My club, Upper Montclair C. C. in Clifton, NJ hosted the Cadillac NFL Senior Tour event back in the 90’s as well as a number of LPGA tournaments—most recently the Sybase Classic from 2007-2009. One Friday evening I stopped by the driving range at about 7pm and there was one person still hitting balls, working hard at her game—with a beautiful golf swing. It brought me back to a Thursday morning years ago when a business associate and I were at the first round of the Sybase and decided to follow Lorena Ochoa (I believe she was ranked number one in the world at that time). Lorena had a very early tee time that day and we had to walk out to one of the farthest holes on the course to catch up with her. When we reached her group, Lorena was in the center of the fairway with her back to us, chatting with her caddie in preparation for her second shot to the Par 5 fifth, one that would require a carry of about 200 yards over water. Suddenly, as if sensing our presence, she turned and waved with a smile that nearly caused me to drop my coffee. I looked around behind me to see who she was waving at, but there was no one else anywhere near us. It was such a personal gesture of sincere appreciation that we would come out to watch her play—and I’ll always remember it.

If you haven’t been to an LPGA event, you are really missing out on a special day—and I can guarantee the ladies will appreciate seeing you.