UW Men’s Golf Club seeks more players in its 47th year

 

Phillip Hellmuth is the last man golfing, so to speak. The 74-year-old is the only charter member left of the UW Men’s Golf Club which was started 47 years ago.

“When I started, I was one of the youngest members,” Hellmuth says.

The club is still going strong although it could use some new players. They need 40 members so they can have 10 teams of four.

Last year, they had to decrease to eight teams. They don’t want to do that again this year so they’re spreading the word looking for new players.

The league is open to men who are associated with the university. They can be students, instructors, alumni, retirees – anyone with ties to UW–Madison. For women who’d like to play, there’s also a separate women’s golf group.

When Hellmuth started, he was a graduate student. He retired as the associate dean of the College of Letters and Science in 1999, but his team still bears the name “The Grads.” It’s one of many traditions the club has.

“We’re pretty competitive,” Hellmuth says. “There’s a little snap in our play.”

Hellmuth helped start the league after a survey he conducted for his master’s thesis showed that employees wanted more employee activities. Employees had already started a league at Glenway Golf Course, but the survey showed another league was necessary.

The UW Men’s Golf Club plays Thursdays for 18 weeks, starting the third week of April and continuing until the middle of August at Pleasant View Golf Course in Middleton. Play usually goes from 5 to 8 p.m.

Membership and greens fees cost approximately $400 for the season.

For those not wanting to commit to the full 18 weeks, they’re also looking for substitute golfers. Many substitutes play for free, because quite a few members do not ask for reimbursement.

“I think for a lot of people the appeal is just being outside and getting some exercise,” says Michael Casler, a professor in the Department of Agronomy and member of the club.

If they don’t get enough players, they’ll do what they did last year but they believe the more the merrier.

“I think everyone in the league is feeling like we need to get it up to that level again,” Casler says.

Anyone interested should contact Casler by March 31 at mdcasler@wisc.edu or 608-890-0065.

Hellmuth has no plans on stopping anytime soon and encourages others to give it a try.

“Golf is fun, but it’s very frustrating,” Hellmuth says. “It’s easy to get anxious and discouraged and you wonder why was I ever born and what did I do to deserve this? But every so often, you hit a superb shot that makes it all worth it.”