Haggin Oaks Business Women’s Golf Club & Janette Vine

Janette Vine did not have a lot of time for golf in the mid-1980s, as she was raising a family and running her own business.

It was during that time when Vine heard from a friend of hers that was a member of a club in the area – the Haggin Oaks Business Women’s Golf Club, based at the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento.

It was a perfect fit for Vine, who joined the club in 1985.

She was able to check off the boxes:

• The club plays on weekends at the Alister MacKenzie Golf Course, a par-72 layout that plays 4,549 yards from the 1 Oak tees and 5,372 yards from the 2 Oak tees.
• It’s a way to meet and network with others who are in business, working, and getting out to play golf.
• You are able to get a U.S. Golf Association Handicap Index.

“I never get tired of playing that course,” said Vine. “They keep it in great condition. They treat us really well. Everybody works with us very well.”

“It was designed for women who work during the week and could only play on the weekends. And so I joined, so I could get my golf in,” said Vine. “I needed a handicap, and that was a good way to get one.”

Today, Vine is very active and involved with the Haggin Oaks Business Women’s Golf Club, serving on the board of directors, as captain, tournament chair, and Pacific Women’s Golf Association Ambassador.

The club meets weekly, playing on Sunday mornings. The club has 20 members currently and there are usually three or four groups that go out and play each week. Once a month or so, the club will play at the Bing Maloney Golf Complex in Sacramento.

“We’re a really laid-back, easy-going group,” said Vine. “We try not to bring work out there on a Sunday morning. No one is real, real competitive, except if we’re in a tournament. The other days, we just go out and play golf and have a good time.”

Vine started out playing on Fridays with a women’s group at Bing Maloney. She made the decision to change clubs and join the Haggin Oaks Business Women’s Golf Club, a group that dates back to 1933.

At first, Vine was not able to play all that much with the group, due to her commitments at home and at work.

“In the early years, I didn’t play a lot with them. I was a businesswoman. I had my own company,” said Vine.

“For the most part, I wanted to join this club because of the nature of it – offering it to women in business and professional careers, a time to be able to play with others in the same situation. Networking is a big deal.”

Securing a USGA Handicap Index has also enabled Vine to play in tournaments at other clubs and courses in the Sacramento area.

“I needed a handicap because I do have some friends who play and belong to country clubs. They have tournaments and you need a handicap to play with them,” she said. According to the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex website, www.hagginoaks.com:

“The Haggin Oaks Business Women’s Golf Club was organized at a meeting held at the Sacramento YWCA on September 21, 1933. Originally known as the ‘Sacramento Business Women’s Golf Club,’ the club was formed exclusively for ‘employed women’ and is believed to be one of the oldest, if not the oldest, business women’s golf clubs in the United States.

“From its inception, the club played regular tournaments on Sundays at what is now known as the Alister Mackenzie Course at Haggin Oaks. In its early days, however, particularly during the war years, tournaments were frequently scheduled at Land Park Golf Course due to the then-remote location of Haggin Oaks and the difficulty that members encountered in arranging for transportation.

“… The Haggin Oaks Business Women’s Golf Club continues to provide female golfers of all abilities the opportunity to play the game they love in a friendly and supportive environment.”

The club has two tournaments each year, both taking place at Haggin Oaks on the MacKenzie Course.

There is a handicap tournament in the spring.

Coming up in August is the club championship. It’s a net tournament and is held on Aug. 1, 8, and 15.

“During the tournament, I send out emails, updating everybody on everybody’s scores, who’s leading the pack, and all those kinds of things,” said Vine. “There are some good golfers in our group. We have a good time.”

The club also has a Christmas luncheon every year.

In her role as captain, Vine is in charge of planning, organizing, and developing the schedule and calendar – including the dates of the club’s two tournaments – for the year in coordination with Haggin Oaks and Bing Maloney. She also corresponds with the club’s members by email, setting up tee times for the week, and also purchasing gift cards for the winners of each flight.

Now in her second year as captain, it’s a position that Vine said she enjoys very much.

“I’ve made some very good friends. And I do enjoy playing with the girls. We have a good time. We always go in and have lunch afterward and sit around and talk,” said Vine, who has worked as a deposition reporter.

Vine is joined on the club’s board of directors by:

• Co-captain: Amanda Vine-Hall.
• Treasurer: Deidre Wentworth.
• Handicapper: Melissa Stepanick.
• Membership chair: Connie Earley.
• Eclectic chair: Amanda Vine-Hall.

The club is affiliated with the Northern California Golf Association.

The club’s membership includes those who are retired and those who work part-time and full-time.

For more information

The Haggin Oaks Business Women’s Golf Club welcomes new members. The club plays on Sunday mornings year-round.

“It’s open to anybody. I’d really love it if we could get more women interested in joining our club. It makes the variety of playing together, with different people, fun and you get to meet new people,” said Vine.

More information is available by contacting Haggin Oaks, located at 3645 Fulton Ave., Sacramento; by phone at (916) 808-2531 or (916) 481-GOLF (4653); or by going online, www.hagginoaks.com.

* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019, after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor, and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016.