As a woman who has played golf at the highest level, former LPGA Tour player Sally Quinlan knows how much fun the sport can be.

Since turning from player to teacher, one of Quinlan's main goals has been to get more women involved with the game.

With that in mind, three years ago, Quinlan, the director of instruction at Los Robles Greens, started offering a once-a-week clinic for women.

Some weeks she would have just a few participants, other weeks as many as 12, but the idea was to get women out to the course and involved with golf.

At every session, Quinlan got each woman's e-mail address and she now has a list of close to 200 players, many of whom became students.

Last April, two of her recruits suggested to Quinlan she should start a ladies-only league.

With the support of Los Robles general manager John Barr, the women were given some tee times on Mondays starting in June.

Barr was hoping for 15 players. Quinlan thought 20 to 25 would be great.

The first week rolled around and nearly 80 women came calling. From that point on, the league was a happening every Monday.

"It was amazing," Quinlan said of the large response. "John kept saying how rare it is to have such great success with something new."

One big reason for the response was Quinlan's ability to reduce the anxiety a lot of women feel about going out on the golf course.

Quinlan said she's known women who took lessons for two years, but never went out and played.

She jokes there must be a hole the size of the Grand Canyon that prevents the women from getting from the range to the first tee.

To help her students overcome that fear, Quinlan takes them out on the course for lessons. She said most women fear being laughed at or stared at. While most men couldn't care less what other people think, women are more sensitive to this issue, so Quinlan made sure her new league eliminated as much stress as possible.

That was seen even in the qualifications for the various flights.

A Flight players had to be able to shoot under 100 for 18 holes. B Flight players had to shoot between 100 and 115.

The C Flight was for players who had been on the course 10 or more times. And D Flight was for women who had been on a golf course fewer than 10 times.

Quinlan also made the rules much less strict. The women played on teams and used a scramble format.

Other than A Flight players, all others could tee their ball up at any spot on the course.

A Flight players served as mentors, helping the others get around the course.

On the first day of the league, Quinlan had players from the Ventura County Junior Golf Association stationed around the golf course, directing players from the parking lot to the first tee and all places in between.

A lot of them had no idea what to do because they had never come to play.

About 75 percent of the women on the first day were Quinlan's students, the other 25 percent were friends who those students told about the league.

Each week, as the word spread, more and more women turned out.

After the first week they decided the league needed a name. They decided on "Ladies on the Links," but "Chicks with Sticks" was a close second.

After each session, the ladies got together to eat and drink and talk about their rounds.

"Most of them came after work," Quinlan said. "Many of them are married, so this was their time to tell their husband, You feed the kids, I'm going out to play golf.' "

Quinlan believes one reason for the success of the league is that most women seem to prefer an atmosphere which is more about fun and less about competition.

Helen Howlett, who played in the D Flight, said initially it was intimidating to go out on the course, but the other players reduced that stress by being so friendly.

"Everyone was gracious and everyone wants to help you," Howlett said. "There is a great sense of camaraderie."

Fellow D Flight player Wendy Hartmann said being in the league helped her game.

"One of the lessons I got out here was a little thing, but it changed my game completely," Hartmann said. "It's been a tremendous learning experience."

So why has it been so successful?

One big reason may be Quinlan's teaching philosophy, which revolves around players continuing to play the game, not shooting a particular score.

"My goal is for women to stay with the game," Quinlan said. "If they stay with it, they will get better. And if they don't, who cares? As long as they have fun."

In October the women's league will move to Saturday afternoons. Next summer, it returns to Mondays.

Information: Quinlan at 818-389-4332.