Rosa Jones, a PGA Apprentice, is the Assistant Golf Professional at Cedar Crest Golf Course in Dallas, Texas.

Rosa Jones on the importance of creating a comfortable environment for women to learn the game:

At Cedar Crest, I began a beginner women’s golf clinic called “Sip and Swing” where I introduce the fundamentals of golf to women. It creates a fun and engaging environment for players who are new to the game, and I feel that I’m making a small difference by helping the game become more diverse as well. A lot of my members work in the business world and have mentioned they feel isolated when meetings or outings are held on the golf course and they don’t know how to play. I want to get more women comfortable playing the sport and give them a chance to learn a new hobby, network, and just have fun.

Rosa Jones on the business impact of creating a comfortable environment for women to learn the game:

Started in 2023, “Sip and Swing” is a four-week session that is held on Tuesday evenings. Each participant receives a margarita and 90 minutes of group golf instruction. There are a total of eight women, and one coach (myself). The total cost for the four weeks is $200. I’ve gained six additional golfers who are looking to continue learning the game further and booked private lessons. We’ve also increased the number of rounds played by women and the amount of women’s merchandise in the shop sold has gone up. It’s also given me the opportunity to pick out more women’s pieces for the shop. I believe the biggest impact for the individuals are that they are learning something they never thought they’d learn. Golf can be very intimidating and after each class they learn something new. They’re also meeting other women who are interested in learning golf and this helps after the session is over because they usually stay around to play/practice together. It eliminates the issue of finding other women to play with. And that leads to more memberships, the development of women’s leagues, and what I hope is a really bright future for the women of Cedar Crest Golf Course.

If you would like to email the author of this Best Practice directly, please email rjones@golfcedarcrest.com.