Welcome the 2022 New GCWGA Board Members

Welcome the 2022 New GCWGA
Board Members

Welcome the 2022 New GCWGA Board
Members
Easing into her new role was not an option for Vicki Felver.

The Hamilton Elks Golf Club member was part of the most recent
Greater Cincinnati Women’s Golf Association executive board
makeover. Felver took over for Patti Horne as the Spring Team
Chairperson facing the task of implementing an adjustment in
the tournament schedule that’s going to push the scheduled
conclusion later into the year.

“I’ve been running for a month now,” said Felver, who had been
an Elks alternate delegate and was installed with the other
new members at the beginning of November.

The board also welcomed three other newcomers. Triple Crown
Country Club’s Patty Bracken is the new Tournaments Assistant.
Ginger Lippmeier-Suarez, who plays out of Stillmeadow and
Kenwood Country Clubs, will handle Treasurer duties.
Wetherington’s Toni Mathevy will oversee Publicity.

Another change has Western Hills Country Club-member Trisha
Reperowitz moving up from Secretary to President, replacing
Sue Brainer, who will serve one year on long-range planning
and nomination committees. Kathy Brockman replaces Reperowitz
as secretary.

Felver succeeds Reperowitz in 2020 and Horne as the Spring
Team Chair, and she’s counting on help from her two
predecessors to get past any hurdles in the transition.

“We had a meeting, and I got a handoff from my predecessor,”
Felver said. “I was handed all of the new materials. Patti
Horne did all of the work in 2021. Also, past President Trisha
Reperowitz did it in 2020. They won’t be at my beck and call,
but I’m sure they’ll be glad to help out.”

Felver started playing golf in her late 30s when she said she
got too old to keep playing softball. She has been an Elks
member for close to 15 years.

   Mathevy was recruited to fill a slot on the board.

“One of the girls was asked to find people,” she said. “That’s
how I got involved. Wetheringtoin hasn’t had anybody on the
board in a long time, and they thought it’d be nice to have
somebody step forward, so I volunteered.”

Mathevy admits that her experience with publicity is, um,
limited. She’s counting on help from her predecessor (Connie
Seeskin) to learn the ropes.

“Actually, I’m learning as I go,” she said. “I’m sure that,
once I start doing it, it’ll be OK, but it’s a lot for me. I’m
going to take it one step at a time and see how it goes.”

Mathevy moved to Cincinnati in 1972 and started playing golf a
decade later.

“I just like being around all of my friends and playing,” she
said. “I just enjoy the camaraderie. There’s not one specific
thing that stands out about why like it. I’m just the type who
enjoys playing.”

By Mark Schmetzer

Fall Team 2021 Rap Up
Working at home and flexible schedules are two of the many
developments generated by the COVID-19 pandemic – and they
worked out for the Losantiville Country Club women’s team in
this year’s Greater Cincinnati Women’s Golf Association Fall
Team competition.

Losantiville, led by team captain Sally Cuni, took the lead in
the first week of the five-week Division IV event and never
gave it up, winning by seven points with 102 over runnerup
O’Bannon Creek Golf Club. The division win was Losantiville’s
first in Cuni’s memory.

“The key was we had a lot of new, young female members who are
just really great golfers,” Cuni said. “Because of pandemic
work schedules, they are a lot more flexible, so we were able
to field a team of young, working women who were able to get
off work and play. I think that helped us a lot, because we
have these young, really good golfers. I love playing
alongside them and watching them.”

After a narrow loss last year, the Hamilton Elks Golf Club
team took control early this year and ran away to a 109-91.5
win over second-place Wetherington Golf and Country Club in
the Division I tournament. Kenwood Country Club bounced back
from a second-place finish in Week One to post a 115-98 win
over Oasis Golf Club in Division II.

Patty Bracken’s Triple Crown Country Club team needed a
tiebreaker to edge Coldstream Country Club at the Division III
level. Both teams finished with 98 points, just a half-point
ahead of Summit Hills Country Club and three points ahead of
Western Hills Country Club.

“What we had to do was go back to when we played Coldstream
and look at the overall points from that match,” Bracken said
by phone from South Carolina, where she was preparing to play

in a tournament. “That match was tied, so then we had to go to
how we did on the front nine. We had 9-1/2 points and they had
8-1/2 points.”

Triple Crown went from fifth place to second to fourth to
third before prevailing in the fifth and final round, which
was played at Triple Crown.

“I never thought we’d finish first,” Bracken said. “We’ve
struggled to have women play, but they’re starting to like it
more because it’s team, and since it’s handicapped, it’s not
so stressful. A couple of the girls played so well on our home
course that it took the pressure off me. We had the home
course advantage. We parred every hole on the back nine.”

Team captain Lori Roberts’ Hamilton Elks crew grabbed a three-
point lead in Week One at Clovernook Country Club and never
gave it up.

“What made it so helpful was getting a lead early on,” said
Roberts, the GCWGA treasurer. “It gives you a cushion. You
never really know if there’s one week when somebody comes out
and blows you away. Going into that fifth week, you just want
to break even.”

Roberts couldn’t point to any one member of her team who
played exceptionally well.

“We have a lot of competitive ladies at the Elks, and we have
a really strong women’s golf league there,” she said. “It’s
just that everyone wants to win, and they just put out their
best effort and did what they could. It was just a desire to
get out there. There wasn’t one person who stood out. It was a
team effort. Everyone did their parts.”

Losantiville’s team competition experience has been limited,
Cuni said.

