Category Archives for "BLOG"

September 4, 2021

Bonneville Golf Course – Salt Lake City, Utah

Lizette, Carol, Trish

I'm only 7 days into this 2-month journey and it has already been epic. 

Life doesn't get much better than taking a cross-country road trip to meet up with other women golfers!  


Monday, I left Logan after getting my windshield replaced and arrived in Salt Lake City about 1:30 in the afternoon. I was greeted by Lizette, a member of the Women Who Golf Facebook page, who is hosting me in her AirBnB. After getting settled in she took me for a ride up to Park City and for lunch in this sweet little thing. We rode in style as you can see from the picture.

On Tuesday morning we loaded up and headed to Bonneville Golf Course to meet up with 2  other members of the Facebook Women Who Golf Group, Trish and Jan. Unfortunately, Jan wasn't feeling well and decided to stay home and not chance giving whatever she had to us. 

After golf, we went to a local brewery and had a beverage and an appetizer to hold us over until the real lunch Lizette had planned out in Tooele (pronounced Too-willa).  

The Bonneville Brewery was our lunch stop in Tooele, which is out beyond the Salt Flats. We each ordered a beverage and decided to split a couple of appetizers, including a zucchini spinach dip and bruschetta.  We liked them both very much. We found ourselves putting a little of each on our pita bread pieces and, eventually, just added them together for a delicious combination. We named it Brushinni.  I might even try it at home.

Birdie juice on the first hole, compliments of Trish, thanks to Lizette.

As many of you know, this trip is also a trip is about raising awareness and funds for the First Tee youth development program.  

I want to thank my major sponsor Doghouse Motor Sports for their generous contribution to our youth!


Thank you, Doghouse Motorsports!

I'd also like to sincerely thank others who have donated funds to our campaign, including:

June Stanaway - Premier One Properties in Wenatchee
Steve Roller - Big Ideas Publishing (Connecticut)
Lisa Nelson - Wisconsin
Clair & Beverly Klock - Klock Farms & Nursery  Corbett, OR
Roy Altman - Redmond, OR
Nancy Steere - Wenatchee , WA
Ruth Collins - East Wenatchee, WA

MG Bailey - Spokane, WA

Lizette McPhie - Salt Lake City, UT
And a couple Anonymous donations  


If you are interested
in helping out the kids by donating,
please go to our fundraiser page:

September 3, 2021

Redhawk Golf Course – Nampa, ID

Redhawk Golf Course - Nampa, Idaho

What a great day on August 28th at Redhawk Golf Course in Nampa, Idaho. It was an awesome way to kick off the golf portion of my epic solo 2-month road trip. 

This trip is about connecting with people and I made two new friends who are part of a large Facebook group I belong to called Women Who Golf.  Yesterday's new friends are Heather and Colleen.

Heather, Carol, Colleen



We had so much fun and I was introduced to a new birdie juice... GRIND Espresso Shot!  

We enjoyed 2 shots (of birdie juice) thanks to two birdies. We had many more missed chances too. I suppose, the golf Gods were counting and decided we'd had enough alcohol for one round... so no more birdies were allowed. LOL

Redhawk is a challenging course in that it requires a lot of strategy when planning shots. LOTS of bunkers. I was in two but, as Colleen would say, she had many more "opportunities" to practice her sand shots than Heather or I did. LOL 

The greens were hard to read and especially challenging since they'd been aerated about 3 weeks ago and still not healed. Hard to get a smooth roll when it's bouncing it's way to the hole. And, might I mention, it's best to stay out of the rough. It was a fun day and I played well. Scored 82.

As many of you know, this trip is also a trip is about raising awareness and funds for the First Tee youth development program.  

I want to thank my major sponsor Doghouse Motor Sports for their generous contribution to our youth!


Thank you, Doghouse Motorsports!

I'd also like to sincerely thank others who have donated funds to our campaign, including:

June Stanaway - Premier One Properties in Wenatchee
Steve Roller - Big Ideas Publishing (Connecticut)
Lisa Nelson - Wisconsin
Clair & Beverly Klock - Klock Farms & Nursery  Corbett, OR
Roy Altman - Redmond, OR
Nancy Steere - Wenatchee , WA
Ruth Collins - East Wenatchee, WA

MG Bailey - Spokane, WA

Lizette McPhie - Salt Lake City, UT
And a couple Anonymous donations  

If you are interested in helping out the kids by donating,
please go to our fundraiser page:
GoFundMe

Carol’s Travel Schedule


I travel not to escape life but for life not to escape me!

