Forming friendships on the fairways
It took Jane Williams 50 years to find the game of golf.
Leagues like the one at Lake Arthur Country Club have helped her make up for lost time.
Williams and her husband, Bud, raised three daughters near North Washington. After the girls were grown and out of the house, Bud, who has been a longtime golfer himself, urged Jane to pick up the clubs.
“I was 50 at that point and I took a few lessons,” said Jane, now 85. “I liked it right from the start. I started playing in leagues at Armco and Stoughton Acres and in 1982, I started playing at Lake Arthur.”
Her 33 years make Williams the longest current playing member in the Lake Arthur Ladies Golf League, which formed in 1959 and convenes every Wednesday to play nine holes.
“I had surgeries to replace both knees and my husband said I should start using a cart,” Williams said. “So I ride now, but I still get some walking in on the course. I really look forward to playing a lot.”
That's because aside from the golf itself, Lake Arthur's league offers its players something even more worthwhile.
“We go out mostly for the camaraderie and friendship,” said Colette Bowser, another regular in the six-team league for the last 31 years, second only to Williams. “We have bad golfers and good golfers, but the scores are immaterial to us. I have formed the best friendships through the league.”
Likewise, the Tuesday Morning Ladies Golf League at Hiland Golf Course offers its members ample opportunity to play and socialize. The league has existed for more than 50 years.
“I like getting out and enjoying the company of other people,” said Kathy Robinson. “Hiland is not a super-difficult course, but it's enough to make me want to try and get better.”
Both leagues include golfers from various areas of Butler County, even some from beyond county lines. They both recently wrapped up the 2015 season and are preparing for annual banquets. The Lake Arthur league has 48 golfers, ranging in age from women in their mid-30s to 80s.
“Some years, we don't lose any golfers,” said Bowser. “Other years, we may lose two or three to health or other reasons. In that case, we fill the openings by referring to our waiting list, which has been as high as 10 in some years.”
While Lake Arthur's ladies are put on teams, the league at Hiland places each golfer in a flight determined by their handicap. The field includes 47 golfers this season.
“Flights or teams, it doesn't make any difference to me,” said Mary Schultheis, 78, of the Hiland group. “Either way, you are going up against the course. You go out and it's so nice and quiet. The scenery is beautiful and you meet so many wonderful people.”
Schultheis is a perfect example of competitiveness meshing with support of fellow players.
“I do consider myself to be competitive, I want to win,” she said. “But if I'm golfing against a lady who has been struggling and she's doing well on a particular day, I'm encouraging her like crazy.”
