You asked. We listened. Now everyone benefits.
The popularity of the TGA Fun Golf Series continues to grow as it heads into its fifth year of giving recreational golfers opportunities to play exciting – oftentimes private – courses for discounted rates in a laid-back, low-stress environment. The hundreds of TGA Members and their guests who took part in the Fun Golf movement again last year had a collective message for us:
“More, please.â€
You got it. This year, the Fun Golf Series calendar has swelled to 26 events across Texas. That’s nine more outings than last year. Kelly Kilgo, the TGA's Director of Outreach and Fun Golf guru, said she hopes to add even more events during the summer and fall.
“This is going to be the biggest and best year yet for Fun Golf at the TGA,†said Kilgo. “We’ve been thrilled with the TGA Members’ participation and interest in our recreational outings. I keep hearing that they want more dates, so I’m really excited to be able to deliver on those requests.â€
Among the new Fun Golf venues for 2019 are Golf Club of Dallas, an old-school Perry Maxwell design that hosted the Byron Nelson Championship in the 1950s and ’60s, Tanglewood Resort, an Arnold Palmer-Ralph Plummer course in North Texas, Westridge Golf Course, a unique layout in McKinney that features six par 3s, six par 4s and six par 5s, the Club at Sonterra, a private course in San Antonio and Oakmont Country Club, another private facility located in Corinth.
Giving golfers access to private courses is part of the allure of the Fun Golf Series. Kilgo loves taking these casual outings to places most golfers aren’t able to play otherwise. She’s bringing back several fan favorites from the private sector for 2019, including Walden on Lake Conroe, the Miller Course at Bentwater Yacht & Country Club, Northgate Country Club, Las Colinas Country Club and Lantana Golf Club.
“For a while now I’ve been saying recreational golf like the Fun Golf Series is one of the best ways to get more people playing more golf,†Kilgo said. “Anytime we can book an event at a private club or somewhere that’s tough for people to get on, it’s a huge bonus. At the end of the day, no matter where we’re playing, it’s all about having a good time, meeting new friends and playing quality golf courses at reduced prices.â€
Since the TGA started the Fun Golf Series in 2015, one of the most popular venues has been TPC San Antonio. We’re headed back there this year – not once, but twice. On March 8, TGA Members and their guests can play the Oaks Course for a discounted rate. That’s where the best players in the world tee it up every year for the PGA Tour’s Valero Texas Open. Then on Oct. 6, Fun Golf returns to TPC San Antonio to play the Canyons Course, the club’s resort-style track, at a reduced rate.
There are also two opportunities for golfers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to play with TGA staff members. In conjunction with the USGA’s Play 9 campaign, you can play alongside TGA staffers in our nine-hole outings at Tenison Park Golf Course (May 23) and Firewheel Golf Park-Bridges (Oct. 16).
“Our Play 9 outings are a great chance for our members to play fun courses for discounted green fees while getting to know some of our TGA staff,†Kilgo said. “It’s really a win-win because it gives us a chance to meet more members and talk to them about what other kinds of events they’d like to see.â€
While it’s never mandatory, there is always some type of competition to sign up for at Fun Golf outings. Usually it’s a Low Net/Low Gross game or a four-person team scramble, but we’ll introduce some new formats, such as two-person scrambles and even one-person scrambles, where each player gets to hit two shots and picks the best one.
If you’ve been thinking about playing in a TGA event but are a little apprehensive about how your “away game†might hold up, a great place to start is the Fun Golf Series. No one is taking the game too seriously, and everyone is having fun. Doesn’t that sound like something you’d like to try?
Hope to see you soon at a Fun Golf outing near you.