I'm falling behind on my posts, which isn't really a surprise since I've been busy connecting with people and playing golf. That IS the purpose of the trip after-all. LOL

I will catch up, as time permits, but I wanted to share my actual schedule with you all.  On the off golf days, I may batch posts.

I left Wenatchee on Friday, August 27th. These are the dates and cities I will be playing golf in. The in between days are travel days.  The dates from Sept. 19 - 23 are reserved for a retreat in Vergennes, Vermont.


I have made contacts in each city and they are making tee times and putting the groups together. All I have to do is show up.    🙂


Boise, Idaho (Aug. 28th)
Salt Lake City, Utah (Sept 1st)
Denver, Colorado (Sept 3rd or 4th)
Kansas City, MO (Sept 8th)
St. Louis, MO (Sept 10th)
Indianapolis, IN (Sept 12th)
Pittsburgh, PA (Sept. 14th)
Syracuse, NY (Sept. 16th)
Albany, NY (Sept. 18th)
Philadelphia, PA (Sept 24th or 25th)
Baltimore, MD (Sept. 27th)
Charlotte, NC (Sept 30, Oct 1st, or 2nd)
Atlanta, GA (Oct. 4th)
St Augustine, FL (Oct. 7th or 9th)
Montgomery, AL (Oct. 11th)
Baton, Rouge, LA (Oct 13th)
Houston, TX (Oct 15th)
Austin, TX (Oct 17th)
El Paso, TX (Oct. 19th)
Phoenix, AZ (21st or 22nd)


As many of you know, this trip is also a trip is about raising awareness and funds for the First Tee youth development program.  I want to thank my major sponsor Doghouse Motor Sports for their generous contribution to our youth!


I'd also like to sincerely thank others who have donated funds to our campaign, including:

June Stanaway - Premier One Properties in Wenatchee
Steve Roller - Big Ideas Publishing (Connecticut)
Lisa Nelson - Wisconsin
Clair & Beverly Klock - Klock Farms & Nursery  Corbett, OR
Roy Altman - Redmond, OR
Nancy Steere - Wenatchee , WA
Ruth Collins - East Wenatchee, WA

MG Bailey - Spokane, WA
And a couple Anonymous donations  



If you are interested in donating, please go to our: 
GoFundMe page and read all about it.

Road Trip: Day 1 – Wenatchee – Kuna

"Sometimes all you need is a full tank of gas."

Carol and Doodad

The first day of my epic U.S. road trip is in the books. Doodad (my little navigator) and I left Wenatchee about 9:30. Our first stop was to see my friend Vicky who lives at her place at the Colockum Ridge golf course during the summer. 

Then Doodad and I got serious about putting some miles behind us and arrived in Kuna, Idaho about 6:00 (Idaho time). I am staying with my dear friends (or should I call them Mom and Dad?) Kathy and Jim until Monday morning. I'm so blessed to have them in my life.

My first tee time for the trip was noon (Idaho time) at the
Redhawk golf course I'll write about that in my next post.

What did I learn my first day? I learned it is very inconvenient to leave the schedule you've worked on for months at home. Ugh. I also learned Google Docs is a marvelous thing and I was able to recover the schedule but had to spend several hours trying to recapture all of my contacts for each destination. I'm still not sure I have them all but it will have to do.

As many of you know this trip is also a trip to raise awareness and funds for the First Tee youth development program.  I want to thank my major sponsor Doghouse Motor Sports for their generous contribution to our youth!

I'd also like to thank others who have donated funds to our campaign, including:

June Stanaway - Premier One Properties in Wenatchee
Steve Roller - Big Ideas Publishing (Connecticut)
Lisa Nelson - Wisconsin
Clair & Beverly Klock - Klock Farms & Nursery
Roy Altman - Redmond, OR
Nancy Steere - Wenatchee , WA
Ruth Collins - East Wenatchee, WA  

If you are interested in donating, please go to our: 
GoFundMe
page.

July 13, 2021

Adventures In Whisky. What’s That Have To Do With Golf?


"My doctor told me to take my iron every day and to live on greens, so I go to the golf course."

Thanks to Carolyn Sellar for providing this picture.

Have you ever been invited to something FREE that sounded so good that you had to wonder what the "catch" is?

I received an invitation to play in a Ladies Day event at Sunserra last Thursday where they were offering Free golf, prizes, appetizers & cocktails! 

