Kathy Ackerman and Sue Halstead (check-in) and Staci Brown (co-chair)
Play Day Co-Chair Yvonne Callaway and computer guru Sue Clearfield
Ana Corey
It is O’dark thirty on a Tuesday morning at the Ranch. As the sun starts to peak over the horizon, two lone golf carts pull up to Mission Headquarters, aka the Pro Shop. About 15 minutes later, two to three more ladies pick up the roster of players signed up for the day’s game and head out to the patio to check in golfers, collecting their $5 “buy in” for the prize money of the week. These ladies are the “Face” of the Play Day Committee, as they greet each player with a smile and a “thank you” until all the ladies have arrived by the deadline at 8 a.m. This is the RRWGA Play Day Committee on a mission—not impossible, but somewhat daunting—as they complete their charge every week, a successful Play Day for the RRWGA.
The set-up includes sending out a weekly invitation, creating the game on the computer, running the list of players signed up, and monitoring cancellations and last-minute additions. Once the check-in is complete, creating the pairings and printing out the score cards must be done in time for an on-time start. It is a challenging task, but the computer gurus complete it every week with aplomb. Announcements are made, updates on the course conditions, and a requisite joke by our golf pro Craig Pullen. Then pairings and starting holes are announced, and out go the women for a morning of fresh air and camaraderie. Once the play is completed, scores are verified, and winners determined, an email is sent congratulating the winners.
Over the past several years, the previous Play Day chairs have improved the efficiency and creativity of the games played each week by creating a committee to run the weekly game and creating a game binder with instructions on the game set-up in the computer. The addition of updated software last year to the Chelsea application utilized by the committee made the game set-up, pairings, and scoring run with much greater ease than the old “by hand” method of scoring started by the RRWGA years ago. Like any successful organization, the success of the current Play Day Committee would not be as efficient were it not for their predecessors.
The current committee includes Co-Chairs Yvonne Callaway and Staci Brown; computer gurus Susan Clearfield, Paula DiFonzo, and Jane Temperly; and check-in Kathy Ackerman, Sue Halstead, and Brenda Watson. The co-chairs share the responsibility of organizing the game, sending the weekly invitation, and follow-up emails preceding play day. This communication has evolved into a creative, educational, and encouraging message each week, as Yvonne’s message includes the theme for the week, such as National 8-Track Day, April “8-Teen,” or National Pi Day (as in 3.14, March 14). Her message is always fun, interesting, and enlightening. Comments from players include Jayne Gornik, “I think they’re doing a fabulous job! I love the creative information they provide each week, and they’re very organized.”
These women are the backbone of the Women’s Golf Association, because without their dedication to the organization each week, the mission would be impossible.