Members of the Women’s Golf Association of Wilmette half-jokingly worried they wouldn’t recognize each other outside their skorts, quarter-zips and golf caps for the organization’s off-the-course 50th anniversary event on Sept. 15 at The Lawn Grill

“We were all dressed up, and didn’t recognize each other half the time,” said Muggsy Jacoby, the group’s former president and current advisory board member, through laughs. 

Luckily, all was taken in good stride, no penalty strokes were assessed and the celebration teed off without a hitch. 

The WGA of Wilmette serves as an umbrella organization for the five women’s golf leagues that are under it — three 18-hole and two 9-hole leagues. This was a record-breaking year for the organization with a whopping 183 members across the five leagues.

The majority of members are grandmothers or even great-grandmothers still playing golf in their late 80s and 90s; though other members are working moms and new retirees.

“I love these older ladies so much,” said Elizabeth Clarke, 57, co-chair of the 50th anniversary event and co-communications director on the executive board. “They’re not surrogate mothers or grandmothers. They’re my girl friends. … When I learned the organization had been around for 50 years, I just thought, ‘Oh my gosh, we have to really celebrate this because I hope I’m [still playing] when I’m 90.’”

Clarke, who has been a member of the WGA of Wilmette for nine years now, wanted to highlight the group’s camaraderie and enduring friendships through the anniversary celebration because, she said, it’s more than solely golf  — it’s about, “Being active, being social, getting outside, having connections and some purpose, and having people who notice when you’re there or not there.”

She even met her co-chair, co-director and now close friend, Peggy Carroll-Prescott, through golf. After she had just joined WGA of Wilmette herself, Clarke saw Carroll-Prescott alone in a pro shop asking aloud if she should play nine holes or 18. The women began talking, and Clarke encouraged Carroll-Prescott to join the organization, successfully “picking her up” at the pro shop, as Clarke joked to The Record.

More than 50 women  — both alumni and current members  — attended the 50th anniversary celebration. 

While planning, Clarke leaned into a wedding anniversary theme, with a white, two-tiered wedding cake that had a glittery gold “50” on top. Two of the organization’s longest-playing members, Carol McGrew and Mary Kay Clarke, cut the cake. Mary Kay Clarke is the only member who’s been part of the WGA of Wilmette for all 50 years. 

The group even sang “Happy Birthday” to one alumna, Maria Fatah, who turned 90 the day after the event. (Elizabeth Clarke, who owns Pit & Tap with her husband, Michael, and is no stranger to planning events, made the flower arrangements herself out of hydrangeas and roses, and took a bouquet to Fatah’s home on her birthday.)

Clarke digitized photos and newspaper clippings from the 1970s through present-day for a slideshow that played on repeat, and a New Trier Jazz trio (now called 17th St. Jazz Trio after Clarke reached out to see if they would perform and could come up with a name) provided the music for the ladies, which, Clarke said, “absolutely blew everyone away.”

The signature cocktails highlighted drinks that were popular some 50 years ago but have faced a current revival or never went out of fashion. The Solheim Spritz, essentially an Aperol spritz, was a reference to the Solheim Cup, a professional women’s golf tournament that had its finals on the same date as the event. Babe’s Birdie Juice, essentially a cucumber margarita, paid homage to Babe Zaharias, widely renowned as America’s first female golf celebrity.

“It’s fun on the course,” Elizabeth Clarke said “(When I first joined) I just didn’t realize how much fun we’d have off the course, too.”

As their season comes to an end, the WGA of Wilmette will host their Closing Cocktails, the season’s last full-membership meeting of all the leagues, on Oct. 9. 

Jacoby, who has been a member for approximately 25 years, encourages people to join them for next season. There are no restrictions as the organization is not solely open to Wilmette residents.

“We’re always open to new young members or old,” Jacoby said. “Just come join us.”

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