Their love of golfing beats par

The thrill of sinking a knee-knocker putt, the adrenaline rush of a prodigious drive straight down the fairway, the satisfaction of a score in the neighborhood of par are enduring attractions of the game, but that’s not what the Hawthorne Honeys golf league is all about.

Yes, the women all try to do their best when they gather on Hawthorne Hills Golf Course in the Town of Saukville each Wednesday morning from spring into fall, but they are there for more than the competition. 

“It’s the fresh air, the people and the exercise,” former Town of Fredonia resident Sandy Jungers of Plymouth said of what she loves about the league. “Everybody’s friendly. Everybody gets along. It’s a very relaxed league. There’s no pressure, unless you put it on yourself.”

“It’s very casual. I don’t even have to count my strokes,” Sue Tuttle of Mequon said. “Most of the time I don’t bother” to keep score.

The group includes retirees and women who are working in careers ranging from teaching to food service to accounting. Isabelle Goss of Lake Church, a native of France who once lived in Australia, was looking for a place to play when she found the Honeys more than 15 years ago.

“Everything is low key, as long as you pay your fee,” she said with a laugh.

Kristi Ribar of Grafton looked for golf groups after her 36-year math teaching career at Milwaukee Washington and Homestead high schools came to a close.

She likes “how relaxed everything is. It’s not super competitive. We have events but it’s all fun.”

The West Allis native grew up speedskating and used to golf twice a week, “but my body didn’t like that,” she said.

Port Washington resident Judi Kelley, a retired teacher and administrator with the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, had just picked up the game when she joined the group nearly 15 years ago.

“I was a newer golfer and I wanted to get more golf time in. I decided the best way was to join a league,” she said.

“I like the fact that it’s relaxed and friendly. Just a great group of girls.”

The nine-hole league formed several decades ago. Chairman Linda Even, who has led the group since the pandemic and scored a hole-in-one on No. 8 in 2020, picked up the game since retiring from managing accounting for M&I Bank in Milwaukee. She started golfing right after going through chemotherapy in 2016 and has since recovered.

“You meet lots of different people. We get fresh air and exercise,” she said.

Even is quick to point out that numerous members volunteer to organize various events, including post-golf luncheons, picnics and weekly golf contests.

“We share the wealth of the work,” Even said.

ViAnn Bach of the Town of Belgium has been the league’s treasurer for many years. The job comes naturally and the league schedule fits in well for the auditor who works at night in Port Washington.

“Numbers are my thing. Finding problems is no problem,” she said.

That extended to the golf course when she picked up the game. She hit her ball all over the place.

“I could tell you everything about the course,” she said. “Then I learned how to hit straight.”

Regardless of performance, the golfers don’t grumble and there isn’t any ribbing from their playing partners.

“I love the ladies. They’re very nice. They’re all friendly,” Bach said. “We all have our bad days. We don’t complain about it. A bad day of golf is still a good day.”

“We’re pretty comfortable with each other,” Kelley said. “Everybody’s so positive and everybody gets respect for good shots. There are some very good golfers in this group.”

Tuttle, just in her second season with the Honeys, is still catching on.

“I’m familiar with it. It still doesn’t know me very well,” she said of the game of golf. “We’re not very good friends yet.”

But the players are, and one reason is because of the league’s setup. Everyone golfs with a different foursome each week, while requests such as mothers and daughters wanting to play with each other are honored.

“You pretty much play with everybody. They try to mix it up,” Jungers said.

Conversation on the course often strays from golf.

“You always learn something from another player, sometimes about their life,” Goss said.

The Hawthorne Honeys season has three phases. In spring, golfers meet at 9 a.m. on Wednesdays to play, but no scores are kept or prizes awarded.

Around Memorial Day, the summer season starts with a scramble, then returns to individual format through Labor Day. In fall, golfers return to the spring format. Some continue to hit the links until it’s too cold or it snows.

Contests vary each week. Last week’s, dubbed “bingo, bango, bongo” gave out prizes for whoever got on the green first, got closest to the pin first and got in the hole first.

Some members also golf in other leagues, including an 18-hole one on Thursdays at the same course. That group is called the Hawthorne Birds.

After each round, some members hang out at the clubhouse to chat or enjoy a snack such as cheese curds.

“We talk about our game and other stuff,” Bach said.

Solving the world’s problems is occasionally on the list of topics.

“We try,” Bach said.

The camaraderie doesn’t stop in fall. Some members participate in curling or bowling or sheepshead — it’s how some were introduced to the Honeys.

The group has 36 members and is looking for more. For more information or to join, email Even at hawthornehoneys@gmail.com.