new post.

We Need Your Help to Grow the Game

By Rich O’Brien

One of the recurring themes of the Grow the Game Initiative has been the importance of the course setup. Golf courses are typically set up too long for beginners and these players often become frustrated because they simply are not able to carry the ball far enough. Many of them quit the game. The perception is that there is not an easy onramp for new players such as a bunny slope in skiing. The PGA of America recently published a book called Setting Up Golf Courses For Success. The purpose of the book is to educate PGA members on the positioning of tees to make the game more welcoming.

Surveys also indicate that there are 25 million non-golfers interested in playing the game. I believe that golf needs its’ core group of passionate golfers to take a more active role in growing the game. They can do so by sharing their passion for the game and by inviting their friends to play. I would suggest that a good place to start would be by inviting them to the driving range. The facility, ideally, would offer a Get Golf Ready Program (or a program similar to it) and that would be a good opportunity to introduce your friend to the program’s instructor. From a marketing perspective, golf courses and teaching professionals would be well served to encourage and reward such an invitation system.

In my opinion every golf course should offer a Get Golf Ready Program. The five week program is designed to be a comfortable and inexpensive on ramp for new players to the game. In a friendly group environment players can learn the basic elements of the game for only $99.

And after completing this introductory series, your friend will be ready to take their new found skills to the course. This is another good opportunity for you to mentor them. I have personally accompanied hundreds of new players onto the course. I believe that it is very helpful and serves a number of important functions; (1) it is also a good time to teach the player etiquette; (2) it protects the new players from the wrath of impatient players who want to play through; (3) and perhaps most importantly, it sets the player up for success by giving them permission to play from a non-traditional set of tees. For many of these players I recommend that they tee off from yardage markers in the middle of the fairway; a par 3 would be from the 100 yard marker; a par 4 would be from the 150 yard marker; while a par 5 would be from the 200 yard marker. It has been my experience that by playing the shortened version of the course that the new player are not overwhelmed. These players also quickly learn the importance of the short game, play faster, score better and typically have more fun. And they might even make a par and be excited to come back again the next day to play.

It is in everyone’s best interest to grow the game. The first time a new player steps onto a golf course we have an opportunity to welcome them or we can treat them like they are a burden. These new players are the lifeblood of the game but, too often, they are treated like they are an inconvenience. So please invite your friends to play golf and take an active role in introducing them to the game. Take the time to be a mentor and a friend.