Hmmm, sounds too good to be true, right?  Well, let me tell you this is one of those times when it was true!
No catch. We all had a great time and it didn't cost any of us one single penny... unless you count gas money to get there.

Thanks to Carolyn Sellar for providing this picture.



The event, "Ladies Day at Sunserra" was Presented by Adventures in Whisky, owned by Carolyn Sellar. You know, I always thought of whisky as a man's drink but let me tell you they put together some amazing cocktail concoctions that were fit for the most persnickety and sophisticated of women drinkers.

Thanks to Carolyn Sellar for providing this picture.

I'm almost embarrassed to admit that this golf course is less than 30 miles from my house and I have never played it in the 50 years that I have lived in Wenatchee. Now that I have seen the error in my ways, I will definitely be going back with a group of friends. I encourage you to do the same. The views, overlooking the Columbia River, are amazing and the course is super fun.

Be sure to check out Carolyn Sellar's website at:AdventuresInWhisky.com And, if you ever want an event hosted to bring awareness to your business, call Carolyn. She knows how to put on an event! Her contact info is on her website.

Thanks again to everyone who made this possible, including the Sunserra golf course, and the ladies group from Sunserra who helped organize.

Ladies Day Fun On The Green


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Rescheduled: SWAG Membership Drive: Fall 2021

"Wander often. Wonder always."

In the blog post from May 2nd of last year Introducing the SWAG Travel Network, I told you the story of how my Grandma inspired my lifelong Bucket List dream to travel around the United States.

On June 8th I wrote a post entitled SWAG Membership Drive: Fall 2020, explaining how I planned to take an epic solo road trip to meet other women golfers all across the nation.  

I'm sure it's no surprise that trip was postponed due to COVID.  Well, I'm not getting any younger and still determined to make it happen.

If there's anything we've learned in the last last year and a half, it is that life is uncertain. We need to do things when we can.  

Do you see all those blue "pins" on the map above? That is my unofficial route so far. I want to stay somewhat flexible to adjust as I go.  

I'll be leaving in late late August, returning in early November. I'm calculating the trip will cover about 10,000 miles.

Like I said, it's going to be epic. 

And, I haven't been sitting idle regarding connections either. I've been busy making connections with women golfers across the nation online.

I've had lots of invitations to play with the locals as I travel through their area.  I'm excited about that. 

As if that's not exciting enough, I'm still working on the fundraiser portion of the trip for the First Tee Central Washington.  I've been sending out letters and have already received several hundred dollars in contributions in support of this epic adventure... supporting kids and fulfilling bucket list dreams.

As you may know, First Tee is a National Organization specifically dedicated to developing our youth through the game of golf.  

Did you see 17-year-old Megha Ganne play in the Women's U.S. Open this last weekend? Wasn't she amazing? She is involved with The First Tee of Metropolitan New York, and made history as the first junior to qualify for the Drive, Chip & Putt Finals four times in the event’s six-year existence. She credits The First Tee with a lot of her success. And, I suspect it is also a major factor in the confidence and poise she exudes.

The First Tee is such an amazing organization and incorporating a fundraiser for them with my trip makes the trip that much more worthwhile.

What could be more important than developing the youth of today into better students, better citizens, and better leaders for the future through the game we all love... golf? 

The 9 Core Life Enhancing Values taught through the First Tee program are identified in the image at the top of this post.  And...

According to the national
First Tee website:
   * 85% of Alumni credit the program with helping them become a better student.  
   * 91% of Alumni participated in community service. 

   * And, of course, they learn to golf

So, while doing this  trip I can accomplish several things:
   * Raise money for the First Tee youth program
   * Expand the SWAG Travel Network by c
onnecting with
      other women golfers across the U.S.
   * Play golf in several states
  * See and experience a diversity of people and places
   * Share it all with you as I drive, golf, and blog my way around the U.S.  

  * Hopefully, meet you if you're in the path on my epic road trip

More details about my road trip will be coming in future posts here.  

While this road trip is a bucket list item for me and we'll be raising money for First Tee, the long term goal is still about YOU, a woman who loves to golf. It's about creating the SWAG Travel Network so you (and your golf peeps) can do more golfing and make meaningful connections while YOU, a senior woman golfer,  travel about this great land.

What's on your bucket list? I hope I can inspire you that it's never too late.


