Your January e-Blast is here!

January 2026

President’s note:

Happy New Year and hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! We had a great December, with another successful Jingle Bell Open on the books - donating more than $1,100 to Pace Girls Golf. Way to go team!

We are ready to get into the full swing of our winter season with 5 Leagues and an exciting January event – 5 clubs and a putter at Bonita Fairways scheduled for January 17.

Your board is hard at work scheduling ongoing social and education events with many announcements heading your way soon. As always, we totally welcome all new ideas and suggestions!

Starting with January play and going forward all league and events will transition to use of Golf Genius for all pairings. You may request one cart partner, but the foursomes will be assigned randomly by Golf Genius. This will ensure fairness for all players in tee time slots, provide all of us the opportunity to meet new members, and hopefully make new members feel more welcome. On the plus side, I’m sure we will all have many new friends by the end of the year!

Reminder: GHIN renewal registration for 2026 closes Friday, January 16. Renew now!

Please join me in making one of your Top 10 Golf Resolutions for 2026 is to Play More Golf!!

Thanks again for all your participation – I’m excited for a great year ahead!

Debbie Sheppard

LPGA Amateur Golf Association

SWFL Chapter President

2025/2026 LPGA Amateurs SWFL Chapter Board Members

Welcome New Members!

Tish Lawson

Terri Marshall

Cookie BishopBoriss

Denise Oconnor

Toni Couse

Louise Kelly-Decker

Vicki Essink

Nancy Budd

Mandy Rennehan

Jeri Screnci

Susan Hoehn

Peggy Scalfano

Michelle Riordan

2025 Jingle Bell Open

2025 Jingle Bell Open in the books

It was great to see so many new members participate in this annual FUN event.

We had 80+ players participating this year, trying their luck putting with a Candy Cane, hitting a tee shot with a baseball bat or tennis racket, trying to hit the same club from tee to green, trying their luck hitting the tee shot with oven mitts on or making Eagles or Birdies with Santa's Helper hitting the approach shot.

Scores were very close & a few required score card playoffs*

This year we paid out a total of 7 places - top 6 plus, of course, our perseverance award

6^th place - Joan Kelley, Kyle Kelley, Keri Hoffman, Janet Morrison - net 64

5^th place - Kathy Millard, Jackie Mazzanti, Kathy Headson - net 63*

4^th place - Patty Gift, Barb Murtagh, Jennie Taylor, Kerstin Koenig - net 63*

3^rd place - Kim Decker, Deb Quitadamo, Nancy Hughes, Dawn Sanders - net 62*

2^nd place - Lisa Holden, Michelle Tessmer, Ann Davis, Kay Russell - net 62*

1^st place - Terry Baxter, Susan Jensen, Kjirsten Morejon, Janet Locke - net 60

We saw some great costumes in the Spirit of the Season. After a tough deliberation, the CW staff voted for Pam Dionise as Tin (Wo)man and the Frozen Team of Bonnie Blanchard, Karen Booth, Lisa Garrett and Dawn Pallett as the 2025 winners for their merriest outfits.

Another highlight was the Heads and Tails "competition" to win a Summer Foursome. Congratulations to Terry Baxter and a big THANK YOU to Jennie Taylor for facilitating.

Players, thank you very much for your participation and your support of the Pace Center of Girls.

Not only did we send the Pace Center for Girls representative home with a car full of items from the girls wish list, gift cards and member cash donations, but we were also able to donate to their Holiday Fund! Your generosity makes such a positive difference to the girls, and we greatly appreciate it.

A special thanks to ALL the volunteers that helped to make this event such a success and to Cypress Woods for hosting the 2025 LPGA Amateurs SWFL Chapter Jingle Bell Open.

Kerstin Koenig

Your Corporate and Vacation Specialist

Variety Travel Management Services

239-513-0772 / 305-358-0603

kerstin@variety-travel.com

Upcoming Events

Saturday, January 17 – Bonita Fairways – 5 Clubs and a Putter Golf Event

Join us for a fun and challenging twist on traditional golf at our5 Clubs and a Putter Golf Event! We have 10 tee times beginning at 7:58 AM (I know it is an early start but then you get the whole day to enjoy as well after golf)

Each player will select five clubs plus a putter to carry for the entire round—no full bag allowed. This format tests your strategy, creativity, and shot-making skills as you navigate the course with a limited set of tools.

The course at Bonita Fairways is a shorter executive style course so this will be a great opportunity to practice your short game as well. I have included the link to the course scorecard so you can plan ahead for which clubs you will select -bonitafairways scorecard

Whether you’re a seasoned golfer or just looking for a new way to enjoy the game, this event promises friendly competition, laughs, and plenty of memorable moments.

Bring your best five clubs, your favorite putter, and your A-game!

Registration closes on Monday, January 12th

Member Rate - $90.00 and Guests $100.00 (we are getting the league rate for this event). If space available, event will be open to guests for $100.00. An announcement will go out if we can open to guests.

