PGA Family Tee Program comes to Arnold Golf Course

  • Published
  • By Erica Sturkie
  • Services/Golf
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. --  Have you ever been interested in golf, but the game seems too intimidating? Confusing? Do you know the rules, or even how to swing the club?

Certified by the Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA), a family course will be built into the already existing nine-holes at the Arnold Golf Course (AGC).

Known as the PGA Family Tee Program, this family course will create easier holes by reducing yardage and raising the par of each hole, allowing for golfers of all ages and experience levels to play without the intimidation and expectation that the regular length holes may present. The cart paths will be marked with the location of closer tee boxes, and markers will be buried into the ground to signify their new locations creating an easy to spot, free-flowing golf experience.

Under new management, AGC is currently in the idea stage for many new and exciting projects to attract golfers of all experience levels. Whether you've never picked up a club, only played a little, have no clubs to start, or need lessons to better your game, Arnold has it all.

"The PGA Family Tee program is a great way to introduce new or inexperienced players to the game without the intimidation of having to hit the ball like a tour professional," said Lyle Russell, manager of AGC. "It also doubles as a Par-3 course layout for seasoned players looking to try the course from a new vantage point."

For almost every other sport, an amateur version is first presented to allow newcomers to attain a liking for the sport and learn the skills needed to play. Then as experience increases, so does the difficulty, expectations and stipulations of the game.

For example, soccer fields are shorter distances that eventually become longer as experience levels increase. In baseball, the bases start closer together and gradually are farther apart. Unfortunately for golf, an amateur version of the game is rarely an option for newcomers who have an interest in learning how to play, until now.

AGC's newest program will arrive April 15.

If you don't have clubs, don't worry.  AGC offers men's, women's, left-handed, right-handed and junior clubs for rent at a reasonable price to accommodate golfers of all types. Club repair and regripping services are also available on-site and can sometimes be done while you wait.

Some other amenities at AGC include rental pushcarts and riding carts, a driving range, personalized private lessons, Mulligan's Grill for a bite to eat, and a pro shop full of personalized Arnold Golf Course merchandise. Even though the course is located on Arnold Air Force Base, the course is open to the base staff and to the general public.

"Supporting our military members and being able to offer our facility to the public is a win-win for every golfer in the community," Russell said.

For more information call 454-GOLF.  If you plan to eat lunch at Mulligan's Grill, you may call ahead to place advance or to go orders at 454-FOOD.