Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Meet the Board: Meet Rebecca Reese

Meet Rebecca Reese

by Alejandra Duffy


As you can see, we're starting a new series on our blog to help you get to know our Board members. Maybe you already know some of them, but hopefully you'll understand why they give so much time and love to the Pacific Women's Golf Association after reading each of their stories. 
Today, we're interviewing Rebecca Reese, the Monterey Area Director.

HOW I STARTED MY GOLF JOURNEY

Before I started to play golf, I always wanted to be an Olympic swimmer and win the gold medal for the 100 yard, and 200 yard back stroke. When I was 8 my dad put a tennis racket in my hand and sent me to the courts, or to the pool to work on my stroke, while he went off to play golf. One day I decided I was going with him to the golf course and that was when I got hooked on the game. My dad took me to the driving range and when I could hit a bucket of balls all in the air he said he would take me to a 9 hole course. After that first day at the range, I was at Cherry Chase playing with my family most weekends. My mom took me out with her and her lady friends some times but for the most part I played with my brother at Cherry Chase and Black Berry Farm. Back then it cost only $1.00 for kids to play all day. As my mom said it was cheep baby sitting. I played here in the Bay Area at Sunnyvale, and Palo Alto for most of my youth. 

GOLF ANYWHERE I GO

I went to San Jose State University and played golf on the girls team. I played with some great girls, Pelar Delrado, Lisa Baxter, Lyn Nelson, Eva Monisteri, and Julie Simpson. I also played against some great girls from Stanford, Sally Voss and Pat Cornet.  

WHY I KEEP PLAYING

Since I graduated, golf has been a part of my life. I have used it in both work and pleasure.  Throughout the last 35 years I have belonged to a few courses and played in many competitions. I have always enjoyed the competitions that the PWGA, WGANC, NCGA, and USGA offered. Although I was not always successful, I was thrilled to have competed, qualify, and make to match play in some of the majors. My biggest success was qualifying for the USGA Mid-Am and making it to the quarters. I was a decent golfer at one time, when I was young.   

MY ULTIMATE GOLF DREAM

My dream round of golf would be to play with my dad, and shoot a 59. I guess I will settle for shooting that on 9 holes now. All kidding aside, I would also like to play golf on all continents. For those of you who have not met me I did hit a golf ball while I was at the south poll. It did not go very far must have been the weather. I still have a few more places to visit. My advice to everyone is: there is no crying in golf and keep your head down.

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Meet the Board: Meet Bobbi Hanada

Meet Bobbi Hanada

by Alejandra Duffy

As you can see, we're starting a new series on our blog to help you get to know our Board members. Maybe you already know some of them, but hopefully you'll understand why they give so much time and love to the Pacific Women's Golf Association after reading each of their stories. 
Today, we're interviewing Bobbi Hanada, the PWGA Treasurer. 

MY GOLF JOURNEY

In 2007 my girlfriends suggested we take a Saturday Community Ed class on golf and the rest is history. My late husband liked the idea I was taking up golf and he would take me out to the driving range, so we could practice. We did get to golf together for a couple of years until his health prevented him from playing. After his passing, golf became my salvation. Golf took me out of the house and surrounded me with wonderful supportive friends who kept me busy golfing! In 2014, golf gave me an opportunity I didn’t even think was possible in my wildest dream. The Fresno City College golf coach came to an event I was attending and she needed golfers for her Jr. College golf team. Couple of my other friends said they would do it so we signed up together to go back to school so we could be on the golf team.  So at Medicare age I was now a college student and on a golf team! We mature players were on the traveling team and we had fun playing with the young ones. We were given no slack because of our age, we practiced and played in 100 plus weather and we had to walk the courses. This was an incredible experience. One I will not forget.

WHY I PLAY GOLF

I love the friendships associated with playing golf.  I have some amazing friends that I met through golf. Golf is my social life. Golf is my travel trips. Golf gets me out of the house and exercising. Golf challenges me to improve my game. Golf rewards my competitive spirit. I love the challenge of golf and I love my golfing buddies!

PWGA INVOLVEMENT

All it took was one golfer to invite me to join their ladies group who were playing that day. The following week, I joined that ladies golf club, the Riverside Ladies. I later joined another golf club, Dragonfly, and they appointed me their handicap chair. I then became the handicap chair for both clubs. Later a couple of my golf buddies recruited me to be on the PWGA executive board as the handicap director, which I enjoyed so much that I was nominated to stay on as the Treasurer. I love being on the board and working with our members.

DREAM ROUND OF GOLF

I keep pinching myself since just playing golf is a DREAM! I have been blessed to just play golf in many different countries and states, which include Singapore, Japan, Vietnam, Ireland, Mexico, and of course, my favorite, Hawaii. My dream round of golf is to play a round without any errors, although that will never happen! My goal is to continue golfing in different countries and states and hopefully golf until I’m in my 90”s!

