Mass Golf elevates player experience
Membership has surged
I’ve only been officially in the golf world for a little over a year but evidence supports this: I’m already kind of a big deal.
I mean look: I can sashay into quite a number of exclusive, private clubs and play a round. I have people who keep files on my scores and help me track my improvement. They arrange fun games for me to play during rounds with friends, and they offer me all kinds of special opportunities, like cool in-person tips and lessons from renowned pros.
Yep, that’s me: Kind of a big deal. OK, that’s all true, but here’s the hook: it could be you too. Because while I may have signed on as a member of Mass Golf (https:// www.massgolf.org) simply as a way to track my handicap, I found out quickly that the organization, officially Mass Golf since 2018 but out there supporting golfers for over a century, is a golden ticket to the insider golf life.
Mass Golf Director of Marketing and Communications Stephen
Hanjack told me most of the current 110,000 Mass Golf members (they surged from 85,000 pre-pandemic to that current total this year) joined with the plan to get or keep track of a handicap.
Like me, all Mass Golf members get that “I’m a big deal” status the moment they join. Here’s a rundown of just some of the ways Mass Golf membership elevates your experience:
Handicap Index: I’ll be honest, the only reason I decided to get a handicap is because a few friends want to ask me to play in their future member-guests, for which I need one. But as Hanjack points out, anyone playing golf even semiregularly benefits from having one (no matter what that number is).
“People tend to just think it’s for the super-elite,” he explained, “but it’s actually the opposite.” With my handicap in place and official, I can, he said, actually compete with a pro golfer, or at the least, compete on an even plane with my pals who are much more proficient than me.
Mass Golf shows you how to assign the strokes you get with your current handicap score, which means, should you want to play a competitive round, you can do so easily and with a true chance of staying in the hunt. The USGA GHIN app, which Mass Golf gives you access to, is a great tool for all of that. (https://www.ghin.com)
I thought it would be more of a “way to track improvement,” (which it is,) but it’s actually more of a tool to help keep golf fun for me. Excellent.
Member Days: This is a crazy bonus. Some of the 360 member clubs of Mass Golf are private — and even pretty exclusive. But they take turns hosting Member Days. You enter a lottery for a spot at the club(s) you hope to visit that season and, once chosen, are welcomed for a day of fun golf at a super low price (under $100 for a full round that includes other perks special to each club).
This year spots like Wedgewood Pines in Stowe, Ipswich Country Club and Oak Hill in Fitchburg are just three of the many clubs welcoming Mass Golf players one day this season.
Usually, the only way to get on one of those exclusive courses is by making friends with a member or by playing a charity tournament. But in the charity tourneys you’re usually playing a scramble. Member days you play your ball all day. (And they’re democratic about the lottery to play; it’s weighted toward those who may yet have secured a spot in the past). I’ll be a regular at these, for sure.
Tournaments, championships and more: Mass Golf hosts a wealth of tourneys for members, from their own championships to team tournaments, parent/child tournaments and more. Should you not be ready to play in one, members can volunteer to help run them, a fun day where you’ll make friends and watch great play up close.
There are special days like the annual International Women’s Golf Day when they offer a day of free lessons on putting, chipping and driving followed by course play, and intro to golf days.
I’m thankful to the friends who told me I’d need an official handicap to play in their future events not just because they’re nice enough to ask me, but because they led me to Mass Golf and my new title of KOABD (Kind of a big deal).
You’re a big deal too. It’s a click and $55 membership fee away.