“We used to play in the spring, but the snowbirds didn’t come

back in time, so we had to drop out,” she said. “When we
played Fall Team, the first couple of years we moved up. We
had some really good golfers and there were no handicaps. Then
they changed the rules. This is the first time under the
handicap system that we’ve won a division.”

Cuni credited Lisa Thal, Beth Adkins and Marianne Taylor with
setting Losantiville’s championship pace.

“Lisa has been our mainstay for quite a while,” Cuni said.
“She still works in an office, but she takes five days off to
play. She’s been a rock. Beth and Marianne are absolutely two
of our top-notch young players. Marianne is our club champion.

“I also have to give Carol Sarver a shoutout. She was always
there and ready to play.”

Like Roberts’ Elks team, team captain Sue Brainer’s Kenwood
squad rode a balanced effort to the Division II championship.
Kenwood moved into first place in Week Two and pulled away.

“I would say we all played well,” said Brainer, the GCWGA
president. “I wouldn’t single anyone out. You don’t always
have the same partner. Everybody knew each other. We had
played on Fall Team before, so we had experience. We played
well together. You have to play as a team.”

Win or lose, Roberts pointed out that the women truly enjoy
the team tournaments.

“I just want to thank the GCWGA for sponsoring team play,” she
said. “It gives players a chance to meet women golfers from
other clubs and share in a competitive event.”

“I would agree with that,” Brainer said. “When people think of
the GCWGA, they usually think about the different tournaments,
but the Fall and the Spring Team tournaments are a big part of
it, and so are the clubs that will sponsor these events as
benefits of being members of the GCWGA. We do pay to play, but

they give up their clubs for us to play. It’s a great
opportunity for women to experience a different type of
competition. Other events are stroke play. This is a chance
for wome to play match.”

The movement back and forth between divisions also is a plus.
The top teams from each division move up to the next-higher
one, replacing those lower-rung teams that fall.

“I had a great time,” Brainer said. “I’m looking forward to
playing different courses next year.”

By Mark Schmetzer

LPGA Returns to Cincinnati in
2022 at Kenwood Country Club

Sue Brainer had at least two reasons to be happy about the
announcement that professional women’s golf will return to
Greater Cincinnati. One was that, well, the ladies are coming
back for the first time in more than 30 years. Another was
that her home course, Kenwood Country Club, would be hosting
the event. Less than a week after the announcement, Brainer
had no hesitation about which was uppermost in her thoughts.

“I guess that the women are coming back,” the current Greater
Cincinnati Women’s Golf Association president said. “For the
GCWGA, our mission is to promote women’s golf and provide
opportunities for events, and we also have a scholarship
foundation that provides for the future of golf. “We’re very
excited about this event and partnering with them. The

opportunity to bring this event to the city was exciting.”

The Ladies Professional Golf Association announced on
September 7 that the $1.75 million Kroger Queen City
Championship would be contested at Kenwood Sept. 5-11, 2022.
Procter & Gamble will serve as the presenting sponsor, and
multiple workshops for female business leaders to develop
networks will coincide with the tournament.

Lopez     and
Brainer

LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan was on hand for the
announcement, along with three-time LPGA Championship-winner
Nancy Lopez and current tour member Lexi Thompson. Lopez has
strong area connections. She was married to former Cincinnati
television sports reporter Tim Melton and former Cincinnati
Reds third baseman Ray Knight and she also won her three LPGA
Championship tournaments while they were played at what used
to be the Jack Nicklaus Golf Center at Kings Island, now known
as the City of Mason Golf Center. She won her last LPGA
Championship in 1989, which also was the last year the
tournament was played in Greater Cincinnati.

“I kept thinking, ‘Gosh, this would be really great,’” said
Lopez, a World Golf Hall of Fame inductee who now lives in
Florida. “Cincinnati was one of my favorite towns. Playing in
the LPGA Championship, living at Kings Island – just a lot of
positive things here.” “Cincinnati has a long connection to
the LPGA and its players,” Marcoux Samaan said. “We know this
tournament will be a favorite stop on tour and serve as an
important example of the power of sports to inspire leaders
and build community. We are truly grateful to Kroger and P&G
for supporting the LPGA in such an impactful and meaningful
way.”

“Kroger is excited to bring the opportunity for the LPGA and
its golfers to compete on this national stage to our
hometown,” said Stuart Aitken, chief merchant and marketing
officer and executive sponsor of the Women’s EDGE Associate
Resource Group for The Kroger Co. “As a passionate supporter
of the empowerment of women, I am personally inspired by the
collaboration between Kroger, P&G and the LPGA to further
their mission of empowering girls and women on and off the
golf course.”

“We are thrilled to welcome the world-class athletes of the
LPGA back to Cincinnati, and to inspire hundreds of local
girls – and all youth – to play golf and other sports,
realizing the lifetime benefits of the lessons and skills
learned through sports,” said Debbie Majoras, chief legal
officer for P&G and member of the U.S. Golf Association
Executive Committee. “At P&G, we work to eliminate gender bias
and create equal opportunity for all individuals, and so we
also are excited to partner with Kroger and the LPGA to engage
and empower more than 100 local women leaders from across our
community.”

The Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G is owned
and operated by Excel Sports Management, a marketing and
management agency that has operated all four versions of
Capital One’s The Match. “The Cincinnati community shows an
unmatched passion for its hometown teams and sporting events,”
said Kevin Hopkins, executive director of the event for Excel
Sports Management. “Our goal is to create a really special
experience for this fan base and make this world-class golf
tournament a must-attend event on the Cincinnati calendar.”