Saturday, February 21^st – Clewiston Golf Course – THE SUGAR BOWL!!! Let’s keep the trophy in SWFL!

This year’s tournament will take place during season so more of our friends can join! This is a fun multi-chapter event with the following chapters invited to participate: Palm Beach County, Southwest Florida, Fort Lauderdale, Treasure Coast, Miami, and Lee /Charlotte. We are hoping to get a total of 84 players from all the participating chapters.

Join us for a day of fun competition and camaraderie! You can sign up as a team or sign up as a single and we will pair you. Players of all levels are welcome! Scoring considers handicap which levels the playing field! You must have a verifiable handicap to be eligible to compete for prizes.

Format: The format is a 2-person team scramble.
Date / Time: 2/21/26 - 10:00 AM shotgun start
Rate: $85.00 (includes Golf, Lunch, & Prizes)
Address: Clewiston Golf Course, 1201San Luiz Ave., Clewiston, FL 33440

Registration closes: February 16^th

Hotel Suggestions (if needed):

Hampton Inn Clewiston, 305 W Sugarland Hwy, Clewiston, FL 33440 (5 Minutes)

Holiday Inn Express Clewiston, 1024 W Sugarland Hwy, Clewiston, FL 33440 (3 Minutes)

February 18th: PGA Tour Superstore-Time TBD

March 18th: Rules and Etiquette with Mo White. Time and place TBD

April 22nd: Game night. Time and place TBD

May 20th: Gold Fitness Education with Mary Kay Rueth. Time and place TBD

Renewals

LPGA Amateurs MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS

If you haven't renewed your membership this year, it expired on 12/31. You won't see information about golf outings and events until you renew. You do have until 3/31/26 to renew without playing a rejoin fee. If your membership has expired, please Renew Your Membership Now

(In your member profile under the Overview tab press the Renew button).

GHIN RENEWALS

If you like to renew, switch or establish a GHIN handicap through the SWFL Chapter - Click Here To Renew

The 2026 rate for chapter members is $30.00.

There is no need to sign up through the chapter if you post your handicap through your club or already signed up with the USGA or your state's handicap service for 2026.

Current Chapter GHIN members: if we do not receive your renewal payment by 1/15/26 your GHIN account will automatically change to inactive with us.

For Questions, please reach out to Liz Rees - lizrees2018@icloud.com

Registration to renew closes on Friday, January 16th

Looking forward to seeing you out on the course!

Winter Golf Leagues

We have four weekly or bi weekly leagues offering the opportunity to play and socialize over food and drink after:

Hibiscus Nine and Dine - Tuesdays at 2:30 PM - $76.00

Tee Captain - Kim Decker

Hibiscus 18 Holes - Last Tuesday of the month at 12:30 PM - $151.00

Tee Captain - Kim Decker

Eagle Lakes 18 Holes - Thursday at 2:30 PM - $90.00 per member

Tee Captain Suzanne Wade and Charlotte Walker

Spanish Wells 18 Holes - Thursdays at 12:30 PM - $97.00

Tee Captain - Lisa Holden

Stoneybrook 18 Holes - Saturdays 12:30 PM - $120

Tee Captain - Mary Kay Reuth

Quail Village - 18 Holes - Every other Saturday January 10th and January 24th at 1:00 PM - $80.00

Tee Captain - Kerstin Koenig

** Please note prices are subject to change depending on season - Please always review the Sign Up emails for confirmed price. **

Word from LPGA Amateur Golf

----association.-----

Thank You to our SWFL Chapter Sponsors

We Appreciate Your Support

Important SWFL Chapter Reminders!

Cancellation Policy:

Cancellation received before event registration close date: Refund, less $10 admin fee

Cancellation received after event registration close date: Non-refundable

Chapter Event Cancellation: Full refund/credit issued

Please note that we closely track Tropical Weather and league coordinators work closely with the courses to determine if a golf event should be cancelled or rescheduled due to inclement weather. The determination will be made & communicated the day prior to the event and if cancelled, you will be issued a 100% refund or a credit for the rescheduled round.

We do not typically cancel for general rain forecasts because in Florida it may or may not impact the course being played. If you have rain / weather concerns, call the Pro Shop for course conditions but note that for a 100% refund, golf event cancellation must be made by the event coordinator.

*Request for Cancellation should be sent to the league/fun play event coordinator *

Hole in One Insurance - Just $5!

Feeling Lucky!? The odds are 12,500 to 1 for an amateur golfer to get a Hole-In-One

The long standing tradition of celebrating with your fellow players includes picking up the bar bill for that celebratory round of drinks!

Don't risk it - your next round may be the one! We encourage you to purchase SWFL Chapter Hole-in-One Insurance for just $5! You can elect to participate at any time, and pay at any Chapter related event.

Names on THIS LIST have paid for the insurance

If your name is missing, please contact: kmcnamara_2001@yahoo.com

lpgaamateursswfl.com

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