Over Columbus Day weekend, Women’s Congressional Golf Association (WCGA) golfers traveled to Pawley’s Island, just south of Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. The first night WCGA ladies arrived in South Carolina, dropped their bags off at their quaint two-bedroom condominiums, and headed out for a night of drinks and southern comfort food to get ready for the golf-packed days ahead.
The first full day began with a 4-hour golf lesson at the Steve Dresser Golf Academy. Steve Dresser, owner of the academy and 30+ year golf instructor, greeted our group of eager golfers and introduced us to Stuart Clark and Roger Simpkins, who helped lead instruction that morning. Roger is a long-time golfer, participating in 5 USGA events and was coach of the Lehigh University women’s golf team while serving as Director of Instruction at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Stuart is a professional golfer, collegiate golf coach, winning numerous awards and the right to brag about shooting a 59 in a tournament! We were certainly in good hands, learning from this group of pros. Each golfer spent time individually with at least one of the pros, working on their swing using video playback and visual aids. In addition to working on our swing, we also worked on putting. We were taught how to read the green, the grass by type, and learned a few exercises to practice back in Washington, D.C.
After four hours of lessons, we headed to the True Blue golf club for a quick lunch and a round of 18-holes. The course itself has been ranked in Golf Magazine’s Top 100 courses. Sitting atop a former indigo and rice plantation, this course is a sprawling 7,126-yard par-72. A little tired from morning instruction, we gave these 18-holes our best effort and headed off to dinner. Dinner was another delicious selection of southern comfort food, where we were joined by Lola, Dana & Jared’s new furry family member! At dinner, we celebrated a birthday, enjoyed some refreshing beverages, and discussed how we were all able to incorporate our lessons from the morning into our round that afternoon.
Up and ready to go with our coffee the next morning, we set off for another 4-hour lesson at the Academy. Here, we were greeted by Steve, Roger, and Mike Rugg to work on high-pitched shots and hitting out of the sand. Mike is a Master Staff Professional for Callaway and has spent the last 15 years as the Head Golf Professional at Rolling Green Golf Club in Springfield, Pennsylvania. After our pitching and sand lesson, ladies headed back indoors for a recap of their swings and a cool down. Ready for another 18-holes, we set off for Caledonia Golf & Fish Club.
The roadway to the course is lined with live oaks which are laced with Spanish moss, an absolutely breathtaking site. Before play, we sat in the clubhouse to enjoy a delicious lunch, overlooking the 18th hole. Upon completion of play, we relaxed on the outdoor porch with a beverage, taking in the sunset views across the marshy pond, live oaks, and Spanish moss. Each of the women noted a positive difference in their swing and their play, attributed to the academy. We finished the night with a delicious BBQ dinner and headed back before waking up to meet one last time in the morning for breakfast.
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