February was a busy month for golfing gals. There were some fabulous events hosted by SCGA Junior Girls Golf in collaboration with some of SCGA's women's clubs that brought some stellar girls together to play.
Tee Divas x Girls Golf at Maggie Hathaway GC | Southeast L.A.
To give us a proper recap of this event at Maggie Hathaway GC, we chatted with Senior Golf Instructor and Southeast Los Angeles (SELA) Girls Golf Site Director, Teresa Thornton.
This event brought in members from the Tee Diva's junior golf group, thanks to the help of Tee Divas Junior Golf Chairperson, Jenny Bethune. Thornton shared that "this was a great opportunity for the new girls to meet other girls that love the game of golf but usually do not get to play with other girls."
In order to make the experience a comfortable one that wasn't focused on competition, the girls were grouped both by age and skill level.
The event took girls through a rotation of putting, full swinging at the driving range and other fitness activities too to get them moving in new ways. And it was a great success.
"It's amazing to see how important the work we do means to families in under-represented communities. Something as simple as what we do every day makes all the difference in the world to a community that doesn't have these types of opportunities," shared Thornton.
Her favorite part of the day was the roar of laughter and screams coming from the fitness station all day.
"Giving them a chance to play and fill that golf course with laughter was by far my favorite part of the day."
Thornton is excited to work more with Tee Divas and Tee Dudes to continue to build the SCGA Junior community in SELA.
Babes Golf x Girls Golf at Fairmount GC | Riverside
We talked with Program Manager and Riverside Girls Golf Site Director, Jakeishya Le to hear all about the event.
This event brought together experienced and new junior golfers, all of whom were thrilled to be a part of it. The girls participated in activities such as hitting balls into a blow-up SNAG target, as well as making valentines for someone special. Some even made valentines for the Babes Golf club founder, Alex Andersen.
Babes Golf worked hard to ensure that all players felt welcome by sharing their passion for the game and involving all the girls, regardless of skill level. "Golf is a lifelong sport," said Le. "Being able to make this sport fun and inclusive to all is what both of our groups strive for." And that's exactly what Babes Golf Did. "They were all so gracious, patient, and such fun mentors."
She hopes that Babes Golf is able to be a part of future events "to provide girls with mentorship opportunities or play days." Many of the Babes Golf members are successful businesswomen who can mentor the girls in far more than just golf.
"Being able to provide our girls with mentors and role models would be very impactful and align with what our organization strives for."
Girls Golf Galentines Day at Woodley Lakes GC | San Fernando Valley
Assistant Director of SCGA Junior and San Fernando Valley Girls Golf Site Director, Lauren Fesler gave us the 411 on what happened at this great SCGA Junior golf event.
Though the turnout was smaller due to the holiday weekend, some new girls made their way to Woodley Lakes GC to partake in the fun. And that fun consisted of a putting maze, flower/heart tic-tac-toe, a driving range game, and friendship bracelets.
For some, it was their first time playing golf with other girls and Fesler was thrilled to see friendships forming between the girls. Two new girls joined and one shared that the clinic made her feel comfortable playing with other girls and was excited about the next event.
"It was wonderful to have new girls join our Player & Youth Development instructional classes through Girls Golf, as it continues to grow our community and allows us to have a girls group in classes," shared Fesler.
One of the highlights of the event was having Momoka there, a Girls Golf e-leader.
"As an e-Leader, she is a volunteer at our outings and is truly a mentor for our younger girls. Momoka is an exceptional young golfer and enjoys joining in competitions with the girls and assisting our younger golfers."
Though the whole day was full of fun, Fesler said her highlight was "seeing our older girls bond at our tic-tac-toe flower station. This group was very shy at the beginning of the clinic but were laughing, cheering and strategizing together while chipping."
This clinic is her personal favorite, "as it combines golf, friendship, community and intentional crafts. This month, we had girls write letters to themselves to increase self-love and body positivity. We want to empower girls to feel confident on the course and in their everyday lives."