The tournament is scheduled to be played on Kenwood’s recently
renovated Kendale course and televised by the Golf Channel to
more than 170 nations.

The area hosted the LPGA Championship tournament from 1978
through 1989. Kenwood previously has hosted several
prestigious events – the 1933 United States Amateur, the 1954
Western Open and the 1963 U.S. Women’s Open. Althea Gibson,
who won three consecutive Wimbledon tennis tournaments as well
as Australian and French titles in the mid- to late-1950s,
became the first Black woman to play in the U.S. Open at
Kenwood in 1963. Mary Mills won the tournament by three
strokes over Louise Suggs and Sandra Hayne.

“We take a tremendous amount of pride in hosting the LPGA here
at Kenwood Country Club and can’t wait to showcase our
beautiful golf course to the world,” said Denise Kuprionis,
the first female president of the Kenwood Country Club Board
of Trustees, who earlier this year was named the Top Private
Club President in the Nation as presented by BoardRoom
Magazine.

Brainer wasn’t actively involved in Kenwood’s pursuit of the
event, but she knew that folks at the 91-year-old club were
working on it. “This is something Kenwood has been pursuing
for years,” she said. “We just finished the Kendale
renovations. The GCWGA is excited and looking forward to being
involved. “We’re just not sure about the parking,” she added
with a touch of humor. They have a year to figure it out.

By Mark Schmetzer

50th   Metropolitan   Senior
Women’s Championship at Bel-

Wood    Country   Club    on
September 1st & 2nd, 2021
Carolyn Mindel opened both rounds of the Greater Cincinnati
Golf Association 50th Metropolitan Senior Women’s Championship
with birdies on the first hole.

                                               Carol Mindel

Unae Mueller had to bounce back from a less-than-stellar
start. Both approaches worked. Mindel finished with a 76-78 –
154 to win the Overall Gross championship at Bel-Wood Country
Club. Mueller added to what has been a solid 2021 season for
her by winning the Overall Net championship, tying Beverly
Weeks with a 83-77 – 160 Gross score and earning the title due
to her handicap, which led to a 74-68 – 142. Weeks finished
with an 84-76 – 160 Gross, which translated with her handicap
to a 76-68 – 144.

                                               UnAe Mueller

“That was the best I’ve done at the Senior Met,” Mindel said.
“A couple of years ago, I won the Senior Division of the
Women’s Met at Hyde Park. A few years ago, I won the Ohio
State Park tournament. I’ve won that two times.
“It makes you feel good when you open with a birdie,” she
added. Mueller overcame shooting a 4-over 7 on the first hole.
“I was not really feeling good that first day,” said Mueller,
who four-putted the first hold. “I was thinking, ‘Uh, oh, this
is not good.’ I was mad at myself for rushing myself. I said
to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, what am I doing here?’ I started to
calm myself down. I had 10 pars and seven bogies after that. I

had a pretty consistent first round.”

Senior Met flight winners were:
Inverness
Gross: Young Romero, 82-84 =166
Net: Diane Herndon, 74-82 =156
Muirfield
Gross: Lesli Hopping, 86-76 =162
Net: Peggy Kelley, 73-76 =149
Diane Calkins
Gross: Beverly Weeks 84-76 =160
Net: Deb Fritz 74-85 =159
Seminole
Gross: Delores Crowley, 89-89 =178
Net: Deb Gehring, 80-76 =156

Mindel relied on advice from Bel-Wood member Rex Conn on the
best way to attack the course. “I was putting my driver in the
fairway, and I had some good advice from a member,” Mindel
said. “He said, ‘Stay below the hole on every green.’ I think
that helped.” Mindel also made it a point to ignore the leader
board for the entire 36 holes. “I wasn’t sure how the match
went as far as being ahead or behind,” she said. “I
consciously didn’t look at the leader boards. I can’t control
how everybody else is playing. I didn’t want to know whether
anybody was close to me or I was behind or ahead. There were a
couple of times on the second day where I was tempted to look
at the leader boards on holes that shouldn’t be trouble holes,
but I said, ‘Nope, I’m not going to do it.’ I didn’t want to
know.

“After it was over with, I turned my scorecard in and one of
the officials who I know and was following the group, picking
up markers, was the first one to tell me that I’d won. I was
like, ‘Really?’ I was tickled to death.”
Mueller already had a Senior Met Net championship on her
resume, having captured one at Kings Island three or four
years ago, she recalled.

Like Mindel, Mueller chose to focus on her own game and not
worry about the fallout. “I was in about third place or tied
for second on the second day, and I go, ‘What the heck. It’s a
beautiful day. I’m just going to play my own game and not
worry about it,’” she said. “I played with Beverly Weeks both
days, and we were neck-and-neck. Her handicap was one lower
than me. On the second day, I had an eagle on the first hole.
What a difference – first day, triple bogey, second day,
eagle.” Mueller parred No. 2 before double-bogeying No. 3.

“Bad luck,” she said. “I went over the green and ended up next
to a rock. I had to pitch out to the side. After that, I was
able to settle myself down. On the 18th hole, I hit a birdie.
How about that? I started with an eagle and finished with a
birdie. I was feeling pretty good about it. You do what you
can. “I really like Bel-Wood,” she added. “They have tight
fairways. It’s challenging. The greens are pretty fast. I
haven’t been playing over there in a while. It turned out to
be a really nice two days. The GCWGA and the GCGA and Bel-Wood
did a great job. It was very organized. It always is. Bel-Wood
was very helpful.” Mindel was impressed with how Bel-Wood kept
the course evenly competitive. “It was pretty hot,” she said.
“They did a good job of marking the course. They did
everything they could to not have the course conditions
determine the outcome.”

