An estimated 8.1 million women play golf on traditional courses in the U.S., an all-time high, according to the National Golf Foundation. Participation has surged by about 45% since 2020 with women currently making up 28% of all on-course golfers, and about 33% of players when estimates include off-course formats like Topgolf.

Contributing in their own small way to these growing statistics are the 37 women of the Back Nine Senior Golf Club. The group formed in April at the Walnut Lane Golf Club, just over the Walnut Lane Bridge where Germantown meets Roxborough.

“We really enjoy each other’s company so much,” said co-founder Mary Bell, of Mt. Airy. “One of the main reasons I wanted to start this group is that so many senior women who live alone suffer from loneliness and depression. I thought this would be a great way to get them out of the house and make new friends, enjoy the company of other women, get out in the fresh air and get regular exercise.”

Back Nine members must be at least 60. Throughout the season, they start their tee-riffic day at 11 a.m., meeting weekly on Wednesdays. When temperatures get too hot, they may pause. After the golfing, they play games like cornhole, cards and ring toss, and always make time for social dining and drinking. Members pay an annual registration fee of $50, and additional golf club fees, determined by how many holes they play and whether they use a golf cart.

Nor Daniels-Knighton, another of the group’s five founders, drives 90 minutes from her home in Bethlehem to hit the links with her Back Nine friends, all of whom, you might say, have a hole-some personality.

“I do not mind driving back and forth every Wednesday,” Daniels-Knighton said. “There is a place where I could play five minutes from my house but I wanted to play with a group of women. It’s great fun playing with these women.”

Rosemary Kurtz, a Chestnut Hill College alumna who grew up in Roxborough and now lives in Andorra, shares co-founder status with Nancy Malmed. “The house I grew up in was right across from Walnut Lane’s first tee,” Kurtz said. “I used to find golf balls in our living room. Sometimes we’d take the ball and put it into the hole. When the golfers would come up to the hole and see the ball, they thought they had made a hole in one.”

Kurtz started learning to play more than 25 years ago. She’s had several coaches and played on a simulator in the winter.

“My husband works for PECO, as do two other [members’] husbands. He was golfing at a place on the Main Line, but I did not like it. This place has more charm and character. A man said I would enjoy playing with his wife. That was Janet Berger (of Nicetown), and we became instant friends. I am actually shocked that we have so many members. I would have been happy with a dozen.”

According to Berger, “We all get along well. I really look forward to every Wednesday, being around friends and socializing. And it’s affordable. Second-hand equipment can be purchased to help you learn and save money. It’s not bankrupting you. ... We are also communing with nature. I enjoy seeing the chipmunks. It gets us out of the house, and it’s very relaxing and nonthreatening.”

At least 20 of the members show up in normal weather, Kurtz said. Some husbands join their wives on the course, but some stay home. “Men tend to have a long game focus, and women have a short game,” she said. “Women are the future of golf. As a little girl, all I saw here were guys. My mom said they just wanted to get away from their wives.”

When spouses show up, Daniels-Knighton has gotten a few tips to help improve her game. “An 80-year-old guy gives me good tips,” she said. “He told me the first thing to do is get rid of those [finger] nails. That helps with the grip.”

Daniels-Knighton says group members are patient, allowing space for golfers to develop their skills and participants never feel rushed. She credits Bell for having the vision.

“This group is about more than just playing golf,” Daniels-Knighton said. ”I’m 75 and this is so good for my mental and physical health,”

For more information, call 215-482-3370 or email thebackninegroup2026@gmail.com. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com.