By Bruce Meadows
March 2021
Taking golf to the ‘Next Level’
Greg Anderson has been involved in a lot of aspects of the game of golf in his life.
And now he’s added a new one: “Next Level Golf and Fitness.”
Greg most recently operated Greg Anderson Golf Academy at Bennett Valley GC and Foxtail in Rohnert Park after serving as General Manager at
Oakmont Golf Course (now Valley of the Moon), but left after the course was sold and new course manager AGP brought in their own managment.
Anderson, a graduate of Cardinal Newman and University of San Diego, also been director of golf at Braemar Country Club in Tarzana, head golf pro at Sea Ranch, Mountain Shadows and Princeville Resort on the island of Kauai.
Molly James, popular LPGA pro at Windsor GC, will be on the team at Next Level Golf and Fitness.
Brad Neuerburg, a national certified trainer, heads a group of fitness instructors providing individualized training.
“The beginnings of our business started soon after I attended a webinar about the very detailed and vast junior golf development in Canada,” explains Greg.
“I was also in a session with golf instructors from Southern California who discussed the diversity of coaching to include the value of the golf instruction, fitness training, nutrition education, and sports psychology.
“With a passion for coaching throughout my career, I thought it was a great time to partner in a business tying all these things together.
“Our ‘one-stop shop’ concept is unique to the North Bay and we are here to service the individuals who want to get to the NEXT LEVEL, both in fitness and in golf.
“The entertainment part of the business is incredible. On our simulator, two people can play Pebble Beach Golf Links under the current weather conditions at the facility.
“Or, go across the pond and play St. Andrews Old Course. We have 15 spectacular clubs to choose from.
“We also have closest-to-the-hole contests, league play, long drive competition, and a unique program to chart how far all your shots actually go. We are currently asking all participants to book and pay online..”
As Greg says in one of his promotional emails:
“Another spectacular day with the golf courses in Northern California at maximum capacity. I have never seen times like this in which all golf business proponents are exploding in popularity. Hopefully, you are able to enjoy some of the great weather and wonderful golf facilities as we continue our social distancing during the pandemic.
“I have opened up an exciting business which incorporates instructing and analyzing golf swing mechanics, fitness training, nutrition education, and sports psychology. We also offer great trips to spectacular golf destinations, golf club fittings and sales, use of the launch monitor for practice and entertainment, and the chance to participate in leagues and contests throughout the year. Next Level Golf & Fitness (nextlevelgolfandfitness.com) uses the best technology and facilities to assist beginner and advanced players in achieving their golfing and fitness goals. Please come visit us in the near future and let me know if you have any questions.
Greg, managing partner at NextLevel, can be reached at greg@nextlevelgolfandfitness.com or by calling 707-978-0987.
James can be reached at 707-591-3260 or by going to Teeupjames@comcast.net
Greg’s new business is located at 620 Larkfield Center in north Santa Rosa., inside the Anytime Fitness building.
What does a golf course mean to a city?
The jury is still out as far as the future of Bennett Valley Golf Course, but it’s very easy to see how the community has come forward to demand some answers to why the popular 18-hole layout may be “repurposed” for unspecified forms of development.
“Save Bennett Valley Golf Course” is a website developed to look into plans to possibly shut down the city’s only public 18-hole course. Many people – not just golfers – have posted on Facebook, have communicated concerns to the Santa Rosa City Council and put together an enthusiastic campaign – complete with signs – to make their feelings heard.
It would appear the outcry is having some effect on the powers-that-be and that further explanation is something citizens deserve.
Quite often, when a proposal such as this is developed, there can be underlying reasons – some of them legitimate, some questionable – as to who really benefits from such a move.
There are suspicions, justly so, that “repurposing” Bennett Valley may benefit some people with motivations to see the 185-acre parcel used for something other than golf.
That should and no doubt will come out, and the public, golfers and others, definitely deserve clarity and answers to their questions.
A copy of the USGA’s Golf Journal was given to me this past week, and included an interest story entitled “What is a Golf Course?”
The article draws from research by Natural Capital Golf, a first-of-a-kind research project supported by the USGA to quantify the “ecosystem services” provided by various forms of land use, including golf courses.
“We know green space is going to be challenged, and courses represent a large percentage of urban green space,” according to the article.
With more than 14,000 golf courses in the U.S. totally nearly 2.3 million acres of green space, “researchers have recognized the importance of measuring the ecosystem value golf courses provide.”
Initial research explored the ecosystems of 135 golf courses in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and reported “golf courses exported fewer nutrients than neighborhoods.”
It was noted that “while most golfers aren’t scientists, they know from experience that the contiguous nature of a golf course contributes to the ecosystem value.”
Researcher Dr. Brian Horgan explained that “it might be hard for the public to see how having active pollinators on a golf course benefits them, but we know these courses (who grow pollinator gardens and even maintain on-site beehives) are a service to the local community.”
Another valuable ecosystem provided by golf courses involves “temperature cooling around urban heat islands, where streets, sidewalks and buildings trap heat and increase temperatures.”
Golf courses, notes Horgan, should be viewed as green space, “just like parks,” adding that “at the end of the day, a golf course is much more than a place to play golf – and that is good news for everyone.”
An interesting story that definitely provides a different perspective.
Let’s hear from you . . .
Thanks for your comments, questions and suggestions. I appreciate getting them and would like to get as many as possible. If you have information about anything golf-related, including upcoming clinics, activities, tournaments or sales, let me know. And if you have questions, complaints or compliments about golf in our area, I want to hear them.
If you have a golfer – pro or amateur — you know who you think would make an interesting story, tell me about it and I will take it from there. Having trouble with your game? Let me know what it is and I’ll try to get an answer for you from a local pro.
We would be proud to include you as one of our sponsors – thanks to Bill Carson at Wine Country Golf for his continued support – so if you care to get some details about being a sponsor of GOLF 707, email me at bmeadows4sports@aol.com