By Mark Schmetzer

Nine,  Wine and  Dine at
Wyoming Golf Club August

24th, 2021
The Kenwood Country Club team of captain Sue Brainer, Susan
Hyzdu, Karen Hjelm and Ginger Lippmeier-Suarez had a two-
pronged approach to playing the this year’s Nine Wine and Dine
event.

Try to have the right player taking the crucial shot on each
hole and avoid celebrating birdies with fireballs.

The plan paid off as the Kenwood team finished with the top
Gross score for the second consecutive year on August 24 at
the Wyoming Golf Club. They teamed up to finish at 35, two
strokes ahead of the Miami View team of captain Mary Oberle,
Allison York, Judy Haverkos and Betty Dinkelacker.

“I think the big thing was we used strategy,” said Brainer,
the Greater Cincinnati Women’s Golf Association president. “It
was a step-aside scramble event, which means whoever hit the
ball can’t hit the next shot. We tried to pick the golfer who
could best hit the shot after that. We all had a hole that we
won.”

The team of Maria Decker, Janel Carroll, Judy Pershern and
Denise Kuprionis finished first in the Net category with a 37
. The team of Patty Robinson, Tonja Specht, Pam Feuchter and
Kathy Dinklachter was second at 31.

Brainer’s team got off to a good start with an early birdie,
but they eschewed the trend of celebrating birdies with
fireballs. Still, they were pressed by the runnerup team until
wrapping up their round with back-to-back birdies. “I knocked
a putt in from the rough on No. 8 and Ginger Lippmeier-Suarez
knocked in a downhill breaking putt to birdie the last hole,”

Brainer said. “I was so excited, since I did not need to putt.

“There were a lot of higher handicaps in this event,” she
added. “We thought, if we were going to win a prize, we’d have
to win Gross. We all played very well. It was a great day with
good weather. It was a fun event.”

A couple of members of the Miami View team played on the squad
that won the Low Net category two or three years ago, Oberle
said, and they were in the running this year before Kenwood’s
back-to-back closing birdies.

“We didn’t quite finish first,” she said. “We were very happy
to finish second, but that’s not like finishing first. We felt
like, this year, we had a plan that worked well enough for us
to finish second. Judy Haverkos really strategized. We had a
plan.”

Oberle agreed that her crew might’ve had an edge because hilly
Wyoming resembles their home course. “Wyoming does a good job
of making it challenging, but we’re used to that,” she said.
“I would say everybody played to their handicaps. Two of us
had played Wyoming a number of times, and it helps to have
that knowledge.”
The amenities made the event even more enjoyable.

“First of all, we all had a very nice time,” Oberle said. “It
was fun. We loved the course, and Wyoming was a very gracious
host. We had a nice dinner. It was outstanding. We certainly
enjoyed ourselves. Wyoming does a great job.”

By Mark Schmetzer

2021 Crystal Bowl at Hamilton
Elks Golf Club
The Greater Cincinnati Women’s Golf Association has four
possible championships in its annual Crystal Bowl competition.
UnAe Mueller and Denise Wareham have teamed up to win two of
them in the past two years.

After capturing the Crystal Bowl Flight One Net Championship
at Kenwood Country Club’s 18-hole Kenview Course last year,
Mueller and Wareham combined to win the Low Handicap Net
Championship with a 73 at Hamilton Elks Golf Club on August 9.
“We play together pretty often,” Mueller said by phone on
August 12. “Because of that, we have a lot of confidence in
each other. It was a pretty awesome day. The Elks is a
challenging course.”

The Mueller-Wareham team won by four strokes over the teams of
Linda Coffey and Toni Soule and Lynn Thompson and Nancy
DeCenso. Vicki Felver and Hilda Hodges, playing on their home
course, combined to win the Flight One Low Net portion of the
tournament with a 62, just ahead of the 64 posted by Sue
Brainer and Beth Gianetti.

The Triple Crown Country Club team of Rita Brick and Jane
Taylor (no photo) earned the Flight Two Gross title with an
86, edging Sue Chow and Paula Gresham’s combined 88. Kenwood
Country Club’s team of Sally Proffitt and Melissa Wink
finished first in the Flight Two Net standings with a combined
65, also two in front of the 67 logged by Rhonda Logeman and
Beth Wright.

The Crystal Bowl tournament was the conception of one of
Cincinnati’s pioneers in women’s golf. Martha Parker Wilson
came from a golfing family, won the Camargo Club Championship

in 1951 and 1952, and played in the city championship from
1937 to 1957. She was a devoted member of the GCWGA, serving
on the Board from 1949 through 1951 and again in 1956 and
1957. At the fall meeting of the GCWGA in 1951 she suggested
that a two-man team from each club playing in a best ball
tournament would be “interesting for the 1952 season.” The
tournament was a success, was named the Crystal Bowl in 1957
and has grown into one of the GCWGA’s more popular events.

Mueller and Wareham suspected almost immediately that they
might be in for a good day. Starting on the par-3 No. 5,
Mueller’s tee shot landed close enough to the pin that many
thought it was a hole-in-one. “It was a foot from the pin,”
she said. “On the next hole, I made par.”

That sparked a red-hot start for the pair. Wareham birdied the
next three holes. “She and I had a total of five birdies,”
Mueller said. “It was a unbelievable day. We were kind of
really amazed at how we played. If one of us had a bad hole,
the other one picked us up. We’ve played the Elks on and off,
so we know the course. We played our best game. We were making
birdies left and right.

