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were women learning to play golf, but also about the social intricacies of golf that can often drive business connections.

Most important, though, were the friendly, casual relationships on the course that women could make with other women.

“( e social aspect) is very important,” DeSantis said. “ ere’s still to this day so many women that want to go and play with other women, but don’t have an outlet. So that’s where the Working Women’s (program) came into play. … It kind of expanded and blew up, and now there’s all kinds of ladies groups that you can join.”

While she was working toward her LPGA Pro certi cation at Meadow Hills Golf Course — where she worked for a few years between stints at Springhill — DeSantis noticed the virtual dearth of female players. Tee times were dominated by men, especially on weekends when working women had time o , too, and could theoretically take tee times of their own.

She wanted to see more women in golf, so she decided to take action.

DeSantis came up with a proposal to the then Head PGA Pro of Meadow Hills, Mickey Byrne: come up with a program encouraging women to learn the game, socialize, have fun and, ultimately, compete.

Byrne was all for it. After he and DeSantis got the OK from the City of Aurora’s manager of golf, Dennis Lyon, the Working Women’s program was up and running in 1984.

In its inaugural season, there were about 45 members. By the second season, it exploded to more than 100 members. With the boost in popularity and a novel idea, Aurora Hills Golf Course o ered their course to the group.

Today, more than 150 Working Women rotate rounds between all ve Aurora city golf courses every weekend, backed by the Colorado Women’s Golf Association.

Over time, DeSantis realized the e ect of bringing more women into golf was about much more than just the game. Many women who came to play were leaders in their industries. Some were bringing clients out to courses to play. Not only ough female participation in golf has been growing slowly since DeSantis has been a pro, the COVID-19 pandemic is where it really began to skyrocket. e National Golf Foundation reported that in 2019, there were 5.6 million female golfers. Today, there are 6.4 million, a 15% increase in the female player base in comparison to a 2% increase in male players during that time period.

“Way unexpected,” DeSantis said. “I mean, the lessons went crazy, the rounds went crazy. Most of it was because it was one of the few sports that people could still come out (and play). … I think it introduced a lot of people back into the sport and into the sport.”

She has taught LPGA 101, a beginner’s golf lessons program for women and their families, since its inception in 2019. at’s when she began to work with Dan O’Shaughnessy, who took over as Head PGA Pro at Springhill in 2020.

O’Shaughnessy, whose main goal is to expose the game to as many people as possible, built a dedicated learning area in 2021 for DeSantis and others to teach newcomers. Even though 70-year-old DeSantis retired in 2021, O’Shaughnessy has kept the door open for her to teach on weekends, a nod to the value she brings to the course.

Plus, DeSantis doesn’t think she’ll ever stop wanting to teach.

“I would say Karen is a bit of an anomaly in that she still loves to teach after” 40 years in the business, O’Shaughnessy said. “A lot don’t. … (She’s) passionate about teaching, helping golfers, giving them the tools for starting out. She’s just really good at knowing what to give people and how much to give them, so (students) aren’t overwhelmed.” at passion and knack for teaching is what got Liz Vonau to stick