By Joyce DeWallace, Contributing Writer
Region – In 2003, Nicole “Nikki” Brown was taken by a friend to a private club to play golf for the first time. That led to her first set of golf clubs, her golf bag and a pair of golf shoes that she found at a garage sale. She was hooked.
At the time, Brown was working as the assistant dean of the Graduate and Continuing Education program for Worcester State University.
“There must be other women like me,” she thought, “who had never played golf before and wanted to learn the game.”
Brown gathered a group of about 15 women who were new to the game. They started playing at Kettle Brook in Paxton. Brown also joined a group at Cyprian Keyes in Boylston and started playing Tuesday nights.
“Honest to God, I remember in the beginning, I scored 120 to 124,” she said, “but I loved the game.”
Over the winter, Brown played golf in the house – with a wadded up ball of paper, using a nine iron to practice her swing. She watched a “bazillion” videos, tuned into the Golf Channel and read golf books about all aspects of the game.
“I's an academic, a researcher. I went after it,” Brown said with a laugh. “I had to give that up when I hit the ceiling.”
Someone at the Y gave her a brochure about an organization called Executive Women's Golf Association (EWGA). She went online and found information about the group. The Worcester Chapter of EWGA was part of a national nonprofit that exists to provide opportunities for women to learn to play and enjoy the game of golf both for business and for life. Brown called, and found out that, yes, there was room to register for the league in 2004. She played that year with about 25 women and loved it.
“I ran from work to get there, ” Brown said. “All the ladies rush from work, change out of their nylons and hop on the carts.”
Today Brown is the president of the local chapter. This year, 65 to 70 women played in the various leagues set up by EWGA. The host course is Cyprian Keyes, with weekly clinics in addition to nine-hole league play Tuesdays and Wednesdays and a Par 3 league also Wednesdays. EWGA Worcester offers golf clinics and has a Golf School for beginners. Membership is open to any woman who wants to play golf.
“Cyprian Keyes is very supportive of women's golf,” Brown explained. “They include us in the four-ball, in the Sunday Sweeps and in the leagues.”
Brown said that she now regularly hits in the low 90s, with a personal best of 86. The group also plays at the Red Tail course in Devens and at Highfields in Grafton.
EWGA Worcester has a year-round schedule of activities. Coming up Thursday, Oct. 6 is the 2011 Fall Classic played at Mount Pleasant Country Club, followed by the End of the Season Celebration in November. The social side of the group features a Yankee Swap in January and a wine-tasting in February. When the first spring flowers peek through the snow in March, the women hold an open meeting and registration to form the leagues for the year.
There are many benefits to being a EWGA member.
“It's the opportunity to play golf, do some networking, make new contacts and the chance to take a leadership role in a professional organization,” Brown said. “It's all about the people, and it opens up a whole new world. People and possibilities, that's what EWGA is all about. Women who join now learn about the group, find out about the leagues, and are ready to go in the spring.”
EWGA invites any woman who wants to play golf at any level from beginner to seasoned player to contact [email protected] or incoming President Alicia Allaire at [email protected].