Originally written by Mike Dojc for Forbes.com
A golf outing can be a daunting and anxiety-riddled prospect for a rank beginner who has never swung an iron or so much as stepped foot inside a clubhouse. Beyond having to acquire the basic skills competence to play on a course, there are also the little things that longtime golfers take for granted: where not to drive a golf cart or what happens after you hit a golf ball out of bounds, which can be alien concepts to first timers.
Project Golf, a Myrtle Beach-based nonprofit, aims to make friendly first contact and grow the local player population by boosting access to facilities and offering up quality instruction.
“We’ve got a growing population here in Myrtle Beach. There are a lot of people moving to the golf capital of the world that have never played golf and it’s not an easy sport to access,” explains Gene Augustine, the director of Project Golf.
Their Introduction to Golf is a six-session evening program where PGA Professionals school newbies on everything they’ll need to know to have fun playing the game. This includes swing instruction and on-course playing lessons in addition to golf club familiarization: everything from booking a tee time and using the bag drop to checking in at the pro shop and the ins and out of operating a golf cart.
