Come Alongside And Mentor

      I am sure that the average person that has just taken up the game of golf is pretty much overwhelmed. There is so much to learn and master not only in the actual playing of the game but those things that go along with the game that we who have played the game for a long time don't even think about. So many questions swirl about in the heads of the new player that it is tempting to just say the heck with it, there is just too much.  What do we as experienced players do?  What about coming alongside of the new golfer and guide them though all the complexities.  In essence, mentor the newbie.
     The American College Dictionary defines mentor as "a wise and trusted counselor".  Notice that it doesn't say teacher as I don't think that a mentor is merely a swing coach.  A mentor can be a PGA Pro responsible for the mentees lessons, but that is not their only function and they don't have to be professionals.There is much more to it.  A golf mentor should be more than teacher--a guide for the new golfer through all that is the game of golf. The mentor shares their experiences and knowledge of the game as well as encourages the new golfer. After all, they were new to the game once too and should share that with the mentee, both good and bad as well as their present struggles with the game.
     We all want new golfers to be successful playing the game.  That is kind of hard to do when there are so many questions to answer from the new golfer.  Let's think about this for a minute as many of us take these for granted.  What are the rules and should I play the exact rules when I start and shoot 150? What ball do I play? What clubs should I buy. Why are there so many clubs in a golf bag and what are they used for?What's a putter? (I wonder that myself sometimes even as an experienced golfer.  Where are you Bill Presse? I'm still waiting for my Directed Force putter.) How do I get around the high cost of the game?  How can I enjoy the game more? Will I ever get better? What's a tee time and how do I get one?  What is par? What is a birdie? That only scratches the surface of the questions a new golfer may have.  What do we do about that?  We want them to stay in the game and enjoy it, don't we?  What is our attitude going to be toward this nebie?  We were there ourselves once, remember?
     Here comes the kicker on all of this.  If we were to create a new golfer's mentor program, what would it look like? How would it be organized at the golf course level? Does it have to be an organized program? What role does the course pro take in building this?  I really don't know or have any suggestions. In fact, I welcome your feedback as far as what this would look like.  Please take a few moments and give your suggestions as I would love to hear them.  What is clear though is that we as experienced golfers need to reach out to the newbie and help establish them firmly into the ranks of golfers. You remember how hard it was at first, don't you?

It's time to come together and figure out how we can mentor golfers who are new to the game.