Mixing business and pleasure isn’t always a bad thing. Have fun, mingle, meet people, get newcomers interested in golf and make a few bucks. Sounds good, right?
Tony Brooks thinks so, and he hopes an idea he has leads to a good match for the future of golf in addition to sprouting some love stories. The instructor at the new PGA Learning Center at Diamond Bar Golf Course is combining his familiarity with Match.com and teaching background to hold Stir events where singles meet, learn about the golf swing and find a partner – for the course and perhaps for life.
“It’s like speed dating for golf is how I see it,” Brooks said. “Golf is a great game where you can meet people and learn a lot about them. This is the best of both worlds: we’re introducing potential newcomers to golf and introducing people to each other for possible friendships or relationships.”
The first Match.com gathering, in July at Diamond Bar, drew 27 people, and the event, Brooks said, received one of the highest ratings for a Stir event. The second outing, in September, attracted 22, so Brooks is encouraged with the possibilities.
“The people at Match are excited for this to take hold and work,” he said. “They want to provide their members with a consistent experience, and that’s what I’ve told them I can provide on my end no matter where we end up taking this.”
The end game for Brooks, basically, is to grow golf and his business ventures. He is on the ground floor with his PGA Learning Center and other ideas that also include golf mixers for Meetup, a social website that promotes activity gatherings for singles, groups or couples. The first two Match.com-promoted events at Diamond Bar were for singles 35 to 55 years of age. Brooks is planning one in December for people aged 45-65, and he’d like to go younger in January with an event for people 25-45.
He knows Match.com can lead to relationships if site singles find the right chemistry. Brooks met his future wife, Paula, at the Santa Monica Pier a couple years ago after the two got in touch through Match. The couple got married last summer and welcomed a baby boy, Evan, to the family three months ago.
“I have good memories from my time on Match,” Brooks said. “It was their Stir event notices that gave me the idea for my golf outings.”
The idea for starting a PGA Learning Center wasn’t his, but Brooks operates one of only seven in the country at this time. The centers, which are based on giving new golfers an entry into the game, were started about a year ago when Nike Learning Centers across the country were shut down. Sessions provide participants with a chance to feel comfortable at the course with encouragement, mentorship, basic instruction and the chance to play for a couple hours with the pro on the course.
“The hardest thing for new players to do is come to the golf course and feel like a fish out of water,” Brooks said. “This increases their comfort level and gives them a chance to learn and play with people who are also just getting started. Reports show that golf has been losing players the past decade or so. We can change that because we’re after people who have never touched a club or played the game.”
Brooks said PGA officials have told him that the Southland is being used as a testing ground to see if the idea works and, besides Diamond Bar, there are four other regional PGA Learning Center locations: Knollwood in Granada Hills, Mountain Meadows in Pomona, Whittier Narrows in Rosemead and El Cariso in Sylmar. Two other centers are have also been established in Northern California.
“Some of the ideas for growing the game, such as bigger holes and combining soccer and golf [footgolf], are being and have been tried, but they’re not really sticking,” Brooks said. “We can get new players interested in the game and out to the course. That can only be seen as a benefit on so many levels.”
