Mini Golf Tournament Sparks Camaraderie at the Templeton of Cary

October 15, 2024

CARY, NC — Have you ever played a mini golf tournament in the hallways at your community? Residents at The Templeton of Cary did that recently and it presented some challenging but fun obstacles at the luxury senior living community in this North Carolina city.

There are countless ways to keep residents engaged and connected, and here is the story of how one community had fun with that.

According to a press release, each of the 10 mini golf holes scattered around the community was decorated by a different department, and each department went above and beyond to be creative.

For instance, in housekeeping they created a hole that could only be reached through a maze of wastebaskets and pyramids of toilet paper rolls.

The folks in sales chose an Oscars theme and decorated their hole with a red carpet and a bridge that the ball had to pass under.

The administration department created a floating lily pad in the community’s swimming pool on which golfers had to land their ball.

“All of our balls went into the drink,” laughed resident Paulette Zawadzki. She and her husband, Ray, were two of the 70 golfers who played in the community’s third annual golf outing, even though the couple was initially reluctant to participate because they hadn’t golfed in many years.

“I don’t think we’d held a golf club in our hands since we played putt-putt golf on vacation with our kids when they were in their teens, and they are now in their 40s,” Paulette said.

The team at The Templeton of Cary helped to prepare all the residents by holding golf clinics beforehand. Then, the evening before they also had a pre-tournament happy hour where players were assigned to foursomes as they got to know one another.

At the end of the tourney, awards were given to the Best Foursome, Best Male Golfer, Best Female Golfer, and Best Couple, and the golfers also voted on which hole was decorated the best.

“The competition was fun loving but fierce, and there were some bribes,” joked Life Enrichment Director Joyce Aschenbrenner.

The dining department, which had created a hole based on a Muppets theme, won the contest and were awarded the Carani Cup, which was fashioned from an ice bucket and named in honor of a former resident and avid golfer.

“The dining team said to the golfers, we’ll have steak and lobster on Friday if you vote for us,” Aschenbrenner spilled the beans, as it were. “So, we had steak and lobster on Friday after the tournament.”

Whether residents were playing, volunteering to help, or watching the tournament, Aschenbrenner explained that they all enjoyed the spirit of camaraderie and engagement that the event engendered.

“People who didn’t play pulled their chairs out into the hallways to watch,” she recounted.

Golfers took a break during the day to have lunch and rest before heading back to the course.

“We became a real team, talking about strategies and figuring out how to best hit our balls,” Paulette Zawadzki said as she explained that the tournament helped her build bonds with other residents, especially the other members of her foursome.

Paulette, who had only lived at The Templeton of Cary for six months prior to the golf tournament, said the community provides a multitude of activities for residents to enjoy. She also takes part in shuffleboard, pool, a life story writing class, and a poetry jam. She and Ray both participate in exercise classes and in communal breakfasts three days a week, where coffee, pastries, and fruit are served.

While she had initially been reluctant to participate in the golf tournament, Paulette won’t have any reservations next time.

“I told Joyce I’d be the first to sign up next year,” she mentioned.

The Templeton of Cary is a luxury rental retirement community located on a picturesque campus in this Raleigh, North Carolina, suburb. It has been named by Money Magazine as one of the “Top 50 Best Places to Live” and lauded for proximity to world-renowned medical centers and universities. The Templeton of Cary offers independent living, while Swift Creek Health Center — located onsite — offers assisted living, memory support, rehabilitation, and skilled nursing care for residents of the campus. The Templeton of Cary is owned and operated by Liberty Senior Living, LLC, a division of Liberty Health that specializes in senior living and retirement communities.