Lucky lady Loralee Horwedel lands her first hole-in-one; Photo by Dede Crowder.
Ann Lange
Eleven was heaven for Loralee Horwedel on April 16, the first golf day of the Member/Guest Tournament when she aced that par 3 at the Preserve Golf Club for her very first hole-in-one. Loralee and Susan Dell, members of MPWGA and their respective guests, Dede Crowder, SBWGA and Marion Ewing, SBRWGA, started on Preserve hole No. 2. So by hole No. 11, our “Hole Heroine” was nicely warmed up. Loralee adjusted for a cranky knee and an ankle that had been a nuisance and pulled a longer-than-usual club from her bag of tricks, a Ping Driver G30. She teed up her usual ball, a flamboyant, fluorescent orange Bridgestone e12 and with prayers for a KP swung with her usual slow pace and even tempo; the sweet spot of that magic stick found the exact center of the 336th neon orange dimple. That opulent orb of an angel took wings straight for the blue flag 110 yards away, lit lightly on the front fringe, glided on a righteous path across the green pasture and ascended the elevated green until it flew out of sight. Marion kept the faith and, certain that a miracle had occurred, sped to the top of the green to confirm that the high-spirited seraphim had indeed passed through the pearly gates right into the hallelujah hole. Loralee attributed the ace to “just a lucky swing” and went floating off somewhere in Seventh Heaven having won the KP with a onesie. Can someone please give us an “amen” on that! Partner Dede had a celebratory drink waiting when she arrived at the luncheon and Matt Hudson and Mike Karpe presented her with a coffee cup and Starbucks gift certificate.
Loralee took up golf when she moved from the Chicago area to retire at SaddleBrooke in 1998. She golfs Tuesdays with the MPWGA, Saturdays with her women’s group and Sundays with husband Larry McNamee. She says the most important thing about golf is the friendships it creates and calls golf “a friend-maker.” Loralee is Special Events co-chair with Beverly Smith, and oversees events such as the Home & Home, Member/Member, Mars v. Venus and co-chaired the Bubba Hawkins with Rennie Temple in February. But the event near and dear to her heart is “Take a Swing at Cancer,” which will be held on November 19 this year. Loralee is dedicated to this cause which raises research funds for the University of Arizona Cancer Center and passionately notes, “it is everyone’s chance to shine.” This crucial and worthy event is so much more than just fun golf and camaraderie—a significant amount of money is raised through silent auctions, raffles and monetary donations.
We hope Lady Luck stays with Loralee both on and off the course. We thank her for her service to the MPWGA and we know we will be hearing a lot from her throughout the extensive planning process to make this the most successful year ever for “Take a Swing at Cancer.”