Cathy Reid is not your average amateur golfer. In fact, when she invested in her family’s first country club membership, she wasn’t even thinking about taking up the sport.
“My partner is a business owner and was always working so hard for the family. He would never do anything for himself, so I talked him into joining a country club,” Cathy says. “Even then, he would never take the time away from the business or the family. Eventually I thought, Well, someone should be using this membership, so I got out there and started teaching myself the game.”
Thus a passion was born. As Cathy played, she made friends and together, they all started booking fantastic golfing trips around the country. “We’ve had the chance to golf some of the nation’s most gorgeous courses,” says Cathy. “We’ve gone out west to golf from Torrey Pines in San Diego and The Aviara in Carlsbad to the Badlands in Nevada.” Golf has even taken Cathy to Hawai’i, “Kapalua has to be one of the most gorgeous courses I’ve ever played,” says Cathy.
But of course, there’s no place like home. “This region is full of incredible courses. We love Fuzzy Zoeller’s course, Covered Bridge, in Southern Indiana and of course Olde Stone in Bowling Green,” says Cathy. In fact, Cathy says that Olde Stone is probably her favorite course to play anywhere. “It’s so challenging and fun, and of course they keep it in spectacular shape. We have an exceptional experience every time.”
Cathy fell so entirely in love with Olde Stone that she purchased a vacation home right on the 9th hole. “It’s wonderful to come here and relax, whether we bring the family or it’s just the two of us,” says Cathy. “One of my favorite things to do is to sit out on the porch with a drink and just watch the golfers go by. It’s entertaining when the younger golfers come through and get frustrated – you can definitely get a show!”
It was a moment of frustration – and fear – that gave Cathy the idea for starting her very own golf company. “Twisted Golf Tees got its start when I was playing a public course with a friend of mine,” says Cathy. “It was the dead of summer and the ground was like concrete, so when my friend tried to put her wooden tee into the tee box, it split and went into her hand. We wound up in the emergency room having her hand taken care of, and I realized that we needed a better tee.”
So Cathy got on the phone with her brother who is a CAD designer. “I said, we need something that works like a screw instead of a nail, and he got to work.” The result is the clever and distinctive design you see today. “Our tees will go into the hardest ground with a single twist,” Cathy says. “Or you can twist it two or three times for your desired height.” Unlike traditional wooden tees, Twisted Golf Tees are also virtually unbreakable. “You can use the same one over and over – you won’t lose it.”
If you want to catch Twisted Golf Tees in the wild, you can find them at trade shows in Michigan and Florida later this year. Cathy's favorite charity is First Tees, a charitable organization that helps young girls get involved in golf. “I’ve been involved with First Tees for about three years now. It’s a wonderful program that doesn’t just promote the game of golf to the younger generations, but also helps with life skills like confidence building, networking and teamwork,” says Cathy.
Wherever you find a lush golf course, you’ll find Cathy Reid with a handful of Twisted Golf Tees to pass around. Personally, we think that once you get twisted, you’ll never go back.
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