Filling out the twosome
I’ve been spending time lately on an online dating website, using an assumed name, of course, but it’s not what you think. Sure, that’s what all men say when their wives catch them on an online dating site posing as Lurking Larry but no concerns there. I had warned my wife of my intentions to go trolling. Besides, the only itch I was scratching at golfmates.com was born of professional curiosity; I wanted to write about people who don’t always need a foursome to enjoy golf but would love to be part of the right twosome – on and off the course.
Which – honest, honey – is how I came to meet people like Driving Diva, a low-handicapper from Beloit; avalonpearl from Hartford, a mid-handicapper by her description; not to leave out LovelyLady55, a high-handicapper from Appleton; and foxylady2 from Manitowoc, all Wisconsin women who are looking for a golf mate. (Confidential to swingspings from Waupaca – so do I!)
When it began in 2004, golfmates.com billed itself as the world’s first online dating service for golfers. Founder Scott Kroeger said that golf was the perfect first date, a sport men and women could enjoy together that is also “a relaxing, safe outdoor activity that provides ample opportunities for socializing between shots.”
And if, after nine or 18 holes, there is no spark, no problem. Game over, date over. At least for some who signed up, golfmates.com worked; by 2005 Robert Evans and Penny Chin became the first couple to meet through Kroeger’s site and get married, and others have followed.
At golfmates.com members list an alias (though a few appear to use real names), hometown, handicap – though beginners with no handicap are also welcome – age, a photo if they choose to and a line explaining their wishes.
Interestingly, every Wisconsin woman went with a simple “Looking for a golfmate,” while a number of men went with more creative pickup lines. GungaLagunga, a 48-year-old low handicapper from River Falls, went Caddyshack with “So I got that going for me, which is nice,” while for DBerry from Milwaukee it was “Links and Love.” Bunners from Neillsville was “Looking for somebody to help keep my score,” while AZ1 from Oshkosh went straight to the tried and tested “Want to play a round?”
Of course, even with an obvious common denominator like golf, it’s still a jungle out there for lots of singles. When last I checked the personals from Wisconsinites seeking golf companions there were 74 men looking for women but only 19 women seeking male golfers. And one Wisconsin man on the site said that sound he keeps hearing is his phone not ringing with replies.
I started to sign up with golfmates.com in order to email Wisconsin members about their experiences before deciding that actually joining an online dating service might be too much for my own golf diva. So Kroeger set me up with Ted Sprinkmann, a 59-year-old tennis pro and avid golfer from West Bend, who had agreed to talk with me if Kroeger promised to introduce him to “the best lady golfer” on the market.
Alas, he’s still waiting for that, as well as to hear back from a few women he contacted himself through golfmates.com. Admittedly, Sprinkmann was limited at online dating by his unfamiliarity with computers; a friend set up his personal ad and he used his cell phone as a means of contact.
“There were some nice people,” he said, thinking especially of kat657 from Lake Geneva, “but nobody ever called back. Nobody ever called my cell back.
“And I don’t want to blow my own horn, but I’m a pretty good catch. I’m a tennis pro, I live on (a) lake…”
The funny thing, Sprinkmann said, is that he’s a pretty good matchmaker for others. The friend who helped him get on golfmates.com? She just moved to New Mexico to marry the guy Sprinkmann set her up with.
“And he’s a golfer, too!”
He isn’t giving up, though. His kids are grown and he would like someone fun to enjoy golf with, and perhaps more. “You know,” he said, “you play golf with somebody, you know a lot about them if you play golf with them.”
At least when he invited me to play golf with him next summer I accepted. But Kat657, if you read this, why not give Ted a call. He still thinks you’d be perfect for him.
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Dennis McCann is a former reporter and columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and a longtime contributor to Wisconsin Golfer magazine. When he isn't playing golf he writes books; his latest is “Badger Boneyards: The Eternal Rest of the Story.” Contact him at 
