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LAND O'LAKES — The pink golf balls are missing the hole, but that's okay. The golfers are having fun.
Assistant pro Laura Sanderson gets them off the putting green and onto the grass.
"You want to hear a whish," she said as she shows Christine Cooper and her companions how to get the ball up in the air. "You want to get up under the ball."
The group works at catching the grass with their clubs. After a few tries, they get the hang of it and return to the putting green.
No one is worried about what anyone else thinks. That's the whole premise behind Gals Golfing & Networking: Getting familiar with the game in a stress-free atmosphere.
"How many times have you heard about deals being made on the golf course?" said Cooper, the group's founder and owner of Cooper Financial Services, an independent financial planning firm in Land O'Lakes. "These women wanted to learn so we could play with the boys."
The group, which gathered for the first time in October, meets twice a month at the Groves community golf course. There they get instruction from Sanderson, who is an LPGA member.
Cost is $15 a lesson, which covers the use of the course. Anyone who brings a guest next time gets a free outing. Sanderson essentially volunteers her time because she believes in their cause.
"If I play golf with you I've spent a couple of hours with you, we've gotten to know each other, developed a rapport and had some fun," she said, noting the essential ingredients for business deals.
This week, seven women show up. Nearly all are business owners, which make up 28 percent of Pasco's firms. One owns an Internet-based custom framing company. Another sells jewelry. Another is an independent marketing representative. Another owns Lady On the Green, an online-based women's golf boutique.
Mary Ann Whallen owns a home inspection service. Her husband works for her.
"He does all the inspections while I do all the networking," she said with a laugh.
While one group practices drives and putting, another goes out to play a few holes. At 4:30 p.m. they all gather at the clubhouse for drinks and networking. It's mandatory.
"The guys don't leave before having drinks," Cooper said. If anyone should know about networking, it's Cooper. She has attended so many groups she can hardly remember them all and a few years ago started Women in Charge, a mentoring group. She gave it up, she said, after "it turned into ladies who wanted to lunch."
Unlike men's relaxation time, where the lines between business and pleasure are more blurred, the women's group sits down to drinks, food and announcements.
This meeting, they decide to start golf dates later in the day because of the upcoming switch to daylight saving time. They also pass around business cards and do a 30-second commercial.
Then they also listen to Sanderson's remarks. They're all getting better at golf, she says. She says a charity tournament coming up next month at the Groves might be a good event at which to get their feet wet.
"You're comfortable with the course," she said.
The group wants to eventually be able to participate in charity tournaments. Cooper, who had limited experience before, recently golfed with her husband.
"He was really (ticked) because my score was better than his," she said with a chuckle.
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