KSHB 41 News anchor Taylor Hemness reports on stories across Kansas, including a focus on consumer issues. You can contact Taylor by email.
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I recently met a pair of Kansas City women who wanted to join a women's golf league, but couldn't find one that worked with a full-time work schedule.
So they just made one, and now, it's a full-on business.
They're the Golf Gals, and they're confident there are a lot of women in Kansas City who are just looking for the perfect way to pick up the game.
"Every (league) that we were finding was Tuesdays at 9am, Thursdays at 11,” Niki Jensen-Denton told me. “Well, unfortunately our bosses will not let us take five hours out of the day to go play."
Jensen-Denton and her Golf Gals co-founder Marnie Pudenz wanted more than a place and time to play. They wanted a different kind of golf experience.
"For us it's less about like, getting really good at golf,” Jensen-Denton said. “Just creating an environment, where, as a woman, you have a space where you can learn a new sport."
Today, Golf Gals, is becoming exactly what the pair envisioned.
I attended one of their events in early June, which included a lesson, range time, and golf availability at Heart of America Golf Course in Kansas City, MO.
Brittany Boerigter spoke to me during her lesson about how intimidating golf can be, because of the sport itself, and the not-so-subtle gender barrier.
"It's just like going to the gym,” Boerigter told me. “I've coached volleyball, and I want the boys out of the weight room when the girls are in there lifting."
"If you talk to any gals who have been golfing for a long period of time, you know that they probably all have a weird story of being at a course and not feeling welcomed, or having a weird experience checking in at the pro shop," Jensen-Denton said.
That's not going to happen with this group.
The Golf Gals founders say the courses they've partnered with have welcomed them with open arms, thrilled to get a chance to cater to a new customer.
During my visit, I also spoke to a couple of Golf Gals who were out on the course.
"I work a full time job,” Maggie McGranahan told me. “And I don't have time to take time off and go play golf in the middle of the afternoon, so this was a huge attraction to me."
"Well I'm looking really at the LPGA,” Jheri Bermudez told me with a smile. “But maybe if I could just place in a tournament, that would work for me too."
The Golf Gals host their events at Heart of America Golf Course, Hodge Park Golf Course, and Adams Pointe Golf Club.
There's no membership fee. All of the events are designed to be drop-in, and there are also league and lesson series.
You can learn more, and get tickets, here.
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