ISSUE #33

👋 Hey NCC golfers,

I hope you’ve been enjoying prime-time golfing weather here in Delaware as we head into Holiday Season.

This week’s story is about a Delaware family opening their own indoor golf spot in Newark, how it started, and the bigger thing they’re going for. Plus Back Creek holiday parties, a St. Anne’s Halloween bash, and a couple of fun women’s golf events.

Let's get into it. 🍂

I think we all have been curious about what it would be like to own a golf course, or maybe even a driving range.

For Amanda, her husband Joe, and her brother Chad, their curiosity was the Back Nine in Wilmington. Amanda and Joe live nearby, kept driving past it, and finally went in to see what it was all about. That was all it took. Joe and Chad got hooked, became members, and before long the three of them were kicking around a bigger idea, what if they opened their own?

This past March, they stopped kicking it around and went for it.

“It’s finally starting to feel like it’s coming together,” Amanda told me.

This isn’t a corporate chain dropping a box into a strip mall. It’s three Delawareans like you and me. Amanda’s a nurse. Joe works in the aircraft industry. Chad works for a local power company. All three love golf, and love the NCC Golf Report apparently!

But they haven’t gotten this far alone. Phil Stoops, who owns the Back Nine locations in Wilmington and Paoli, has supported them as a mentor, helping them through the long and tedious process of launching a new Back Nine franchise.

The new spot is going into The Shoppes at Louviers in Newark, and it’s designed to be more than a room full of screens. 4 Full Swing bays (two of them private), plus a kitchen, a lounge space, and an open-concept layout meant for hanging out, not just hitting balls.

Amanda talked about wanting this to be a place for everyone, all ages, a spot for community events, corporate outings, birthday parties, and whatever else brings people together around the game. The lounge, the kitchen, the open floor, it’s all pointing at the same thing: a gathering place that also has top-of-the-industry simulators.

Right now they are finishing floors and putting up bay walls. Full Swing will come out about two weeks before opening to install and test the simulator tech. They’re targeting the end of the year for a soft launch and early membership sales.

Here’s a fun one: Newark wasn’t the original plan. They’d first set their sights on Hockessin. But they landed in what Amanda now calls the perfect spot, close to UD, Deerfield, and Bank of America, with the foot traffic and visibility to match.

Turned out to be a lucky pivot, too. Not long after they committed to Newark, Flight Indoor Golf opened in Hockessin, right near where they’d originally been looking. Sometimes the door that closes in front of you is the best thing that happens to you.

Talking to Amanda, one thing came through clearly: she cares about the experience, not just the tech. Amanda is focused on supporting women’s golf in our community.

She told me she wants to have a positive impact on youth girls’ and women’s golf in Delaware any way she can. That lands at a meaningful moment, as we covered recently, girls golf in Delaware is still fighting its way toward becoming its own high school sport.

A new, welcoming, family-run space with an owner who genuinely cares about growing the women’s and girls’ game is exactly the kind of thing that NCC needs.

Fair question, and I asked it. The Delaware golf landscape is getting crowded. Creek Links is selling. Flight Indoor is open. A new Golf Galaxy is about to land in Christiana. And Back Nine already has a Wilmington location.

Here’s the thing that makes it work, and it’s the secret sauce of the Back Nine model: most Back Nine members live within 15 to 20 minutes of their home location.

The franchise has strict zoning rules and won’t let locations sit too close to one another. So the Newark spot isn’t fighting the Wilmington one for the same players, it’s serving its own backyard, the Newark and UD crowd who want something closer to home.

As for the rest of the field? A rising tide. The more places there are to play through a Delaware winter, the more golfers stay sharp and the faster our rounds will go! Hopefully.

A couple of ways to follow along:

We’ll be watching this one closely. A family chasing a dream, building a gathering place, and planning to give back to the local game? That’s about as NCC Golf Report as it gets.

Golf Galaxy's New Christiana Store Opens with a $10,000 Contest

Golf Galaxy is opening a new Performance Center at Christiana Town Center, and they're throwing a three-day grand opening to kick it off!

And you don’t want to be late because each day the first 100 adults (18+) in line will receive a free Golf Galaxy mystery gift card!

Here's the rundown:

📅 Grand opening weekend: Friday, October 16th through Sunday, October 18th
🎀 Ribbon cutting Friday at 8:45 AM, doors open 9 AM
🎁 The first 100 adults (18+) in line each day get a free Golf Galaxy mystery gift card, one of them worth $500
⛳ A Closest-to-the-Pin contest runs October 16-25, with a $10,000 grand prize on the line
🛍 Grand opening deals all weekend from PING, Callaway, TaylorMade and more

The new store is located at the Christiana Town Center, 331 W Main Street, Christiana, DE 19702.

Check out the She Said Golf - VIP Grand Opening Event !!!

↗️ 🦃 Delcastle’s Turkey Shoot returns November 21st. The annual pre-Thanksgiving event runs 9am to 5pm along with a canned food drive benefiting the Food Bank of Delaware.

↗️ 🏌️‍♀️ She Said Golf hosts a range social and a Golf Galaxy VIP night. A Range Social at Launch Zone on October 14, 6-8pm, and a VIP event at the Golf Galaxy Grand Opening on October 17, 3-5pm. Register your spot before it’s too late!

↗️ 🎀 Back Creek’s Ladies Pink Out was a hit. A great day on the course with all donations going to the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition. Back Creek is also booking holiday events now, reach out to [email protected] to lock in a date.

↗️ 🎃 St. Anne’s throws a Halloween Party October 23rd. From 7 to 11pm at Highlands, $5 cover, DJ all night, costumes strongly encouraged (with prizes), drink specials sponsored by Tito’s, and spooky snacks. Dress up and come out.

↗️ 🍦 Putters Paradise shifts to its fall hours. Soft serve’s done for the season (back in spring), but they’re finishing out with hard ice cream and water ice. Starting the week of Oct 19, they’re open Thursday through Sunday only, through the end of November. Unlimited golf, as always. Check their Facebook for the latest hours.

↗️ 🎉 Birdie’s has a full slate of events this month. Their October lineup is stacked, trivia, paint nights, leagues and more. Check their page for the full calendar.

↗️ 💸 Back Creek rolls out a Buy Now, Play Now membership offer. Their 2027 membership deal lets you lock in now and start playing right away.

↗️ 💍 Deerfield opens its doors for a Wedding Open House. October 15, 5-7pm. If you (or someone you know) are hunting for a venue, Deerfield's showing off the space dressed for an event. Free for couples who haven't booked yet, RSVP required.

↗️ 💸 Deerfield opens early 2027 membership sales. Buy a 2027 pass and play the rest of 2026 free, with membership running through December 2027. Up to 15+ months for the price of one year. Passes range from a 5-Day Twilight ($2,500) to a 7-Day full membership ($4,000).

Hey NCC crew,

Quick one this week.

Thanks for reading, thanks for forwarding this to your golf buddies, and thanks to everyone who sends me tips and updates.

This newsletter only works because you all actually care about local golf as much as I do.

See you out there.

I ❤️ New Castle County Golf.

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