For geographically appropriate golf facilities (those on the western sides of their time zones) that have lots of “latent interest” wannabe golfers nearby, golf clinics and “on-course experiences” late in the evening can be a novel way to lower stress and make participants feel especially at home.
Anchorage Golf Course in Alaska is an ideal “midnight sun” setting for this concept, especially with a pied-piper type of instructor like Peggy Gustafson running the program. Along with nonstop Get Golf Ready programming and a full slate of junior golf activities, the course hosts what it calls the Women’s Summer-of-Fun Swing Clinics, senior clinics on Mondays and Fridays, and a wine and cheese putting clinic. The latter attracts 50 to 60 folks who pay up to $45 each to be on that practice green, learning a little something and socializing on either side of the summer solstice.
One of the best combinations of camaraderie and learning is the Three-Night Short Game Scoring Boot Camp. “It’s advertised as six hours of instruction and supervised play—two hours a night—but quite often we stay out way past the two-hour mark,” says Gustafson. She starts newer players with a putt and chip skills session, then stretches them out to shorter pitch shots. The range facility is quite accommodating, with two practice putting greens and a chipping green. “Then we load up on carts and head out on the course for some ‘play-practice,’” Gustafson says.
The get-‘em-out-there mentality runs throughout the golf staff’s strategizing. You might even say that Anchorage Golf Course builds on its Get Golf Ready work with a “Stay Golf-Engaged” type of programming. A set of green-colored tees keeps the GGR grads inside 250 yards on every par-4 hole. This summer, the club will launch a five-hole golf league, with the first groups going off at the sophisticated hour of 9 p.m.
“We’re talking about a $10 green fee for that,” says Gustafson, suggesting an all-fun, no-risk experience for the golfer who puts down their sawbuck. “As teachers, we wear a player-development hat at all times.”