By Angela Norris
A women’s golf league is looking for members interested in an outdoor sport and spending time with new friends.
The Tuesday Morning Ladies League plays at the Smock Golf Course on County Line Road in Greenwood.
Members range in age from their 30s all the way up to more than 80 years old. The woman’s league meets every Tuesday morning for18 holes of golf, outdoor time and time to spend with their friends: their teammates who have become like a family.
“It’s a fun league,” said Chris Wagner, a retired respiratory therapist and president of the league. “We have ladies of all ages. It’s our social day off, plus, we get to play golf, so that’s always a good time.” Wagner started playing on a women’s golf league part time in the late 90s and fell in love with the game.
“When I first started playing, I was clueless,” she admitted. “I bought a set of clubs from Kmart, not knowing anything, and the more I learned the more I liked it. Then my collection of clubs grew from there.”
For the past 10 years she has played every Tuesday with the league and has been the president of the league for the past three years.
Millie Spalding, the woman who formed the league almost 40 years ago, doesn’t play in the league anymore, but still attends league events such as banquets and gatherings.
The ladies don’t stop at golf, though. The league will get together for occasional luncheons and take trips to golf courses in other cities and states such as English, Indiana and Perry Park, Ky., every October.
The senior tournament is held annually every September, as well as a golf tournament at Legends in Franklin, Indiana, which has over 100 contestants. The ladies enjoy participating in the event and seeing one another.
The league includes all handicaps and a traditional 18-hole course. They have no caddies to help, so the ladies rely only on each other to load the equipment into the golf carts to get ready for their game.
“It’s like old friends coming together again,” Wagner said. “I love seeing these ladies and spending time outside playing golf. I enjoy the social aspect, the conversationand the friendship the most.”
their trophies after a tournament.
The Tuesday Morning Ladies League is trying to make it easier for their older participants to play. The league has lost some members due to difficulty getting through the course and is determined to gain new members.
“It’s hard losing a member. It’s like losing a part of your family. It’s a golf family,” she said. “The ladies in the league strive to have fun outdoors and learn about golf. Everyone learns something from everyone, good or bad.”
This May will be the 40th anniversary of the Tuesday Morning Ladies League.
For more information about membership to the Tuesday morning ladies golf league, contact Smock Golf Course at (317) 888-0036 or visit their website at smockgolf.com.
