The difficulty of getting new golfers on the Golf Course is being tackled directly by Mid Sussex Golf Club in Ditchling, with the launch of the Porsche Centre Mid-Sussex Performance Golf Course, a shortened 9 hole course enabling new golfers to play alongside their more experienced friends and family.
At just 1,085 yards long, the par 35 course is already getting beginner ladies playing. While adult male beginners happily go from practise ground to course, ladies are often extremely nervous about going on the course and can be intimidated by players behind them and so on. The short course lets them start well out of other players’ way, get the hang of playing on a proper course, and do 9 holes in 2 hours.
Lee Andrews, PGA professional and General Manager of Mid Sussex Golf Club, says: ‘The performance course allows them to play with experienced players, and still be on the green in a similar number of shots. The way I envisage the course working is to get new golfers onto the course sooner. Golf has a number of large stepping stones from taking your first lesson to gaining a handicap at a club. These steps need to become friendlier and I believe we have now achieved this at Mid Sussex Golf Club with the short course and our membership categories.”
“The short course at Mid Sussex is a great idea – very progressive and revolutionary. I know a lot of our ladies would be very interested in this,” commented Annie Dixon, Director of The Lady Golfer Club. “At a time when the inclusion of lady golfers is getting an awful lot of press coverage, it is great to see that a few clubs are actively promoting the game to them by allaying most of their major concerns and being proactive and welcoming.”
Speaking at the launch day Pat Dotchevat remarked: “The afternoon was very interesting, well organised and extremely informative. I learnt a lot about the etiquette of golf that I was not aware of before. Today has given me the confidence to go out on the short 9 hole course with friends, whereas before the thought of going on the normal course was quite daunting.”
Sponsored by the Porsche Centre Mid-Sussex and ascetically designed to add rather than detract from the main course, this is an Academy Course that really is designed to help all people ‘Get into golf’.
Mid Sussex Golf Club www.midsussexgolfclub.co.uk