Joshua Tremblay, the 2014 Middle Atlantic PGA Golf Professional of the Year and the Section’s 2010 Youth Player Development Award winner, is the PGA head professional at Springfield (Virginia) Golf & Country Club.

With a little creativity and preparation, my staff and I were able to turn a potential problem into a success story that has changed the way we look at outside outings. An outing in 2013 had too many beginning golfers, which contributed to multiple issues (insufficient number of rental clubs, slow play, etc.); it became a logistical nightmare. When the same outing returned in 2014, we were ready. We offered beginners a chance to sign up for a clinic instead of playing the outing. That way, the new golfers could be a part of the festivities and not feel left out. They spent time on the range, at the short game facility and on the putting green.

The clinics were a success: They attracted 24 participants and everybody enjoyed themselves. We moved students around to different areas of the game so they wouldn’t get bored and we gave them enough time to try a skill and move on. We have received very good feedback, and plan to offer the clinics to other outings. The clinics have the potential to increase corporate memberships, attract lessons for our instructors and grow the game. The clinics definitely helped make the outing run smoother from an operations side. It was a win for us. We got the golfers around quicker, we were able to open the back nine for our members, and we didn’t see a big drop-off in participants.

If you would like to email the author of this Best Practice directly, please email joshua.b.tremblay@gmail.com

Editor’s note: The above comments reflect the opinion and experiences of the submitting PGA Professional and are not endorsed by PGA Magazine or the PGA of America.