Existing members meeting new members (left to right): Julie Laderach, Jan Lands, Karen Donohue, and Jan Brefczynsk
Social Committee members (left to right): Jami Snell, Lisa Miller, Carroll French, and Lynne Shorney
Deborah Williams
The first quarter of 2022 brought the Wildhorse Lady Niners (WLN) together two times. The Social Committee introduced “Shoot for the Stars” as the theme for the 2022 WLN season.
The first gathering was on the afternoon of Feb. 16 for the annual Meet & Greet. The objective of this informal meeting was to meet new members and answer questions for any prospective members. The room was packed with a mixture of current members and newbies. Board members introduced themselves and provided explanations of some of the WLN activities that coincide with the golfing season.
In order to mingle and meet new players, the social committee provided everyone with a questionnaire where members and newbies alike went table to table to introduce themselves and ask and answer “get to know you”-type questions.
The Meet & Greet was a great success. There were just over 100 attendees with at least 50 newbies!
BRRRR! The second time the WLN met was on Wednesday, March 23. This was supposed to be opening day for the first scramble of the year. Mother Nature had other ideas. Temperature at the scheduled tee-off time was in the low 40s with wind chills in the 30s. The wind was wicked. Needless to say, the scramble was canceled.
But the weather did not deter the WLN from holding their quarterly member meeting and luncheon. There were 126 participants. The Social Committee outdid themselves with decorations and door prizes. Door prizes included three donations from Amari Home Goods (101 Plaza Place, Suite 400, in Northlake); four donations from CJ Palacek of goody bags consisting of golf towels/golfing socks, etc.; and four gift certificates from Craig Pullen for use in the Pro Shop and/or baskets of practice balls. Lisa Miller hand-made really cool stroke counters for all attendees.
Items that were donated for the silent auction included two golf packages: one from Tyler Clark and one from Steve Zaudtke. Deb Wegman donated a basket of gardening tools and accessories, and Lynne Shorney donated a basket with a relax and wine theme.
Members will be choosing a local small charity to donate to at every quarterly meeting. The charity for the first quarter was North Texas Book Festival. With the combination of generous cash donations and proceeds from silent auction items, the WLN raised $1,793.
Guests of WLN’s first quarterly meeting of 2022 included Craig Pullen and pros Tyler Clark and Steve Zaudtke. Craig gave updates on golfing news at Robson, plus he answered questions from the membership.
Leave it to Jamey Siefert and CJ Palecek to introduce golfing etiquette and rules by making a game of it. Each table of members was given a typical issue (i.e., your ball ends up in an environmentally sensitive area … what do you do?). WLN members at each table had to provide their answer in a Jeopardy-like question. Our distinguished guests provided oversight of all answers. It was a clever and fun way to teach new and basic golfing rules.
As of March 23, the WLN has 198 members. The club has grown significantly. Membership at the end of 2021 was 169. The WLN is open to all women at the Ranch who want to have fun, meet new people, and enjoy weekly golf outings. There are players of all skill levels. Membership applications are available at the Pro Shop and online at tinyurl.com/4cwvj8dk.