"I didn't even know how to hold a club."
It was a late start for someone who had already spent 28 years at Gulf Harbour. Susan Glasser raised her two sons in the community and watched them take lessons. She spent her own time on the tennis courts instead. Golf never seemed to grab hold for her… yet.
“My friends and I were all kind of in the same position, so we said, let's play golf," she said.
She started working with Josh Kirchner, one of the club's PGA professionals, alongside that same group of friends. And she was off.
In 2026, Susan converted her membership from sports to golf.
Susan and her friends took their first lessons in the Trackman room.
"I'm a very visual learner," she said. "In the Trackman room, you see the video playback, so instead of just being on the driving range hitting balls, I can see what it is he's saying I'm doing wrong or incorrectly. That's been very helpful."
In the Trackman room, Susan can pull up radar data on every shot along with video of her own swing.
"I'm not a big data person," she said. "I just want to see how I hit the ball, how high, how straight. I believe that's for the professional."
Coming back from a couple of months away with an injury, Susan went straight to Josh for a lesson, and he found the problem fast.
"He took a pool noodle and put it right beside me, so I knew the club had to come underneath it. Before, I was coming down straight in front of it, and I needed to come around behind it," she said. "It really helps to see what you're doing wrong, because you can't always feel it, but you can see it."
Four years in, Susan talks about Josh as a true partner in her progress.
"He's amazing. He never has a bad thing to say. Even after a horrible shot, he'll find something positive," she said. "Now that we've been playing for four years, he's not getting tougher with us, but he knows he can push us a little more."
"I want to show Josh how well I did," she said. "If I par a hole, I've got to tell Josh."
Susan built a routine around her sport: a group clinic on Mondays, nine or eighteen holes with friends on Thursday afternoons, and at least one weekend round.
As a sports member, she could only play twice a month. As a golf member, she plays daily, and she's planning to join a league this season. On her own time, she still goes to the Trackman room by herself to hit balls and watch the screen.
Golf can be a humbling sport, and Susan has learned not to be too hard on herself about it.
"Take some lessons and see what you think," she said. "It's nice to do it with a friend, if you can."
She still remembers how hard that first year was. "And then you start to look back and say, maybe I am a little bit better."
She started with a borrowed set of starter clubs. She's since been fitted for her own.
Five years ago, Susan didn't know how to hold a club. If you're picking up golf for the first time or working your way back into it, Gulf Harbour's golf professionals can help you take the next step.