The group ran the gamut in terms of age (young women to senior citizens) and golf ability (USGA handicap indexes ranging from 13 to 64, and most with no handicaps at all).

But young or old, good players or not, the 44 women who gathered Saturday at the Greg Mastriona Courses at Hyland Hills in Westminster had at least a couple of things in common. They like golf and are looking to improve their games, and they love to have a good time while they’re at it.

Saturday’s outing marked the start of the fifth year of the Women’s Golf Experiences, events hosted by the CWGA that combine small-group instruction with some fun social interaction with other women interested in the game.

“I do like events like this,” said Monica Halley, who participated in some of the popular “Ladies Night Out” social golf events at Hyland Hills last year. “I’m not a brand-new golfer, but I’m somewhat new. I don’t keep score yet. But this kind of gives me a way to come out and be with other women where I don’t feel intimidated. I feel like I fit in and can learn. They teach you a lot of new skills.

“My husband golfs and my youngest son is going to school at (CU-Colorado Springs) to be a golf pro. I’ve been around it but haven’t gone out too much myself. So this gives me a good opportunity to go out. And I was just thinking about joining a women’s group here in the summer on Tuesday and Thursday morning.”

That is music to the ears of organizers of events such as these. With the National Golf Foundation reporting that the number of female golfers in the U.S. dropped from 7 million in 2005 to 5 million in 2012, making potential new women’s golfers — and golfers in general — feel welcome and wanting to play more is a high priority.

“The CWGA is helping courses take advantage of this opportunity that women want social golf,” said Kim Schwartz, the association’s director of member programs. “Women are social, so they want opportunities to go play and have fun. As the CWGA, we represent all of women (golfers) across the state. We’re not just a championship organization. If we can offer opportunities by partnering with different golf courses, that’s huge to have (programs) for women to enjoy golf.”

Over the last several years, the CWGA has placed an ever-increasing emphasis on building the base of women’s golfers through social golf activities.

At the Women’s Golf Experience events, participants receive roughly 45 minutes of small-group instruction at each of four stations — full swing, chipping, putting, and rules, then have lunch afterward. Goodie bags are distributed and drawings are held for prizes. PGA/LPGA professionals provide the instruction. Among those leading the way Saturday was 2011 HealthOne Colorado Open champion Ben Portie, now the women’s golf head coach at Metro State, along with PGA professionals Val Heim and Joe Chavez of Hyland Hills, Jeff Carter from the Broadlands and Brian Lindstrom from Highland Meadows.

Saturday was the first of three Women’s Golf Experience events scheduled for 2014, with the others being May 10 at Overland Park in Denver and May 17 at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs. Denver broadcast personality Denise Plante is expected to be a special guest at the Overland Park Experience.

But the Experience events just scratch the surface of social golf outings the CWGA organizes or participates in. This year alone, there are more than three-dozen such events, with Hyland Hills, CommonGround, Buffalo Run and the City of Denver courses among those hosting outings. For a list of events, CLICK HERE. Many include social get-togethers in addition to golf.

Saturday marked the first local Women’s Golf Experience that new CWGA executive director Ann Guiberson has witnessed firsthand, and she came away impressed.

“This is a terrific event today,” she said. “We’ve got a good mix of CWGA members and new golfers and advanced golfers, and everyone is supporting each other and having a good time.

“I talked to a few people today who said they weren’t sure if they were going to come out, but they decided to come. Once you get here, everyone is talking to everybody else and sharing experiences and helping each other. It’s a great program.

“Kim (Schwartz) has done a fantastic job putting this program together the last couple of years. Based on what I’ve seen today, it’s something we will definitely continue and maybe even take around the rest of the state.”

Among the sites that have hosted Women’s Golf Experience events in past years are Grand Junction, Colorado Springs and Loveland, in addition to the Denver metro area.

Included among the first-time participants on Saturday was Shona Eliason, president of the Women’s 9-Hole League at the Broadlands in Broomfield. She attended along with one of her regular playing partners.

“It’s one of those benefits that we get that we don’t usually take advantage of,” Eliason said of the Experience, which is discounted for CWGA members.

Eliason, a 20-handicap, enjoyed the rules instruction, along with the fact that most of the various teaching stations featured two instructors for each rotating group of 10 or 11 players.