If you haven't already done so,
I invite you to subscribe to this Blog so you will
be notified of all new posts as they are published.
You can do so by ordering the 
FREE Report:

5 Ways To Lower Your Golf Score... Without Lessons


Also, be sure to sign up for our Facebook Group:
Senior Women Avid Golfers

June 5, 2021

Maintaining Flexibility, Balance, and Core Strength As We Age: With Jaclyn Starr Evans

   
"It's a privilege to age, let's have fun in the process!"
-Carol Williams


After 3 very painful incidents of a broken back, I am probably more aware of the need to maintain flexibility, balance and core strength than the average senior woman golfer.  

Intellectually, we all know how important it is to maintain those things but exercise is so boring, it's easy to let it slide. As we age and things start going south, you start realizing a few minutes a day would have been a good investment in yourself.

Last month our Apple Valley Women's Golf league team event was scheduled at Lake Chelan Municipal Golf Course. That's always one of my favorite venues to play. I had the good fortune to have Jaclyn Starr Evans fill out our foursome. Destiny has an interesting way of intervening that way.

Not only was the golf very enjoyable that day but the weather cooperated in spite of the dark skies threatening rain.  The weather stayed cool and wind only kicked up on our last 4 holes, so it was quite a pleasant round.

As the day went by, I learned that Jaclyn operated a residential eldercare home for almost 20 years in Chelan. The longer she was involved with elder care she realized that, after turning 60, she couldn't count on luck to keep her healthy and strong as she aged.  She realized she was going to need to start working at keeping her body strong enough for golfing and hiking.  Hiking with llamas each summer is a now a family tradition.

Jaclyn decided to start a YouTube Channel to share her mission to stay Healthy2aHundred and help others do the same. This channel helps her friends follow along with doing her routines.

She has two specific videos where she demonstrates her easy to follow routines.
 
  10 Minute Yoga and Back Strengthening Stretches With Meditation, Breathing and Affirmations

   8 Minutes Balance and Core Strength Routine 

The videos are intended, Jaclyn says, to help people easily learn the routines and then do them on their own.

The first part of her day is always a 10-minute Yoga Routine, which includes meditation, affirmations and back-strengthening poses. 

Even a tiny amount of yoga done each day can help with flexibility and stretching muscles. So, with that in mind, she created the very short routine which can be lengthened by holding the poses for longer periods as you gain the ability to do so.

Jaclyn says she finds it easiest to fit 10-minutes into each morning to start the day off on a positive note.

The second video recommended is an 8-minute Balance and Core-Strengthening Routine that Jaclyn does twice a week after the yoga, usually Wednesday and Saturday. As she explains in the video, she hates formal exercise (prefers hiking and walking, even short bursts of slow jogging), so found a song which lasts exactly 30-seconds. This helps to keep her going and let her know when the minute or 90-seconds is up. The song Jaclyn uses is Battle Hymn of the Republic, which can be sung slowly to increase time exercise or faster when beginning if muscles start screaming too quickly.

The third, and perhaps most important part of Jaclyn’s efforts to keep her body healthier as she ages is aerobics. She does what she calls a Snail-Mail Jog. The video for this part is under production, but it will incorporate High-Intensity Interval Training practices.  It is done at a (mostly) Low-Intensity pace.,  She sets a timer and jogs very slowly for 4 minutes, walks 4 minutes when the timer goes off, then repeats the sequence until 16 minutes of jogging has taken place.

Hopefully, the video will be finished and posted in the near future.

I’ve watched the already published videos and plan to give the yoga and exercise routine a good college try. Hey, I'm willing to try anything that will help me keep golfing into my golden years in spite of chronic back issues.

Jaclyn said, “I feel that starting the yoga routine was what gave me the discipline to stick with the other healthy practices.”

After starting the yoga, Jaclyn became more interested in the actual science of aging. She now considers herself an amateur bio-gerontologist. She has studied the "Blue Zones", which are five areas in the world where high percentages of people live to one hundred. She has tried to follow the lead of those centenarians by focusing her diet more heavily on plant-based eating, family activities and building her social circle of golf friends.

Very interesting, she told me, “that based on the high number of 100+ people I knew while in the eldercare business, even including three men living to almost 102, our town of Chelan would definitely qualify as a tiny Blue Zone.”

Jaclyn thinks the best book to explain the research into living healthy to old age is by Dr. David Sinclair of Harvard Medical Center. It is titled LIFESPAN: Why We Age and Why We Don’t Have To.