PERSONAL BACKGROUND

I was born in Hawaii and moved to California when I was a teenager. I attended Reedley Jr. College and received my BA and MA from Fresno State. I retired from education after 38 years of service. I was a classroom teacher, a resource teacher, and vice-principal and finished my career with 20 years as a school principal. I loved my job in education because no two days were the same and there was never a dull moment. I have 2 adult children: my daughter Lacey, who lives in Hong Kong with her husband Deno; and my son Grant, who will be graduating from the University of Michigan with a PHD in Neuroscience Biomedical Engineering this year. They are also my motivators, challenging me to stay young and vibrant. 


Tuesday, February 27, 2018

2017 Grants Annual Report

2017 Junior Grants Annual Report

PWGA would like to thank all of our member clubs for their generous donations to support our Junior Grants Program. In 2017 we awarded grants to 43 different programs, mostly High School Girls Golf Teams.
Thank you also to our donor facilities who donated rounds of golf to raise funds at our raffles. Learn more about how your funds were used in our annual report.



Tuesday, February 20, 2018

New World Handicap System Designed to Welcome More Golfers


The way golfers around the world will calculate their handicaps is set to be transformed by a new system developed by the USGA and The R&A, with key features designed to provide all golfers with a consistent measure of playing ability.

The new World Handicap System, to be implemented in 2020, follows an extensive review of systems administered by six existing handicapping authorities: Golf Australia, the Council of National Golf Unions (CONGU) in Great Britain and Ireland, the European Golf Association (EGA), the South African Golf Association (SAGA), the Argentine Golf Association (AAG) and the USGA.

Friday, February 16, 2018

Sign Up to Volunteer For the 2018 U.S. Girls' Junior at Poppy Hills and Get a FREE ROUND

Sign Up to Volunteer For the 2018 U.S. Girls' Junior at Poppy Hills and Get a FREE ROUND

 

Applications for volunteers to assist in support of conducting the 2018 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship at Poppy Hills GC (July 13-21) are now available. A volunteer package fee of $60 includes a shirt, hat, one piece of outerwear, two meals for each day worked and a voucher for a free round at Poppy Hills following the championship. Learn more

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Meet the Board Series


Meet the Board: Jeanne Lambson

As you can see, we're starting a new series on our blog to help you get to know our Board members. Maybe you already know some of them, but hopefully you'll understand why they give so much time and love to the Pacific Women's Golf Association after reading each of their stories. 

Today, we're interviewing Jeanne Lambson, the Sacramento Area Director.

How I started my golf journey

I played casual golf since I was in my 30’s. By casual, I mean, I had clubs and could hit the ball in random directions, and had no idea that there was a rule book. My brother was scratch golfer, Gary Rawlings, from the Yolo Fliers Club; and was 46th on the NCGA 2007 Top 50 Points List. But, we did not live in the same state, so I did not benefit from his knowledge or experience in my younger years. I really got involved when I moved back to California in 2006 to a neighborhood with a 9-hole course and a Ladies Golf Club. The move also put me closer to my brother. I ended up being tournament chairman for that Ladies Club for several years, and for the neighborhood mixed Golf Club, with the help of a knowledgeable neighbor. How I got involved in PWGA is a funny story that I plan to share at the Workshop this year.   
Why I play golf
I play golf because I like the challenge of the game and the principles behind it. Golf is a game of honor. It is a game you can play by yourself, or enjoy the companionship of those who also love the game. In the past 12 years, I have made a significant effort to learn about the history and rules of the game. Not done learning yet.
Where I belong
I currently belong to Turkey Creek Ladies Golf Club and Whitney Oaks Women’s Golf Association (WOWGA). Belonging to two clubs provides variety of course and playing partners, not to mention that Whitney Oaks is a challenge I just can’t resist. My favorite courses are The Dragon Golf Course at Nakoma Resort-who doesn’t want to hit a ball off the cliff-, and Pacific Grove in Monterey (the poor man’s Pebble Beach). My favorite round of golf was playing with Karen Garcia, who is the 2015 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Champion. She entered and played with us at one of our Sacramento Area Play Days last year. I was stunned when I received her entry form in the mail. She is a champion in every way, not just golf, but an all-around great gal. What a joy it was to play a round with her.
A change of plans
I was widowed in 1997 and retired in 1998. I attended college at UC Davis with a Chemistry Major and Math minor. I always wanted to be a large animal vet, but in those days, they discouraged, or didn’t allow women to enter that program. They thought women belonged in the small animal vet program.  In the end, my final and longest career with Motorola Government Electronics Division in Scottsdale, Arizona had absolutely nothing to do with my original plan or education. I ended up with that career by accidentally showing up at the wrong address for an interview (another funny story). I worked 27 years for Motorola, with most of that time spent as an International Contract Manager and Program Manager for Classified Government Munitions Programs, and development programs. My team developed the first Motorola GPS receiver, and in 1997, I received a Certificate of Achievement for execution of the Washington State Department of Transportation joint project with Motorola which established the commercial viability of GPS based Automatic Vehicle Location Systems. We’ve come a long way from those days. The world is now being tracked by GPS, and I am wearing a GPS on my wrist to golf! I never imagined that outcome of the GPS research.  My 27 years with Motorola were, without a doubt, my favorite job, although I had other interesting experiences like working for the Vacaville Medical Facility (men’s prison) and the U.S. Army NCO and EM clubs in Germany (after getting lost and ending up in the wrong country on my way to Germany).
My family
I have one daughter and two grandchildren, both of whom are in college now in Utah. They also own and ride horses. My daughter was once Arizona and World Rodeo Queen. She now works for Harley, and rides a Harley. Both my daughter and grandson have also worked at golf courses. I have a “significant other” who bred, rode, owned as many as 18 horses at one time and now golfs. Most of my daily activities now are related to golf and gardening, although I still have two retired horses. Besides PWGA Sacramento Area Director and Tournament Chair, I am still tournament Chair for our neighborhood golf club, Auburn Lake Trails Golf Club.
My passions
In terms of hobbies, I’ve been a surfer, scuba diver, snow skier, water skier, fisherman, hunter, raced Corvettes in Southern California, owned and rode motorcycles, completed the 100 miles in 24-hour Tevis Cup endurance ride twice, was on a high speed rodeo drill team for 15 years, belong to a fox hunting club in Phoenix and Flagstaff (horseback), and fox hunted in England and Ireland. I’ve owned and rode horses for over 40 years and once raised my own beef. 

