Golf Gurus

Corporate Golf Services, Cross Lake
(corporategolfservices.com)

The Game: Corporate Golf Services (CGS) provides golf con-cierge services for corporate golf outings. CGS is also the home of the Golf Schools fore Women and Girlfriend Golf.

The Pro: Barb Hanson, who is a member of the United States Golf Association and the Minnesota Women’s Golf Association, combines her lifelong passion for golf (she carries an 8 handicap) with her coaching skills to develop golf outings for businesses and create women’s golf programs.

The Dance Floor: Corporate Golf Services will arrange outings to many Twin Cities golf courses and serves as a hub for golf resources from catering to golf apparel. A professional speaker, Hanson also delivers custom presentations on the importance of golf as a business tool.

“Golf has been a business tool for years, but primarily for men,” Hanson asserts. “Women feel disenfranchised in that respect, and they may not feel a lot of confidence playing. I try to instill confidence in women golfers, and get them to appreciate that while they may not have to be the best golfer in the world, they do need to have some basic skills and knowledge of the rules and etiquette of golf in order to be effective.”

One of Hanson’s most important contributions to women’s golf is her e-mail newsletter “GolfHers News,” published about every three weeks. Aside from widely applicable advice and tips on golf, the newsletter provides readers with stats about women’s golf (for example, women make up 60 percent of the seven million non-golfers who say they are “highly interested” in playing golf), information about women’s only golf schools and gatherings, and even recommended reading, such as Putt to Death by golf mystery writer Roberta Isleib.