Page 43 - Fall 2017 english

“In 2016, Lisa Vlooswyk (aka “Lisa Longball”) was approached by Kim Carrington (G&G sales rep) and Kirsten Miners (my friend and former co-worker) to
get involved.“
SPECIAL GUEST: LISA LONGBALL
The Dream Junior Golf Academy is quick to remind people that this program is an introduction to the game of golf. You will never hear us refer to our large program as lessons. Our niche is to introduce as many kids as possible to golf and hopefully they will pursue the game at their local club or here with one of our other programs as they develop.
In 2016, Lisa Vlooswyk (aka “Lisa Longball”) was approached by Kim Carrington (G&G sales rep) and Kirsten Miners (my friend and former co-worker) to get in- volved. So, to kick off the 2017 sea- son, Lisa came to Collicutt Siding and put on her show for a group lesson. The golf course brought in bleachers and invited all the kids from both Monday and Wednes- day to one 6pm show.
It was a great evening! The kids and parents both enjoyed Lisa’s les- son. She is full of energy, puts on a good show and gives great advice. We had between 1,300 and 1,500 people attend. Our great sponsor, Dream Developments, rolled in with BBQs and fed the entire fam- ily. Following Lisa’s program, the kids and parents were treated to an open house and could try out all three stations with the instructors there to answer questions.
PARENT SPECIALS
This program is definitely thinking about the future of the game more so than gaining immediate finan- cial gains. However, the golf shop attendants at Collicutt Siding are quick to tell you that many book- ings happen every year strictly be- cause of the junior program. Sever- al parents or grandparents will tell the staff that they had been bring- ing little Johnny out for the Acad- emy and saw Collicutt Siding for the first time and decided to give it a try.
The golf course also offers “Parent Specials” for the parents to join their children for a bite after the sessions. It is posted on Face- book and goes over very well with the hungry guardians.
At the time of writing, we sold over 400 parent specials last week alone! It is a very busy time for our
food and beverage team. A food and beverage staff member goes outside at the start of each session (5:00 pm, 6:00 pm or 7:00 pm) and takes pre-orders so the food is ready when the kids are finished.
BUILDING ON OUR SUCCESS
We get thousands of thank you handshakes, emails, cards, and even the odd gift! That overshad- ows the one or two complaints a season we receive about their child not getting enough attention. Col- licutt Siding does have other pro- grams for “that” parent looking for more focused teaching.
Our junior program has helped put our small town golf club on the map and encouraged golfers to try our course. They really appreciate the conditioning that superinten- dent Dean Ross and his crew have the course in and that has really im- proved our numbers over the years.
We have no idea how big this program could get and we have al- ways said we will never turn a child away. Some days we wish we had more instructors and more time. We understand that this program is not for everyone, but it does give the kids a taste of the sport and that has always been our mandate.
Photos © Oliver Banyard.
Golf Business Canada
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