Jaclyn says, a more recently published book called
AGELESS: The New Science of Getting Older without Getting Old, by Andrew Steele, indicates that possibly tortoises should be our role model, as they stay healthy until they die at over 200 years old.  Jaclyn seemed to appreciate the reassurance about growing older, realizing that aging will happen no matter what, but healthy on the inside, even though Slow and Wrinkled will win the race, just as we learned in kindergarten!

Along with more exercise, all studies show that calorie restriction promotes healthier life as animals age. Jaclyn found the book FAST DIET, by Dr. Mosley, about Intermittent Fasting, to be most helpful in learning about the healthy aspects of calorie restriction with an easy method. She began doing 2-day a week Intermittent Fasting for a year, but now works to put all eating into a window between 10a and 6p. This results in a 16-hour “fast” each day since studies show that may be just as effective a longer fasts.

I was also interested to learn that Jaclyn is married to the owner of Tunnel Hill Winery, located in the stone buildings at the west entrance to Lake Chelan. , She reassured us that in the Blue Zone of Sardinia Italy, where men live the longest recorded lives, that red wine is part of their daily routine.

“I’m hoping that will hold true for the men in my family,” Jaclyn said.  She invited me to come to Chelan again soon for a trip to Tunnel Hill Winery. I'm more of a white wine woman but if red wine will help me stay healthy longer, I should definitely consider putting the red wine theory through a series of tests. 


Cheers !


If you haven't already done so, I invite you to subscribe to this Blog so you will be notified of all new posts as they are published. 
You can do so by ordering the 
FREE Report:

5 Ways To Lower Your Golf Score... Without Lessons


Also, be sure to sign up for our Facebook Group:
Senior Women Avid Golfers

June 2, 2021

Have You Joined Our SWAG Facebook Group?


Have you joined our SWAG Facebook group yet?

It is a private group specifically for us to connect with other Senior Women who love golf.   

I was inspired to start the new group because I belong to a large Facebook group called Women Who Golf. It is an awesome group for women of all ages and abilities from around the world to share their pictures, ask questions, and interact on everything related to golf. It is a fun and active group.

What I noticed there is a lot of interaction from the younger ladies about fashion and how to hit the ball farther. 

At my age, my focus is on staying healthy enough to keep golfing and just having fun.  How about you?   

Anyway, it got me to thinking that it would be nice to have a group just for us active senior women golfers. 

Whether we are playing locally or traveling, the SWAG Group is a place for us to ask questions and share our pictures and stories while out on the golf course having fun!  

Please join us in the SWAG Facebook Group. AND, be sure to invite your other lady friends too!  

October 28, 2020

Golf Travel Survey – 1


Your feedback will be appreciated as we continue development 
of the app that will enhance your golf experiences
whether you're traveling or staying close to home.


As I've mentioned before on this blog and elsewhere, I'm in the process of developing an app that will be beneficial for people who like to golf and travel.  

If you would be so kind as to give me your feedback on the linked survey, I would greatly appreciate it.


Stay safe and warm everyone!

September 28, 2020

Update On Our Golf Travel App

"Good things are worth waiting for.
Great things are worth waiting even longer."

-Carol Williams

Happy Fall everyone.

It's been quite a while since I wrote to you all.  It's not because I've given up on this blog or the SWAG Travel Network. Quite the contrary. There has been a LOT going on behind the scenes.  It's all about connecting people to have even more fun golfing... especially while traveling to new places.  

On June 8th I wrote about the Membership Drive (via epic road trip) I was going to take this Fall season. I should be on that trip right now.  As you can imagine, COVID-19 put the kibosh on that.  However, that doesn't mean I won't be making the trip. This has been a dream of mine since I was 14 years old and nothing is going to stop me now. It's going to happen next year instead.  

This whole project isn't about me, though.  If it was about me, I wouldn't need to spend a significant amount of time and money developing a smartphone app. And, I wouldn't be adding the First Tee as a charity component to the project.  

I've been retired for the last several years and have decided to do something that will add to the fun experience of golf for everyone... especially YOU!

On June 5th I wrote that the SWAG Travel Network Membership Smartphone App being in development... and indeed it still is.  

As you all know, most things take longer than you originally expect. In this case it's taking longer because, as the developer and I worked together, the app morphed into something much bigger and far more robust than my original vision.  

Please continue to stay tuned. I think you'll agree it will be worth waiting for.   It's going to be fun and interactive. 

If you haven't already done so, I invite you to subscribe to this Blog so you will be notified of all new posts as they are published. 
You can do so by ordering the 
FREE Report:

5 Ways To Lower Your Golf Score... Without Lessons

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