“I was hitting my driver pretty good – solid and accurate.
Actually, my pitching wasn’t good, and my putting wasn’t good.
I missed two or three 2-foot putts, but Denise picked me up
with the putting. Hamilton Elks greens were hard and fast, and
her putting was right there. I would get to the green, and
Denise would take care of the green side.” Mueller and Wareham
actually were surprised that they won the Gross title.

“We thought we maybe might win the Net,” she said. “We turned
in our scorecard and people were coming out to congratulate
us, and we were like, ‘What do you mean?’ They were saying,
‘You haven’t been outside?’”

Like Mueller and Wareham, Taylor and Brick thought they had a
better shot at their flight’s Net title than the Gross. “Rita

and I were setting up lunch, and we thought the only
possibility we had was Low Net,” she said. “When they
announced the winners, we weren’t one of them. We were getting
ready to leave when they made the announcement that we’d won
Low Gross. We were surprised.”

Unlike Mueller and Wareham, Taylor and Brick didn’t get off to
a good start. “Our approach shots to the greens wouldn’t stay
on the green,” Taylor said. “When it got on to the green, it
would roll to the back. On our fourth hole, Rita made the
adjustment to hit to the front of the green and let it roll
back. We did really well after she made that adjustment,
thankfully. While making the adjustment, we started out with
two net bogies.

“We ham-and-egged it pretty good,” added Taylor, who
celebrated a second career Crystal Bowl event win. “When I had
a bad hole, Rita had a good hole. Rita’s the better golfer of
us two. She did really well on the back. Again, it was a team
effort.”

Playing at the Elks made the experience even more enjoyable,
Taylor said. “I thought the course was in great shape,” she
said. “Neither of us had ever played there before, which is
always a challenge. The first time you play a course, you want
to come back and play it differently. I thought the staff was
well-organized.” “The course was in good shape, and the food
was awesome,” Mueller echoed. “Congratulations to the Elks.”

By Mark Schmetzer

2021 High Kent Tournament
Trish Reperowitz was captain of the Western Hills Country Club
team that captured the 2020 Greater Cincinnati Low Kent
Memorial Tournament Low Net championship on its home course.
At the time, she humbly credited at least part of the
accomplishment to the familiarity of playing at home.

Reperowitz and her teammates this year – Barb Trotta, Jeanne
Schoonever and Susan McBeth – didn’t have the comfort of home
course advantage to fall back on this year, but it didn’t
matter. Playing in the High Kent portion of the annual event
on July19, at Four Bridges Country Club, they teamed up to win
the Gross team title with a combined score of 177, finishing
four strokes ahead of the team of Claire Martini, Nancy
Sander, Diane Sundrup and Lynn Torbeck.
“We had a good day,” Reperowitz said. “We started out great. I
had birdie-par-birdie on the first three holes. We started out
on the back nine and did really well. We gave a few back on
front nine. We were 6-under on the back nine and went 3-over
on the front nine.

“I think we all played our better golf – all four of us. We
were definitely able to trade off.” The team of Melissa Wink,
Meghan Cole, Michelle Jones and Jen Stuhlreyer combined to
capture the High Kent Net championship with a 136, four
strokes ahead of the team of Holly Cassidy, Donna Harpsoe,
Diane Stevens and Sandy Stuckert.

Wink couldn’t put a finger any specific aspect of her team’s
game that led to their win. “Sometimes, you just have good
days,” said Wink, who’s been playing golf for only five years.
“I’ve been playing long enough that I should be better than I
am. We got lucky. It was a fun, all-around tournament. We were
just out there having a good time. Winning was a pleasant

surprise.”

While they weren’t playing on their home course, Reperowitz
and her teammates weren’t completely playing blind. Reperowitz
previously had played Four Bridges and knew a few things about
the course. “I had played the Crystal Bowl there last year,”
she recalled. “Last year, I found so much water and creeks.
This year, I paid more attention to the water and creeks. I
was able to let the girls know where the water and creeks
were. “It’s called Four Bridges, but I call it Four Bridges
and a thousand creeks.” Wink’s team, which calls Kenwood
Country Club home, leaned on consistency on its way to a
title. “I would not be able to say anybody had a spectacular
day,” she said.

The High Kent and its counterpart, the Low Kent, were created
in the mid-1950s in honor of Mrs. Sydney B. Kent, and long-
time Cincinnati Country Club and Women’s Western Golf
Association board member who maintained in her life a keen
interest in teaching ethics, courtesies and rules of the game
to junior golfers. The tournament originally was a net best-
ball foursome before evolving into flighted events at two
different courses with gross and net prizes. Kathy Brockman is
this year’s GCWGA tournament chairperson. Holly Jones is
serving as the assistant tournament chairperson.

Reperowitz and her teammates actually had to grab the winner’s
prize from the Miami View, which was mistakenly handed the
awards during the post-tournament ceremony. “I had looked at
the board, but the pro reversed the order when he transcribed
it for the ceremony,” she said. “I was like, ‘Um, sorry, but
…” Wink and her teammates were having lunch when they learned
that they’d won as the Four Bridges pro posted the scores. “We
were like, ‘Oh, look at that,’” Wink said.

By Mark Schmetzer

2021 LOW KENT TOURNAMENT
Nancy DeCenso parred her first hole at Losantiville Country
Club on July 21 and jokingly was ready to call it a day. “She
said, ‘I’m done for the day,’” and we were all like, ‘Noooo,’”
teammate Holly Jones said. She and they were glad DeCenso were
glad she stuck around to finish the round. Those two teamed up
with Lynn Thompson and Allison Mayborg to the Low Gross title
at this year’s Greater Cincinnati Women’s Golf Association Low
Kent Memorial tournament.

