A Day for the Ladies: Women's Golf at The Glen Club

May 16, 2026 | Glenview, Illinois

We joined KemperSports and Fore the Ladies at The Glen Club for an afternoon that felt full of possibility. Thirty women showed up, each with her own reason for being there. And across 16 properties nationwide, the same scene was unfolding. More than 250 women participated in clinics on a single afternoon.

KemperSports and Fore the Ladies have partnered to help grow the game by creating more welcoming, approachable and inclusive experiences for women in golf. Through complimentary clinics, social events, player development programs and nationwide activations at KemperSports properties, the partnership focuses on breaking down barriers that often prevent women from getting started in the game.

Some were picking up a club for the first time, hoping to play with their kids or spouse. Some were there because they see golf as a skill that can open doors in business and deepen relationships. Some simply wanted to be golf girls with their friends. Others had already traveled with Abby and Fore the Ladies to Pinehurst and came ready to sharpen their games for the summer ahead.

What stayed with us most was that no two stories were exactly alike. And that was the beauty of it. Every woman had her own reason for showing up, and every reason felt like the right one.

A Course with a Story Worth Knowing

The Glen Club is not just a beautiful golf course. It is a place that carries real history.

Designed by Tom Fazio and opened in 2001 on the grounds of the former Glenview Naval Air Station, it sits on 195 North Shore acres with views of the Chicago skyline. It is also home to the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame, and as we walked through those halls today, the women looking back at us from the walls stopped us to read and learn in awe.

Bessie Anthony was Illinois' first great female golfer and a Glenview native. Between 1901 and 1904 she won 14 tournaments, including the first three Women's Western Amateur Championships and the 1903 U.S. Women's Amateur at Chicago Golf Club. Walking the same ground today felt like something.

Margaret Abbott Dunne was the first American woman to win an Olympic title, and she never knew it. A Chicago Golf Club member, she traveled to Paris in 1900 to study art and entered what she thought was a local golf tournament billed as part of the World's Fair. She shot a 47, won, and led an American sweep of the podium. That tournament was the 1900 Olympic Games. She lived her whole life without knowing.

Sandra Fullmer of Glenview is one of the finest amateur women golfers this state has ever produced. She started playing at 16 and went on to win the Spanish and German Amateur titles, four Chicago Women's District Championships, multiple Northern Illinois Women's Golf Association Championships, three Illinois State Senior titles, and the National Club Championship for Women.

Carol Mann grew up at Olympia Fields and became one of the most decorated players of her generation. She won the 1965 U.S. Women's Open and 38 LPGA Tour events, served as LPGA President, and was the first woman to regularly broadcast both tours. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1977.

Four women. Four extraordinary stories. All of them rooted right here in Illinois. 

How the Day Unfolded

The clinic ran from 2 to 4, and the energy on the course was immediate. Abby Liebenthal, founder of Fore the Ladies, set the tone from the start, warm and completely at ease making everyone feel welcome. Women rotated through stations, worked on their swings, asked questions, and somewhere along the way started to settle into something that looked like budding confidence.

By 4 o'clock, no one seemed particularly ready to leave. The ladies carried the afternoon right into the clubhouse, gathering for a drink and easy conversation. New friendships had started on the range. Stories were being swapped over glasses. The game had done exactly what it does best.

We believe golf can be for every woman, whatever brought her to the course. The woman playing for the first time. The one who wants to hold her own in a client round. The one who just wants to be out there with her people. She deserves to feel like she belongs.

Today was a reminder that when you create the right environment and simply open the door, women walk through it. We are proud to stand alongside KemperSports and Fore the Ladies in doing that work, and we left The Glen Club this afternoon feeling grateful, inspired, and already looking forward to what comes next.