How can you stay at the top of your game and perform at the highest level, year after year? Seven-time Canadian Long Drive Champion Lisa “Longball” Vlooswyk, went from being a high-handicap recreational golfer to a professional player who hits farther than most men. In her highly-customized presentations, Lisa shows audiences the keys to achieving peak performance. With valuable lessons drawn from her experiences, Lisa’s insights can be immediately implemented to create fast success. This year, Lisa is Canada’s organizer for Women’s Golf Day on Tuesday, June 7:
Nowadays, when Calgary’s Lisa Vlooswyk hits her opening shot, she usually leaves her playing partners shaking their heads in disbelief.
But long before she was nicknamed ‘Longball’ or had smashed her way to seven titles at the Canadian Long Drive Championships, she was often the one shaking on the first tee.
“I would go with my Canadian Tire pull-cart and my Mickey Mouse head-covers, and I remember going to McCall Lake or Maple Ridge as a single. I was just petrified to sign up as a single and usually I was paired up with guys, so it was absolutely intimidating,” recalled Vlooswyk, a former school teacher and now an award-winning golf entertainer. “But I must say, everyone was so warm and welcoming. I was really nervous at first, but golfers have a sense of bringing you into the fold.”
Now, as Canada’s point-person for the inaugural Women’s Golf Day, Vlooswyk is hoping to welcome other females to the fold.
“I want to let women know that you don’t have to have been playing since you were knee-high to a grasshopper,” Vlooswyk said. “This is a wonderful sport. You can come in at any time.”
Next Tuesday (June 7) would be a perfect time to start.
Three local hangouts — the Golf Canada Calgary Centre, Lynx Ridge and Wintergreen — are offering public-welcome events for Women’s Golf Day, including clinics, professional instruction and the opportunity to play nine holes.
If you’re headed to B.C.’s Columbia Valley, both Copper Point and Greywolf are also marking the occasion.
No experience is necessary, so encourage your co-workers, friends and neighbours — and guys, encourage your better-halves — to give it a try.
Golf gear isn’t necessary, either. If you don’t own a set, loaner clubs will be available at all three Calgary-area locations.
For details of each event, including an online sign-up, check out womensgolfday.com.
“I’m really hoping for women to realize that this is an inclusive sport, that it’s fun and that it’s not about score as much as it is about camaraderie and being outside,” Vlooswyk said. “I hope that women who are introduced to this say, ‘Hey, this is pretty fun,’ and maybe they’ll join a league, a ladies’ night or maybe golf with their spouse or their children. I have such fun playing golf with my son and my husband — it’s such a great family sport.
“So my hope is the women who attend this day, for those who are already playing, it just makes them more excited about the game. And for those that are new to the game, that it gives them this spark to ignite a passion for golf or at least the opportunity for them to want to give it a try and to feel comfortable doing so.
“This is where I think we’re going to grow the game.”