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Adele Lebow Honored
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As featured in Philadelphia Golf Magazine By Rick Woelfel After being around golf for more than six decades as a player and volunteer, Adele Lebow could be excused if she wanted to slow down a bit. At age 83, however, Lebow is still infusing others with her love of the game. Her latest endeavor is the Girls Golf of Valley Forge program, which provides access to the game for girls who are not members of private country clubs. For her efforts in support of girls’ golf, Lebow, who won the USGA’s Joe Dey Award for volunteerism in 2004, will be honored by the Women Golfers Give Back organization at a banquet March 6 at Waynesborough Country Club. The evening will include an address by U.S. Curtis Cup captain Carol Semple Thompson. Lebow got involved with Girls Golf of Valley Forge in 2004 when the Girl Scouts organization was still running the program. By 2006, Girls Golf had become an independent organization with its own board of directors, although it does have an affiliation with the LPGA. Last year some 125 girls attended at least one of the clinics the group held at Ingleside Golf Club in Thorndale and Worcester Golf Club in Collegeville. This year the organization plans to hold additional sessions at Woody’s in West Norriton Township. LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals, including Becky Dengler of Porky Oliver Golf Club, Diane Rama of Worcester, Amelia Rorer of RiverCrest and Jennifer Bransley of Meadowland, handle the bulk of the instruction. In addition, members from area clubs, including Spring Ford, where Lebow has been a member for more than 54 years, offer assistance. The idea is to introduce girls to golf in a low-pressure atmosphere. “She’s really remarkable,” says Alexandra Frazier, who heads WGGB. “She definitely identifies with the girls. It’s her passion to get them involved in something she’s enjoyed her entire life.” “The program isn’t supposed to make pros out of them,” Lebow says. “Some of them will eventually play well enough to get scholarships to colleges, but the idea is to golf in a non-threatening environment so that they can have fun.” The program is open to girls between 7 and 17 who pay $10 each to be part of the program, a fee that also allows them access to LPGA tournaments without charge. In addition to the signup fee, the program receives funding from WGGB as well as the United States Golf Association. Last year, WGGB provided $3,500 and then added another $5,000 after its inaugural golf outing. The USGA provided matching funds totaling $9,000, which can be used to pay for equipment, instruction and course access. What Lebow wants to do most of all is give the participants a positive experience without subjecting them to undo pressure. To that end, at each introductory clinic there is a separate session for the players’ parents, where it is made clear that the object of the program is fun. “I think with all junior golfers, the parents can make or break them,” Lebow says. “I remember when I was working with the Pennsylvania juniors; there were some cases where we had to referee matches because there were parents we had to keep in line. “I think we have a less-threatening environment, and we want to keep it that way.” |
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