“I like that they have different instructors at each station because sometimes if you just go with one or two instructors (total) and you do a half-day clinic, it’s not quite as interesting,” Eliason said. “I also liked that they had two people at each one. It changed it up.”

The idea is that the Experience engages the participants to the point that they’re drawn into the game long-term.

“We have two instructors at most of the stations to give somewhat personalized instruction, so everyone of every ability can get something out of it,” Schwartz said. “That’s what the goal is today. That’s why we’re drawing that broad range (of golfers). But by far, most of the participants are newer golfers or new to golf. I think why this is popular in the spring is because it’s kind of jump-starting their games.”

Drawing more women into the sport will take time, but events like the Women’s Golf Experience are part of the step-by-step process.

“We can’t just build women’s golf by ourselves,” Schwartz said. “We have to work with everyone else in the community.”
 

But there’s also another set of annual CWGA events that’s been growing rapidly in recent years.

With the association putting an increased emphasis on the social side of golf, this year it has a dozen social events on the calendar, starting with the CWGA Night at the PGA Tour Superstore on Wednesday (April 4).

The CWGA Night, open to members and prospective members alike, will run from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Tour Superstore in Greenwood Village, located at 9451 E. Arapahoe Road. The event will include door prizes, discounts, light food and refreshments, Rules of Golf and etiquette sessions provided by CWGA staff, putting tips from the Superstore’s Jerry Walters, and information on upcoming CWGA events.

It’s an ideal lead-in to an expanded social golf schedule for the CWGA.

“Women’s golf is very social in nature,” said Kim Nissen, assistant executive director for the CWGA. “We want to get women playing and keep them playing and having fun. That’s the big push.”

It’s no secret that golf in general is facing plenty of challenges in trying to grow the game. And, based on what the National Golf Foundation reports, it’s especially challenging regarding women’s golf. The NGF says that the number of female golfers in the U.S. dropped about 23 percent from 2005 to 2010.

A number of initiatives, including the PGA of America’s Golf 2.0 and Get Golf Ready, have been developed to try to give golf a jumpstart, and the CWGA aims to assist in those growth-of-the-game efforts on the female side.

The association figures it can make some inroads by attracting women to the game who have no interest in competing or in having a USGA handicap, but who would enjoy the social aspects of the game.

Two years ago, the CWGA began pushing its social golf initiatives, including offering a less costly Affiliate membership for women who don’t want a USGA handicap but are interested in the benefits and discounts that CWGA membership provides. These days, those social-golf efforts have increased several fold.

— This year, the association will expand its CWGA Experience (pictured above) to include stops across the state. The Experience features women-only group golf instruction (full swing, chipping and putting) conducted by LPGA and PGA professionals, along with some socializing over food and refreshments.

The association will hold three CWGA Experience events this year and will take the Experience to the Western Slope for the first time. On the calendar are CWGA Experiences May 5 at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora, and May 19 at both the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs and Bookcliff Country Club in Grand Junction.

To sign up for the CWGA Experience, CLICK HERE.

— Eight CWGA Nine-Hole Social Golf Outings will be held from June through early September at courses throughout the metro Denver area. The casual outings are scheduled after work so as to attract women who are too busy to make it during the day.

The Social Golf Outings are planned for June 21 at the Green Valley Ranch par-3 in Denver (in conjunction with a clinic conducted by Lana Ortega); June 27 at The Homestead in Lakewood; July 12 at Heritage Todd Creek in Thornton; July 18 at Saddleback in Firestone (in conjunction with a clinic conducted by Scott Sommers); Aug. 9 at Emerald Greens par-3 in Denver; Aug. 23 at the Kennedy par-3 and West Nine in Denver; Aug. 30 at the Columbine par-3 in Littleton; and Sept. 4 at South Suburban Family Sports in Centennial.

Between the CWGA Experience events and Social Golf Outings, the association hopes its Affiliate membership continues to grow. More than four times as many Affiliate members signed up in 2011 compared to 2010, and CWGA officials hope for another jump this year.

“We’re obviously picking up some momentum,” Nissen said.

In addition, the CWGA is planning to help others in the golf business in their efforts to promote the game. For instance, Nissen said the association will soon be sending out letters to all Colorado-based LPGA and PGA professionals offering to help them promote instructional events, tournaments etc., by distributing information through the CWGA’s database, which includes more than 18,000 people.