Australian Golf and Fairways First

By Grant Garrison, Queensland, Australia

Golf is booming down under. While many courses were closed during Covid restrictions, it quickly became the activity of choice once courses opened. Our amateur body recently announced record growth in club participation, the largest increase since 1970. As golf instructors, the challenge now is to find new, innovative ways to engage those who are interested and get them playing. I personally teach beginners at a course that doesn’t have a driving range. With this mind, I created a program I call Fairways First. The goal is to get new golfers on the course right away. There are seven levels, which represents different distances from the hole. Once they pass Level 7, they have the skill and knowledge to get a golf handicap.

The owner of the golf course is loving this program, as it’s creating new members and selling equipment in the golf shop. The staff has gotten behind it, too, because they have a program to sell which they know works well.

If anyone would like to have a look, (the online program is free), go to https://fairwaysfirst.thinkific.com/courses/1.