Ready for anything
The lesson I’ve learned from education, job experience, or life in general, is: learn whatever you can, whenever you can, about everything you can. But, be flexible in your goals and targets. Life can end up a joy because of accidents, mistakes, wrong directions, or phone numbers on bathroom walls. I try to just go with the flow, wherever it takes me.

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Meet the board series


Meet the Board: Lynn Harvey

By Maria Alejandra Duffy
 
As you can see, we're starting a new series on our blog to help you get to know our Board members. Maybe you already know some of them, but hopefully you'll understand why they give so much time and love to the Pacific Women's Golf Association after reading each of their stories.Today, we're starting with Lynn Harvey, the PWGA President.

How I started my golf journey

My parents played golf regularly when I was young and I distinctly remember a fabulous business conference at Silverado Resort in Napa that my Dad took the entire family to. However, I never paid much attention to the game because it seemed silly to hit the ball and walk, hit the ball again and walk some more. I was more into spending time at the pool or playing tennis which, to me, was a more aggressive form of exercise. However, one weekend in 1992, my fiancĂ©e (Jose) & I had dinner plans with another couple and they suggested that we play golf before heading to the restaurant.  I told them that I didn’t play but since Jose recently took up the game, I would go along and drive the cart.  That was fun for about 5 or 6 holes.  Watching them hit their ball into the bushes or just a few feet away made me realize that I could easily play this game and it would be more fun than just sitting and watching.  So I signed up for a Saturday “learn to play golf in one day” lesson and haven’t looked back since.

Why I play golf

I love the personal challenge of trying to lower my handicap and to consistently shoot in the 80’s. My personal goal is to break 80. I have come close many times, but the elusive 79 seems to be one putt away. I also really enjoy the social part of the game and I know that if I didn’t show up regularly to my Club’s play days, I would soon get a call or an email asking why I’m not on the course. I currently belong to two women’s clubs and play about 100 times per year.  I have met some wonderful women along the way and have had some fabulous getaways to some very beautiful golf courses. There is no way I want to give that up.

My motivation

I think my biggest motivator is lowering that index. Taking a lesson every now and then, re-gripping my clubs, or trying some new equipment are all done with the intention of improving my game. I also love to exercise and have fun with friends and I can do both of those on the golf course.  

Not as easy as it seems

My most difficult task as PWGA Vice President has been site selection for our 2018 tournaments. With all the golf courses located in Northern California, you would think this is an easy task, but considering the cost of green fees, carts, range balls, luncheon costs, nearby lodging, etc; all help to narrow down the choices.

The perfect round

My dream round of golf starts with a warm, sunny day. There is a smooth tempo to my swing and good follow through with a strong core which causes my ball to fly straight down the fairway avoiding all bunkers and hazards. A one putt finish is a dream (maybe a chip-in or two), but two putts would be an acceptable end before heading to the next hole. Sounds like a round with a score of 79 to me! 

My ultimate golf dream

I have been very lucky to have played many beautiful courses in California including Pebble Beach (3 times!). I’ve also played in Arizona, Hawaii, the Caribbean & Mexico. I think it would be a wonderful goal to play golf in all 50 states, which is something I plan on working on soon. Anyone want to join me?