The winning team combined to card a 145 at Losantiville
Country Club, a week after rain forced postponement of the
originally scheduled date. They won by a comfortable nine
strokes over the second-place team of Lori Roberts, Linda
Coffey, Vicki Felver and Hilda Hodges, which finished at 154.
Jenny Haralamos, Julie Crouch, Connie Hillard and Fran Teller
teamed up to finish third at 160.

Toni Soule, Traci Anderson, Tina Davis and Jody Rusche
combined to log a winning Net score of 131, edging the 134 put
together by the team of Diane Bizzarri, Nancy Vincent, Tracey
Capuano and Deanna Hogenkamp. Soule served as captain for the
team that included Davis, Soule’s twin. Those two and Anderson
play out of Hamilton Elks, while Rusche calls the Elks and the
Heritage Club home.

“We had a great team, and we needed all four players,” Rusche
texted. “I was fortunate to be asked to play on this team. I
think it was four years ago, so it felt good to win. They are
all great, fun ladies.” Rusche and her team had to wait until
of the others teams completed their rounds before the win was
confirmed. The wait was worth it, she said. “You never really
know if you win or place until all scores are posted,” she
said. “We thought our score looked pretty good when we went to
lunch. However, not all teams were finished, so we didn’t

really know until they announced it, but we were extremely
happy.”

The Low Kent and its counterpart, the High Kent, were created
in the mid-1950s in honor of Mrs. Sydney B. Kent, a long-time
Cincinnati Country Club and Women’s Western Golf Association
board member who maintained in her life a keen interest in
teaching ethics, courtesies and rules of the game to junior
golfers. The tournament originally was a net best-ball
foursome before evolving into flighted events at two different
courses with gross and net prizes. Kathy Brockman is this
year’s GCWGA tournament chairperson.

Jones, Thompson and DeCenso were part of the team that won the
2019 Low Kent Gross title before finishing second last season
at Western Hills Country Club. Jones, this year’s GCWGA
assistant tournament chairperson, couldn’t really pick out one
outstanding trait displayed by her team on its way to
regaining this year the top spot. “I just think we all played
really well, and when we weren’t, others on the team were able
to pick up the slack,” she said. “If one wasn’t playing well,
the others were able to contribute. Allison had a pair of
eagles on the front nine, which really helped. I just think we
were pretty consistent. We used quite a bit of Nancy’s shots.
Everybody contributed. We had some really great 30s throughout
the day. The greens were really small, so we spent a huge part
of the day trying to get below the pin.”

The week’s postponement had little impact on the event, Jones
said. “A few teams weren’t able to make it after the rainout,
and some other teams had to get creative in putting together
teams,” she said. “I’m not sure how this affected the field
and original teams,” Rusche said. “Thank goodness our entire
team was able to make the rainout date.” Similarly,
Losantiville seamlessly handled the delay. “The entire staff
was welcoming,” Jones said. “The course was beautiful. I
hadn’t played there since I was junior golfer. Everybody
commented on how well it was groomed.”

“The course was in great shape, and their entire staff was
very friendly and helpful,” Rusche added in an email. “Toni
played exceptionally well, which really helped us out as the
format was two best balls. As well as she played, we still
needed two scores, so it was a team effort. Everyone
contributed and that’s what it takes to win. “I think this is
our fourth year playing as a team, so we were very excited to
have won. I don’t know that I can speak for them as to if this
is any of our biggest wins. However, any and every win is
big,”

By Mark Schmetzer

Spring Team Wrap Up
In at least one way, the Greater Cincinnati Women’s Golf
Association Spring Team competition picked up in 2021 right
   where it left off in 2019.

Hamilton Elks Golf Club captured its fourth straight Division
I championship, shaking off a season lost to pandemic
protocols and romping to a decisive 18-point win over Camargo
Country Club. Elks team captain Linda Coffey was pleasantly
surprised at the outcome, considering the team lost two of its
top players when the Heritage Club revived its team.

“Other players stepped up,” said Coffey, whose team has won
seven of the last eight and nine of the last 11 Spring Team
championships. “We kind of had a pretty steady team. Our ones
and twos and threes and fours were pretty consistent. Our
fives and sixes switched up a lot, depending on who could
play, but they all really came through.”
“Not too many people beat Hamilton Elks,” observed Camargo
team captain Sally Layman. “We’ve been runnerup a few years in

a row. I think we gave them a run for their money. We had them
looking over their shoulders.”

While the Elks win lent a feeling of familiarity to the event,
this year’s Spring Team event also was marked by some
shakeups, primarily in Division II. Jody Rusche, one of the
former Elks players good-naturedly described by Coffey as
“little traitors,” captained the Heritage team that won the
division championship after being unable for several years to
cobble together enough women to field a team. Heritage edged
Four Bridges Country Club by 2.5 points.
“This was our first year back in, and we won, so that was
nice,” Rusche said.

Rusche credited changes in membership with helping Heritage to
be immediately competitive. “Our demographics changed a lot,”
she said. “We have a lot more ladies who are good and wanted a
little bit of competition and wanted to play. We’ve gotten a
lot of new members who are really good. It’s kind of nice.”
Like most of the team captains, Rusche never could be sure who
might be available from one week to the next during the seven-
week tournament. Heritage went into the last week trailing
Wetherington Golf & Country Club by eight points while,
essentially, leading the pack since Wetherington was hosting
the finale and wouldn’t be able to compete or generate points.
Four Bridges was five points behind Heritage.

