With its welcome coffee scheduled for 9 a.m. March 10 at the Yacht Club, the Tellico Village Ladies Golf Association 18-hole league has its doors wide open for new members.
“We’re always looking for new people,” Vicki Schwerdt, member-at-large for the association’s board, said. “We have a lot of new people that have moved into the Village this year, so we’re hoping that we can encourage a lot of them to come and join us too.”
For those on the fence about joining, league president Bobbi Taylor said the welcome coffee is a great place to start. Taylor said the coffee will include places to sign up for the league and vendors showing off golf products. Tellico Village’s golf pros will also be available to speak to those in attendance. Overall, she said she hopes the event will be a good representation of the league as a whole, which she said focuses on fun and building friendships.
“That’s how I met some of my friends when we first moved here,” Taylor said.
In order to help keep that focus, the league allows for a wide range of skill levels for its golfers.
“We have golfers of all levels,” Schwerdt said. “We have very low handicap ladies, and then our maximum for handicap is 40. So you have a whole range of ladies.”
The league also has different options for tees to play on in order to accommodate as many golfers as possible, either playing on the green tees or forward yellow tees, which shortens the course.
“Don’t let your skill level deter you from a league that’s fun,” Taylor said.
An advantage to joining is that league members have a guaranteed Tuesday morning tee time at one of the three courses in Tellico Village, with that location rotating from week to week.
“It’s kind of fun because we never get tired of one golf course,” Schwerdt said.
The league’s opening day is scheduled for April 7 at Tanasi as a 9-hole scramble followed by lunch at the Yacht Club. Taylor said those interested can sign up for the opening scramble at the welcome coffee.
In addition to weekly play, the league also has some special tournaments scheduled throughout the year.
The league’s largest tournament is its member-member tournament May 16-17. The league also holds a President’s Cup on July 14, which is match play tournament, a Give Back Day tournament July 21, which will raise funds for Smoky Mountain Service Dogs, and a Bring a Man Tournament on Sept. 29, in which members will bring a male player to join their team.
The Ladies’ Member-Guest tournament, scheduled for Aug. 10, will have some slight changes this year as it is open to all ladies owning property in Tellico Village and is sponsored by the league.
“It’s just a lot of fun to be out here,” Schwerdt said. “We have such gorgeous golf courses, and to be out here and just be happy that we’re out on the course golfing is just the neatest thing. ... We really believe in friendship and fellowship. Playing with other ladies, playing with a whole range of different players and having fun yet having competition also.”
A league championship will be held Aug. 18 at Tanasi and Aug. 25 at Kahite. The league’s closing day is scheduled for Oct. 27. For a league application, visit the new website at www.tvlga18.com.
“We have three wonderful golf courses, and we have a great league of women,” Taylor said.
