09 Jul 2021 | Participation |
Holden fuels Tassie beginner golf
by Dane Heverin
No barriers and a fast-paced Holden sounds like a recipe for disaster.
But for golf newcomers in Tasmania it is putting them on the road to success.
Adam Holden is responsible for nearly 500 registrations to Get Into Golf in the past year at Tasmania, New Town Bay, Bicheno and Kingston Beach golf clubs.
Holden, a teaching professional at Tasmania GC, is the biggest contributor to Get Into Golf in the country and attributes his success to “keeping it simple”.
He is too modest.
His no-barriers approach has been the driver of all those registrations.
Traditional barriers of price, participating alone and eligibility restrictions have not stopped Holden.
“I price it cheap because I want them to come to three or four clinics, not just one,” Holden said.
“If they come three or four times, each session they see the improvements and build momentum.”
Friendships also build momentum for new golfers.
Holden runs free come-and-try days in conjunction with Get Into Golf programs to encourage existing participants to bring friends.
“I had someone attend a come-and-try day last week and she’s bringing two friends this week,” he said.
“That’s how the numbers keep growing.”
Holden is adamant that eligibility requirements will not prevent anyone from having a go.
“People send me emails saying ‘I want to come on this day but it says seniors’. So I tell them to come anyway,” he said.
“And the seniors really like it when there are some younger people there.”
Holden became involved in Get Into Golf when long-time friend - and Golf Australia’s Tasmanian golf development manager - Simon Weston asked him to “get a couple up and running”.
Weston is thrilled he asked.
“He’s just kicking all sorts of goals for Get Into Golf,” Weston said.
“He promotes it well and uses his database well.
“He has been a real shining light.”
Holden promotes his clinics on Facebook, but word of mouth has been his most powerful promotional tool.
“The free come-and-try day is the key to all this,” Weston said.
Holden has broke his sessions down with catchy titles.
“The off-course sessions are called ‘learn to play’ where I teach the basics and the on-course sessions are called ‘play to learn’,” Holden said.
“‘Play to learn’ is typically three holes from 80m, 120m and 150m, gradually getting further away from the green.”
It is yet another example of Holden’s no-barriers approach, one which his helping his goals come closer.
“I just want to keep them coming back”.
For more details visit: https://www.golf.org.au/getintogolf/home/
Join our newsletter
Get weekly updates on news, golf tips and access to partner promotions.