it’s your SWING
BY DON DELORENZO
Golf…join the club
M
any of you may think of golf as a very solemn
and solitary sport. A lot of whispering…keep
your voice down and not a lot of expressive
behavior. Visions of a single golfer trudging
down a misty fairway at dawn doesn’t exactly stir excitement
into a lot of people. But golf can be a ton of fun, especially
if you join some sort of club. Now I’m not saying you have
to mortgage your house and be a member of a private golf
course, but if you want to do this, please be my guest. I’m
talking about joining a club or league at your local course
as a way to meet people and have a regular group that you
can play with.
Oftentimes when I give students lessons they immediately
fall in love with the game. They fall in love with the challenge
and the joy they get with the noticeable improvement that
can be readily seen. But what prevents a lot of these students
from playing this great game on a regular basis is not having
someone to play with. Nobody wants to play round after
round by themselves. This game is much more enjoyable
when you share the ups and downs and highs and lows
with someone.
Every golf course has some type of club, league or clinic
you can join to meet people with the same interest. Playing
golf! Many golfers feel they are not “good enough” to join a
golf club at their local course. WRONG! Most of these clubs
operate under the umbrella of the Northern California Golf
Association or the Pacific Women’s Golf Association. What
that means is you will have a golf handicap based on what
type of player you are. A golf handicap gives players at any
skill level the ability to compete on an even playing field with
a more skilled golfer. The other thing that makes golf so great
is that a talented low handicap golfer can play right along-
side a high handicap and less talented golfer. Name another
sport where that can happen without one player getting
bored and the other player getting beaten badly. Check with
your golf course and see what type of club is available.
Gilroy Golf Course has a Men’s Club that holds regular
weekend events, road trips, Skins Games and monthly
tournaments. Different formats are available with singles,
twosomes or four-person teams. Eagle Ridge has the same
and both host after-work golf leagues. On Wednesdays at
Eagle Ridge and Thursdays at Gilroy GC the fairways are
full of laughter and frivolity and some competition too. Teams
gather to compete against each other on a weekly basis in a
relaxed yet semi-competitive atmosphere. This is a great way
to meet new golfers.
Oftentimes work teams can be formed as a way to relax
after a long day at work. I’ve personally seen teams from See
Grins, Anritsu, and Golden Bear Fire Extinguisher Company,
use golf as a way to bond after work.
On the ladies' side there are nine-hole and eighteen-hole
clubs at both courses as well. Often-times the nine-hole clubs
are for those ladies who have less time to spend or they are
more comfortable competing for only nine holes instead of
eighteen. Both clubs are very social with lots of activities
outside of golf.
The Gavilan College golf course hosts a beginner class
each fall. It is a perfect place to learn the game and have
a built-in group of players to play with. Playing opportunities
are part of the class scenario, so many students play directly
after instruction. I’ve seen a lot of students come from this
class and join the ladies' and men’s clubs at Gilroy Golf
Course as their next step.
So if you love to play golf but don’t have anyone to play
with, contact your local golf course. We’ll put you in contact
with a club or team or group that will make the game more
enjoyable and get you out to meet people who share your
same interest. GOLF!
WESTERN GOLF
GETAWAYS
92
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
JUNE/JULY 2018
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