Get Golf Ready

Get Golf Ready

By John Gordon, Golf Canada

What’s keeping you from trying golf for the first time or, if you have played in the past and strayed away from the most popular sport in Canada for some reason, seeing if you want to take it up again?

What if there was a fun, inexpensive and easy way to find out? It’s Get Golf Ready.

Dubious? Need some reassurance?

How about this overwhelming endorsement?  Last year, every single person—100 per cent—who participated in Get Golf Ready across Canada not only said they plan on continuing to play golf, but would recommend Get Golf Ready to their friends. Participants included men, women, children, couples and families.

Get Golf Ready offers five one-hour group sessions at a participating course or driving range at a recommended fee of just $99 for all five.  All equipment, including clubs and balls, is provided as is instruction by a PGA of Canada professional where available. Sessions include:

The Hole is the Goal

  • How to get around the clubhouse and practice areas
  • The many social benefits both on and off the golf course
  • Suggestions on what to wear for golf fashion and comfort
  • All about golf clubs and why there are different clubs in your bag
  • Putting— the excitement of rolling the ball into the hole

Getting it Close

  • Warm up, stretching and wellness tips
  • The best ways to hold the club and get ready before you take a swing
  • Getting the ball close to the hole—chipping, pitching and other shots from short distances
  • Caring for the course

Swing, Swing, Swing

  • Getting comfortable with the full swing
  • Using your irons to get the ball in the air and onto the green
  • Learn the “lingo,” like fairway, rough, tee box, green, divot, bunker, and more
  • Having more fun using ‘It’s OK’ as the way to play

Driving School

  • Swinging your driver and other big clubs to hit the long shots
  • Starting your play from the correct tee markers – use Tee It Forward to have more fun
  • Helpful shortcuts to save time while you play

Ready, Set … Go Golf!

  • Linking all that you’ve learned to play a few holes
  • Tips for playing in groups, on teams and other fun ways to play
  • Getting you more comfortable on the course
  • Review of basic rules and keeping score
  • More opportunities for you to come back and play golf

“Get Golf Ready is designed to make people comfortable at the course, to help them get over that ‘intimidation factor’ that we all face the first few times we golf,” says Morgan Court, managing director of education for the PGA of Canada.

“I didn’t take up golf until I was in my late teens and I remember being a bit out of my comfort zone when I showed up at a course and had to ask some pretty basic questions. Get Golf Ready will answer those questions for a new golfer coming into the game now.”

The PGA of Canada partnered with the National Golf Course Owners Association Canada in 2010 to introduce the program to this county after it has been pioneered in the United States.

“Get Golf Ready is a tried-and-true program to ease anyone into the game,” says Nathalie Lavallee, NGCOA Canada’s chief operating officer. “It is especially welcoming for women who, for family or social or career reasons, want to see what golf is all about.

“To someone new to the game, a golf course can be an intimidating and confusing environment, and that has been a huge barrier in the past. This program helps everyone understand how to be comfortable in that environment. They quickly realize that it’s a fun and inclusive place to be.”

Participating facilities register for free and are provided with complimentary marketing, branding and resource materials and other support. “It’s a great opportunity for our golf professionals to connect with new or returning golfers,” says Court.

To find out more about Get Golf Ready, visit www.getgolfready.ca.