“Thank goodness we played well against Hyde Park in the last
match,” Rusche said. “I was telling the ladies, ‘We’re leading
by five, but don’t lay down.’” Rusche was particularly
impressed with and thankful for the contributions of all her
team members. By virtue of their finishes, Heritage and Four
Bridges both will move up to Division I next spring, but both
teams will have different looks. Four Bridges team captain

Tereza Riccella had moved her membership to Heritage by the
time the last Spring Team match was played. “I had dual
citizenship for a while,” she said with a laugh.

Her Four Bridges tenure certainly ended on a high note. While
her team didn’t win, it piled up a remarkable 39.5 points in
the finale to apply significant pressure to Heritage – her new
home club. “Our girls made a run,” Riccella said proudly. “In
Week Six, we defeated Heritage, 29-25. We gave them their only
loss of the season. The last week, we played the ladies from
Coldstream (Country Club). Our girls knew what we had to do.
We had to play our best. Unfortunately, I couldn’t play. I was
out of town attending a funeral. Our girls were rarin’ to go.

“All six of our women had played Wetherington, so there was a
lot of course knowledge. We play them every year in a
tournament called the Liberty Cup. They definitely pulled it
out big. “I’ve been captain at Four Bridges for 11 years, so I
have a lot of records and emails. I’m not sure if 39.5 points
is a record, but I know the ladies were excited. They knew
they had to go for every point, and they did a heck of a job.”
Perhaps they were motivated by knowing that Riccella was
stepping down as team captain. Denise Wareham will take over,
Riccella said. “I finally got someone to take over for me,”
Riccella said. “This was my farewell tour.”

What the women savored the most was being able to get on the
course for some friendly competition – even if the weather
didn’t always cooperate. Coffey was asked what she enjoyed
more – winning or simply playing. “Y’know what?” she replied.
“I would say both. It was sad that we didn’t get to play last
year.”

The pleasure of playing even helped the players deal with the
challenging early season weather, Layman had to bring hand
warmers to the first three events. “It was such a

disappointment last year,” she said. “We were playing golf,
but there were clubs that weren’t comfortable having people
other than members come in and use their facilities. We all
missed it. It was such fun to see everybody and have a little
competition.”

By Mark Schmetzer

2021 Metropolitan Women’s
Amateur Championship
Susan Glasby quit playing golf as a teen because, as she says,
she was “burnt out.” “I didn’t pick up a club again until two
years ago,” said the Australia native who now lives in
Huntington, W.Va. She’s making the most of her – so to speak –
second round.

Glasby put together a three-round score of 75-79-74 – 228 to

win the 106th Metropolitan Women’s Amateur Championship on June
9-11 at Ivy Hills Country Club. Glasby, playing out of World
of Golf, edged 2014 and 2019 champion Emily Stipanovich of
Coldstream Country Club by three strokes and Allison Schultz
of Maketewah Country Club by four strokes.

Four Bridges Country Club’s UnAe Mueller earned the overall
Senior championship, capturing the Joan Comisar Flight with an
82-88 – 170, six strokes better than Little Miami Golf
Center’s Carolyn Mindel. Mueller capitalized on a blistering
start, shooting a 37 over the first nine holes.

“That was a shocker,” she said. “I kind of fell apart in the
second nine with a 45, but I couldn’t believe my eyes with a
37. It was my lucky day. On No. 6, I hit my tee shot out of
bounds, but it hit a tree and came out on the fairway.”

She also chipped in her third shot on No. 7. “I said, ‘What’s
going on here?’” she said. “I was lucky all day long that day.
The gals I played with couldn’t believe how lucky I was. On
No. 12, everybody was finished putting and I thought I saw
something funny. I looked down and saw a four-leaf clover.

“I was able to keep balls in the fairway,” she added. “I only
missed the fairway one time all week. I’m not a longer hitter,
but I’m consistent. I was able to play own game. I didn’t
worry about the other players.”

Mueller counts this win as the biggest of her career. “I guess
it is, as it goes,” she said. “I came out several times close.
As an individual, this is the biggest one.”

Heritage Country Club’s Tereza Riccella won the Seniors’ Judy
Diem Hayes Flight with a two-round score of 101-103 – 204,
four strokes ahead of second-place Donna Heine of O’Bannon
CreekGolf Club. Riccella had to reacquaint herself with Ivy
Hills.

“It’s been seven or eight years since I’ve been there,” she
said. “I forgot how hard the greens were. The greens were
everybody’s downfall. When you thought you had a putt, it
either stopped short or went 15 feet past and curved. I was
fine off the tee. I always liked to say I have a good short
game – until I got to Ivy Hills. Ivy Hills has a way of
humbling your short game.”

This year’s Met was Riccella’s 17th straight and she’s been her
flight’s winner or runnerup seven times, she said, but this

one was a little more special. “This is my first time winning
since we went to medal play,” she said.

Glasby, who won the event in her third try after finishing
third in 2019 and tied for seventh last year, wasn’t really
impressed with her performance. She also was unfamiliar with
the course. “I had never seen Ivy Hills before,” she said. “It
was the hardest 6000 yards I’ve ever played.” The long-driving
Glasby had to adjust her approach to stay competitive, she
said.

“I didn’t pull my driver out at all,” said Glasby, who
followed her mother when she moved in 2013 from Australia to
marry a West Virginia man. “There was nowhere to land it. My
main advantage is my driver. It’s my favorite club, but it had
to stay in the bag.”

