Kitty Michael International Invitational draws golfers to Longboat Key Club

If you’ve golfed on Longboat Key before, you’ve likely heard of the “crow rule.” The infamously clever birds rule the roost on the Longboat Key Club’s courses and golfers often get their balls stolen by them. The club instituted a crow rule to combat the crows and allows golfers to replace their ball in the correct spot if they see a crow try to take their ball.

But if you haven’t taken to the links of Longboat Key, you’re probably wondering just how sneaky these birds could be. 

“One golfer had three balls taken in one day,” Bermuda golfer Katrin Burnie said. 

Golfers of the 42nd annual Kitty Michael Golf International Invitational, an amateur event for female golfers held at the Longboat Key Club from May 2-6, learned the laws of the land as they watched balls get plucked away and deposited into palm fronds. One particular tree on the sixth hole had several balls on its boughs. 

“It looked like a Christmas tree with all those decorations,” said Estela Lopez, a golfer from Puerto Rico.

Other than the crows, the wildlife on the course was wonderful, St. Croix golfer Diane Burns said. She’d never seen pink birds before and loved seeing the spoonbills around the course. Golfers from around Canada, the U.S., North Central America and the Caribbean flocked to the Longboat Key Club for the 42nd annual Kitty Michael International Invitational. The tournament was last held on Longboat Key in 2010.

A few golfers had been playing the Kitty Michael long enough to be making their second appearance on the Links, but many made their way to the Key for the first time. Burnie came three days in advance of the tournament to soak up the atmosphere, walk the beaches and visit the area, while another golfer from Puerto Rico had been spending her evenings on St. Armands Circle trying restaurants like Crab and Fin. Once they got to golfing, it got even better. 

“The club is amazing,” Burns said. “It’s so well kept, and there are very friendly folks here.”

More than 100 Kitty Michael golfers played four rounds during the week, starting with a practice round on May 3. When the Kitty Michael Tournament started in 1979, there were eight teams from the Bahamas, Bermuda, Curacao, Florida, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, St. Thomas, and Trinidad and Tobago, but now there are 11 teams, adding New Jersey, Canada and Panama. Each member team hosts the tournament every year, so the last time it was on Longboat Key was in 2010. The Southwest Florida team, led by Bradenton resident Liz Findley, put this year’s tournament together. Next year, it will be in Panama. Several golfers were playing in their first tournament and enjoyed playing the course. Montreal golfer Diane Drury said it was a beautiful course, but challenging — she got herself in trouble on the first day. 

“I’m a freshman,” Puerto Rican golfer Ada de la Vega said. “The course was really good, but I did better on some holes than others. The course was in perfect condition.” 

Golfers played every day with women from different teams. The goal of the tournament is to inspire friendship and friendly competition, so golfers frequently clapped for their partners, whispered, “Good shot,” after a drive and shook hands after a hole. More than trying to beat their fellows, the golfers were there to have a great time and soak in the beauty of Longboat Key. The tournament won’t be back for 10 years, after all.