In many places, a round of summer golf can be a relaxing, enjoyable afternoon activity. Some would say there are few better ways to spend an afternoon.
Most locales, though, only offer so many months of golf weather. And even then, days in some places may be unbearably hot to the point of not playing at all.
Arizona, however, offers golf weather almost year round.
In the winter months, the weather in Arizona is perfect for golf, but not for wallets. For college students, a golf habit can get expensive quickly.
Enter the ASU Golf Club. Junior business student Edward Feiler founded the club last year to bring ASU students who love golf together. The club encourages ASU students to get out and enjoy the Arizona weather by hitting the links.
The club organizes a monthly outing at one of the courses that sponsor the club. Its membership is rapidly increasing and the group is pushing for bi-weekly meetings.
“One of the reasons I came [to ASU] was to play golf,” freshman club member Brett Doyle said. “I came from Delaware where you can only play golf five months out of the year. Here you can play all year around.”
Along with the opportunity to play golf, the club also offers members a chance to connect socially with fellow students on campus.
“The best part of the club is having a good time playing golf and meeting new people,” Doyle said.
Feiler said the club isn’t just about the golf and isn’t limited to the fairways and greens either.
“We are trying to build a closer friendship with all the members,” he said.
In addition to the golfing events, Feiler’s plans include a Phoenix Suns game for the members and a mini golf social where members can bring a date.
One of the club’s other primary objectives is giving back to the community. Next semester, the club plans to host a service project to help the community in Tempe.
“I feel it is good for our members to experience community service,” Feiler said. “I always enjoy doing [service work], because you always feel good at the end of the day, even if you are tired. “
In the future, club members would also like to become more competitive. When asked about making the club more competitive, members expressed excitement.
“I think that it would give a whole another aspect to the club,” sophomore Luis Andrade said. “You can then use what you learn not just for recreation but to actually compete against another club team.”
Doyle agreed and said it would be a dream to compete with other universities.
While the club has a number of characteristics that vary in appeal to members, there’s one facet that members all love.
“The best part of the club is that you get a bunch of discounts to play golf,” Andrade said.
One of the courses that sponsor the club is the Arizona Foothills Golf Club. The normal greens fee for non-members is about $50 per round. ASU golf club members get to play the course for between twenty and thirty dollars.
In the month of April, the price drops for club members to about ten dollars per game. For any out-of-state freshmen who aren’t acquainted with Arizona weather just yet: it gets pretty nice in April.
Edmund Hubbard is a freelancer contributing to The State Press. Reach the reporter at ehubbard@asu.edu
