Gordon on Golf

Get Golf Ready

(Bruce Bennett/ Getty Images)

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

Getting it Close

Swing, Swing, Swing

Driving School

Ready, Set … Go 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.