Golf is a sport that has long been associated with retirees living the good life. But UFT retiree Ann Mackey envisions it as something more. “It’s a vehicle for women’s empowerment,” said Mackey, who has been golfing for more than 25 years.

“Golf is my passion,” said Mackey, who retired in 2018 after 21 years as a New York City educator. She taught French at Long Island City HS in Queens, was a librarian at a preschool campus on Staten Island and worked with the UFT Teacher Center in Brooklyn.

Mackey’s other passion is helping women reach their potential, on and off the fairway. For four years before she retired, Mackey — who lives in Monmouth County, New Jersey — volunteered to help coordinate events for the Ladies Professional Golf Association in New Jersey.

That experience came in handy when she retired and noticed that her local golfing friends were looking for connections, but the networking opportunities for women were few and far between.

“I wanted to provide them an opportunity to learn from each other and to be part of a community that plays golf not only for pleasure but for business and charity, for physical health and emotional well-being and for friendship and personal growth,” Mackey said.

She began discussions with the LPGA Amateurs, the recreational amateur arm of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) family, about developing a Coastal New Jersey Chapter. Mackey surveyed women golfers in the region to gauge their interest and scouted potential volunteer leaders and partners. “I knew it would take a village to form and run the local chapter,” she said.

Although the pandemic brought their discussions to a temporary halt, her talks with the LPGA Amateurs resumed in 2021. The organization, which has more than 12,000 members, recently gave her the green light to start the Coastal New Jersey Chapter.

Mackey said the chapter has already attracted 120 members through word of mouth alone, including professional women of all ages and backgrounds, from educators to a retired CEO.

The chapter’s first year was a flurry of activity: after-work golf leagues; weekend golf events, including fundraising for charities; virtual and in-person instructional clinics; partnerships with a local natural food supermarket and an online golf clothing vendor that helped to underwrite the chapter’s administrative costs; and a collaboration with First Tee, which introduces young people to golf.

The new chapter also assisted at the ShopRite Classic, an LPGA Pro event in Atlantic City that was a source of pride for Mackey. “We staffed the 16th hole, spotting balls or quieting the crowd, keeping track of scores,” she said.

It was a significant event for another reason, one that spoke directly to her mission: “It was the first year the Classic had an all-female broadcasting crew,” Mackey said. “In many ways, the stars were aligned.”