GOLF is a sport that requires patience and time to learn.

It’s a sport that many of us put off until retirement but there is no need for those living in Port Stephens to put off learning golf any longer as there is a new program at Nelson Bay Golf Course to assist budding golfers to feel confident as they take to the course.

The Nelson Bay Golf Club Bay Buddies is a program for potential golfers which features mentored matches at the picturesque Nelson Bay Golf Course.

The key objective of the Bay Buddies initiative is to prepare new players for competition golf, or the level of golf they choose, through development of basic skills and understanding of the etiquette and rules of golf.

The program recognises that whilst golf is a sport of great tradition and challenge, it is sometimes daunting to the uninitiated.

The ethos of Bay Buddies is that golf should always be played in a friendly atmosphere and strives to deliver this message – the main aim of a golfer being to enjoy the sport.

This basic approach has delivered a program judged as a great success and enjoyed by all involved in the inaugural season during the latter part of 2021.

Inaugural 2021 participants Jennifer Maher and Anne Marie Barrett have strongly endorsed the program to potential recruits.

Jennifer and Anne Marie enthusiastically described Bay Buddies as “friendly, informative and a lot of fun, a program where friends have been made and many a social game of golf enjoyed”.

Both Jennifer and Anne Marie are now competition players with a ready group of friends to call upon for practice or social games.

Bay Buddies is conducted in conjunction with weekly skills clinics presented by club professional Warren Moses.

In addition to the coaching aspect, the program offers nine holes of mentored golf for new players each Monday and Wednesday afternoon.

Groups of three novice golfers are accompanied by an experienced golfer with a simple “learn-as-you-go” approach applied to understanding the rules and etiquette of the game.

Bay Buddies welcomes new members and club membership is not a prerequisite.

Prospective members are encouraged to undertake professional tuition in conjunction with participation in the program.

You can find out more about joining Bay Buddies by calling Ann Turner from the Nelson Bay Golf Club Ladies’ Committee on 0409 556 949.

 

By Marian SAMPSON