Glasby, who maintains dual citizenships, was second, two
strokes behind Schultz and two ahead of Stipanovich, after two
rounds and had to overcome that deficit and a third-day 10 on
No. 4 to win. She made up for it by logging five of her third-
round six birdies over the last 14 holes. “I wasn’t
concerned,” she said. “Ivy Hills is one of those courses where
anybody can have a 10. I was able to wipe it out of my mind.”

West Virginia isn’t exactly a golf hotbed, and Glasby has a
difficult time finding tournaments near her home, which forces
her to seek out events further from home. She recently played
in Florida and was planning to play in the Michigan Women’s
Open. That’s what has brought her to Cincinnati. “It’s an open
tournament,” she pointed out. “Finding tournaments around this
area is very difficult.”

That means she has to literally go to extra lengths to indulge
her renewed love of the game. She plans to return to
Cincinnati next year to defend her championship. “I guess,
since I took that long off from the sport, I missed it,” she
said. “Golf is one of those sports that gets in your blood.”

By Mark Schmetzer

In Memory of Joan Comisar
Darlene Anderson laughed when told that Dave Freytag, one of
Joan Comisar’s legion of friends, described Comisar’s “big,
loopy swing for the ages.”

“Big and loopy,” Anderson echoed. “Only Joan could get away
with a swing that big, but she was just so focused.”

Anderson was talking about Comisar a couple of weeks after
Comisar passed away on April 30 in Cincinnati of natural
causes.

Much of her obituary, of course, concerned itself with her
many golf accomplishments, from her four Cincinnati Met
championships to her 10 Senior Met championships to her Ohio
State Women’s Amateur championship to her 47 club
championships, including 29 at Kenwood Country Club. Her
accomplishments led to her receiving a bit of national
publicity as one of Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd”
in 2004 and being named in 1990 a Cincinnati Legend of Golf.

What make Comisar’s accomplishments somewhat more remarkable
are she got what might be considered a relatively late start
in the sport, not picking up a club until she was in her late
20s or early 30s, but golf always was more for her than just
championships and honors. What her friends, many of whom
related thoughts and memories for a video produced by Kenwood
when the club in 2018 commissioned the Comisar Cup to honor
its women’s champions, recall was a woman who used the sport
as a way of indulging her passion for social interaction.

That’s a fancy way of saying she liked making and keeping
friends.

“A lot of people are enamored with her 29 club championships,”
Kenwood member Cindy Crilley said a couple of weeks after
Comisar’s passing. “For me, she was simply one of my best
friends, and she was incredibly compassionate.”

Crilley recalled when her father passed away, shortly after
she lost her mother and husband in the same year. “She knew I
was having the whole family at my house,” Crilley said. “She
showed up with two huge casseroles and salads, and she made
sure the dining room was set up.

“Most people know her as a great golfer, but you wanted her as
a friend. She was tough. She would tell you what you needed to
hear, not what she thought you wanted to hear.” Eileen
Woodhouse recalled in the Kenwood video playing a round with
Comisar on a hot day before adjourning to Comisar’s home for a
pool and refreshments.

“Fast forward 40 years,” Woodhouse went on. “Every year, I’m
getting a birthday card with a drawing of a margarita with
little umbrellas or bottles of tequila as a reminder.”

Freytag in the video described Comisar as a “very democratic
golfer.” “She would play with anyone and not let any of the
lesser golfers feel uncomfortable,” Freytag said. “Joan loved
the social interaction of golf, but the competitive nature was
always there. I‘ve often thought back about how our friendship
grew stronger as our games went downhill.”

Comisar perhaps was most famous on the course for her power,
which allowed her to compete from the men’s tees. “She evoked
awe and fear – fear because I was afraid my drives wouldn’t go
as far as her divots,” Crilley observed in the Kenwood video.

Crilley also pointed out that here was more to Comisar’s game
than long drives. “She knew how to play each hole,” Crilley

said, remembering advice from Comisar on which club to use for
a certain shot while they were competing against each other.
“If you got into trouble, the first rule was to get out of
trouble.”

Comisar was famous not just for her talent, but for her
ability to remember and enforce golf’s myriad rules and
remember not just her score but the scores of her partners.
“She’s got that amazing clear focus,” Crilley said. “She was
extremely focused.” “What I remember about Joan is she lost a
match to Margaret Hodges at Clovernook Country Club,” Anderson
said. “Instead of whining about it, I looked over and there’s
Joan hitting 200 balls. That’s what stands out. She was pretty
much of a god to the other golfers. She took the game very
seriously.”

Comisar also was active in cultivating golf interest in new
generations of players, which didn’t go unnoticed by her
friends. “I remember you giving back to the game,” Bruce Rotte
says in the tribute video. “You gave back to the game in so
many ways with the same intensity which you played the game.”
“Anybody who’s known Joan feels a tremendous obligation to
help,” Crilley said. Crilley wasn’t surprised when somebody
mentioned to her that she’d occasionally slipped into the
present tense when talking about her long-time friend. “I
can’t help it,” Crilley said. “She’s with me always. I’ll tell
you something. When she passed away, I felt this incredible
onus to start acting better. I felt like I needed to act a
little bit more like Joan. Talking to friends now, I say, “We
have to behave. We have to act like Joan.”

By Mark Schmetzer

Hello Friends and Golf Opponents of Joan
Comisar
Please use the link below to access a special YouTube Tribute
to Joan Comisar. I am sure everyone will find it very

enjoyable. https://youtu.be/YRdUx6NeFn4