Welcome back, friends, to the latest installment of MyGolfSpy’s new series: The People You Meet Playing Golf.
MyGolfSpy, as you well know, focuses on what you play with. But, as we mentioned in our first installment, golf is a social activity and this series will focus on with whom you play.
Everyone, they say, has a story. Today, you will meet Lesley McGlenen who, while in the process of living her best life, refuses to fit into any mold you can think of.
Meet “The PipeWench”
Lesley McGlenen is what you’d call a mold-breaker and it starts with her chosen profession. She’s a fully licensed and self-employed plumber. And in the hamlet of Scotch Creek, British Columbia, on the shores of Shuswap Lake, she’s known by her company name, The PipeWench.
“That came from my journeyman plumber when I first started my apprenticeship,” she told MyGolfSpy. “He started calling me ‘PW’ and I didn’t know why. So I asked him.
“He said, ‘You’re the Pipe Wench because you show up every day. You’re strong, confident and you get the job done.’ Some people don’t want to call me that so they just call me Lesley. But it’s not a derogatory term in my mind.”
McGlenen carries that same attitude to the golf course. She started playing at age six hitting balls on the driving range with her dad. He eventually took her out on the course.
“I went like birdie-par-birdie the first three holes and he was ecstatic,” she says. “We really bonded over golf.”
She would also practice with her siblings in her grandparents’ backyard, hitting plastic golf balls at apple trees.
“They were members at a very strict private course. They wouldn’t take us out there, though. We were kind of little hooligans.”
She shifted away from golf as a teenager (“It wasn’t ‘cool’”) and played lacrosse instead. She returned to golf as her plumbing career took off.
“Now I’m working so I can play golf.”
Babes’ GDGT
Frustrated by a lack of fun golf tournaments for younger women in her area, McGlenen decided to take matters into her own hands last summer by starting the decidedly un-PC Babes’ GDGT.
Now just what would that acronym stand for?
“Babes’ G-Daammn Golf Tournament! There are plenty of tournaments for men but there aren’t many out here for women.”
The GDGT started as a golf weekend for her and 30 of her golf buddies but she decided to turn it into a full-blown happening for 72 women because, she says, it didn’t seem like it would be that much more work. She says most women’s tournaments in her area cater to older golfers, often with 7:30 tee times, a sleeve of balls and a gift certificate for lunch.
“Men’s tournaments take the full weekend and have sponsors,” she says. “They close down the course; have a nice swag bag and the prize table is always full. Women’s tournaments here aren’t like that.”
So McGlenen went all out to put on a first-class event and made sure her players were treated like VIPs.
“One woman wanted to know where to buy range balls. I told her they were included and already set up at the range. She was like, “My God, this is so special.’ She’d never played in a tournament before when they had range balls, fun putting games and closest-to-the-pin prizes. That’s how it should be for women when they play in these tournaments, right?”
She also went all out to secure prizes. Cleveland donated some wedges and sponsored closest-to-the-pin holes and she somehow secured a pair of Beyonce tickets for the post-round raffle.
“It was pretty electric when we pulled the names for that one. Everyone was standing and screaming. The room was insane.”
The Club Twirl Girls and Other People You Meet Playing Golf
Most avid golfers forget what it was like when they first picked up a club. Some had the benefit of starting young and joining junior programs. But if you’re in your 20s or 30s and just taking up the game, it can be lonely and intimidating, especially for women. The Babes’ GDGT proved to be an enjoyable event for newbies and sticks alike.
“One woman signed up and didn’t even know what a handicap was,” says McGlenen. “She’s already signed up for next year and told me she now has a handicap and has played more golf than ever.”
Another woman couldn’t find a partner and signed up as a single. McGlenen paired her with another single and the two have become friends.
“They’ve already registered for next year,” she says. “They have a team name and matching birdie2bogey shirts and hats. There’s a friendship that’s been forged that might never have happened.”
Last year’s champions traveled more than six hours from Calgary for the event.
“They called themselves the Club Twirl Girls and they have their own golf podcast. They won green slippers and custom robes crested with ‘Babes’ GDGT Champs 2023.’”
And since this is Canada, there’s a Stanley Cup-style trophy: an oversized gold champagne bottle with the Babes’ GDGT logo.
“The winners’ names get put on the trophy. And whoever wins next year will get their names added to it.”
Women In The Trades
Lost in the shuffle of the Babes’ GDGT is that McGlenen used it to raise money for her other passion, encouraging women to join the trades. Last year’s event raised $1,800 to support a local college program to support women entering skilled trades.
“Women are less likely to go into the trades because it’s intimidating. It’s not a conventional career path. The program introduces women to different trades like plumbing, electrical or carpentry and then they choose a trade.”
The 2024 GDGT will again raise money for the program but McGlenen is adding another cause that’s important to her. Late last summer, wildfires devastated the Shuswap area, destroying local businesses and leaving many people homeless.
“There will be a link on the tournament website for donations. Those funds will go towards rebuild efforts in the area and to support families who lost their homes and may not have had full insurance.”
The 2024 Babes’ GDGT is set for June 8 at Talking Rock Golf Course in Little Shuswap Lake, B.C. McGlenen is planning on including a practice round and a Friday night meet-and-greet for participants followed by the tournament and after-party on Saturday. Leslie is expecting this year’s event to draw more than 140 golfers.
For more information, hit up the tournament website.
Golf, The PipeWench and Business
While some may bristle at the un-PCness of her company and golf tournament names, McGlenen is unapologetic. She finds empowering.
“I went to one ladies’ event to promote the tournament and when I said, ‘It’s a goddamn golf tournament for the babes,’ the room went quiet. I knew that wasn’t my crowd. But I don’t need to appeal to everybody. That’s just what life is, right?”
Because of her work schedule, McGlenen often plays golf as a single and usually finds herself paired with men. At first, they’re surprised at her game (she’s maddeningly straight off the tee) and then they learn she’s a plumber. Talk about the people you meet playing golf!
“I look at it as an opportunity for me, business-wise. I’ll hand out business cards. One guy needed a pool put in. I had never done a pool before but it’s just piping and pumping, so I was able to get a nice job out of it.”
The People You Meet Playing Golf: Watchers Versus Doers
“Growing the game” is a trite and overused phrase that’s lame and meaningless. Whose job is it, exactly, to grow the game? LIV has beaten that phrase to death and the USGA, R&A and PGA Tour seem to take two steps back for every step forward.
Nope, growing the game isn’t up to the powers that be. It’s up to individual golfers and people like McGlenen.
“Golf can be intimidating for women, especially if you’re just taking it up You may not know the etiquette. So we’re creating a space for women to go out with their friends and play golf without being intimidated.”
And in a world filled with watchers, it’s gratifying to see a doer.
“I was a watcher for quite a few years of my life. I’ve had a few struggles in my life and I just want to start doing stuff. Opportunities are lacking for more women to get out to play golf in a fun atmosphere. And if no one’s going do it, then I’m going to create that opportunity.”
As the name plainly states, the Babes’ GDGT is for women only. If you’re interested in playing, sponsoring or helping out, visit www.babesgdgt.com.
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