On Sunday, Yani Tseng, won the Ricoh Women’s British Open. It was a great tournament. On Friday evening after the second round, Nancy Berkley wrote the following article which clears up some of the questions about why women golfers had two prestigious and competitive“opens” within a few weeks [...]]]> by Nancy Berkley, President
Berkley Golf Consulting

On Sunday, Yani Tseng, won the Ricoh Women’s British Open. It was a great tournament. On Friday evening after the second round, Nancy Berkley wrote the following article which clears up some of the questions about why women golfers had two prestigious and competitive“opens” within a few weeks of each other.

If you are thinking to yourself, didn’t we just have the Women’s Open and didn’t Paula Creamer just win it? And if you are wondering why there is another women’s open in the news – in England with Ricoh, a Japanese technology company as the sponsor– with U.S. golfers playing in it, well you are not alone. The tournament schedule for women’s golf is actually confusing especially as the game becomes more international in terms of both players and sponsors. Let me try to explain the basics and clear up some of the confusion.

First, however, as I write this on Friday, July 30, after the second round of the Women’s British Open, it’s nice to see four US women golfers among the top ten players heading into the final two rounds: Cristie Kerr, Brittany Lincicome, Julie Inkster and Christina Kim. The leader, with an impressive 8-under score after two rounds is Yani Tseng of Taiwan. Michelle Wie is off the lead by 9 strokes, but anything can happen on this links course, the Royal Birkdale Golf Club, in England about 15 miles away from Liverpool on the Irish Sea.

Back to clearing up confusion: The Ricoh Women’s British Open is sponsored by the Ladies Golf Union (LGU) which supports women’s amateur golf in Great Britain and Ireland. The LGU was founded in 1893 (more than fifty years before the LPGA was established). The LGU has over 220,000 members – amateurs and recreational golfers, which makes it a much different type of organization than the LPGA which does not have “members” other than its professional Tour players.

The LGU also offers an email newsletter to all of its members. As an aside and a message to LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan, I find the LGU membership concept very impressive and a good way to build the female fan base. The LPGA could learn something about reaching out and involving and educating the millions of female golfers in the U.S. through an email membership newsletter.

When I talk about the Ladies Golf Union, I always like to remind readers that Mary Queen of Scots is credited with popularizing the game of golf. In fact as a teenager, she was publicly scolded for visiting France where rumor was that she played more golf than she should have. Of course, the game was not exactly like the game we play today – but that’s another story.

The Women’s British Open is considered a “major” tournament for both the LGU and the LPGA – a unique distinction. A “major” is a prestigious tournament usually because it is played on a challenging course and because of the way the qualifications to play are structured. A “major” includes a very competitive field of players but because it is an “open,” players do not have to be official players on the LPGA Tour or the Ladies European Tour (LET). There has been quite a controversy about why Alexis Thompson did not play in this British Open because she is sort of in limbo – not a member of the LPGA (too young) and no longer an amateur (she just turned pro).

Adding to the confusion: For twenty years, the Women’s British Open tournament was sponsored by Weetabix, an English cereal company. It was known as the Weetabix tournament. In 2007, Ricoh became the sponsor and the tournament is getting more attention. I have been very impressed with the television coverage and the use of personal profiles of the players during the round. It helps to have a hi-tech sponsor!

The Women’s British Open is one of the four majors of the LPGA. The other LPGA majors are: The LPGA Championship, the Kraft Nabisco Tournament and the US Women’s Open sponsored by the USGA. And that’s what confusing: There are two women’s Opens!

Two weeks ago, Paula Creamer won the USGA-sponsored US Women’s Open at Oakmont, near Pittsburgh. And what a victory that was for Paula especially since she played that tournament with a bandaged thumb that was recovering from surgery several months earlier. If you get a chance to see the replay of the British Open round today, you will share Paula’s pain as she strained her thumb playing a shot out of the long grass.

If you want to follow the Ricoh Women’s British Open more closely, here are some suggestions: Read the article on cybergolf.com about the leader Yani Tseng http://www.cybergolf.com/golf_news/tseng_on_a_roll_at_womens_british_open. The article includes a wonderful interview with Yani and offers good insights into what junior girls golf is like in Taiwan as well as Yani’s unique relationship with Annika as her mentor and role model. (And Yani’s English is great – remember that controversy?)

The Ladies Golf Union website also contains good information about the tournament see www.lgu.org. And www.lpga.com has a fine summary of the tournament with a readable leader board. The final rounds are televised early in the morning eastern time on ESPN, so remember to set your TV to record the final round on Sunday. You won’t be disappointed.

Nancy Berkley

I’m writing this Sunday morning at 10 a.m. EST after watching the players finish the rain-delayed third round. So, I will not know the winner of the 2010 Women’s Open until dusk tonight and the final scores are in. But, I do have some observations to make about [...]]]> By Nancy Berkley, President
Berkley Golf Consulting

I’m writing this Sunday morning at 10 a.m. EST after watching the players finish the rain-delayed third round. So, I will not know the winner of the 2010 Women’s Open until dusk tonight and the final scores are in. But, I do have some observations to make about this year’s Open.

Beth Ann Baldry

With Beth and her partner Sean Martin, there is no need for me to go over the details of the rounds. But do not miss Beth’s articles about Kelli Shean of South Africa now playing at Arkansas but discovered and supported by the Ernie Els Foundation. http://www.golfweek.com/news/2010/jul/08/amateur-shean-tackles-odds-oakmont/

Kelli, an amateur, posted the first 70 of the tournament and although she does not like to make a big deal about it, Kelli only has 25% of her hearing. Kelli is teeing off on the 10th tee at 12:09. Even though Kelli is out of the running for this tournament, I hope the cameras give her some face time.

GolfWeek for her

Women’s golf has never looked better! Every player seems to have a unique personality beyond their golf swing. They have different demeanors on the course, the leaders vary in age from 15 to 37 and I haven’t even mentioned the different apparel styles.

Maybe it’s the nature of the “open” itself which allows players of all ages to enter the tournament. Unlike the LPGA, where a player must be 18 years old (with a couple of exceptions), it is going to be thrilling to watch 15-year old Alexis Thompson play in the top six. In 2009, Lexi made history as the youngest female to make the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open. (See my History of Women’s Golf Timeline http://www.nancyberkley.com/774892.html)

The sweet spot in the golf industry is junior girls. About one-third of the players who qualified and played in the first round were 21 or younger. If you would like to know more about Alexis, please see an interview of her in the 2007 issue of Golfer Girl Magazine (no longer published). But all of the issues of Golfer Girl Magazine are still available on line.

See Libby Hooton’s interview of Alexis at http://golfergirlmagazine.com/pastissues/summerfall07/summerfall07pages/page22summerfall07.htm.

This final round of the Women’s Open is a good opportunity to share with the junior golfers in your family. Playing golf as a junior may not always lead to being a top Tour player, but it opens doors to careers of all kinds. See www.golfergirlcareers.com where I have interviewed junior golfers who did not become professional golfers but still have a nexus with golf in their professional life.

Watching women golfers is a lesson in itself. Because most women golfers cannot match men in terms of muscle strength, they get their power in different ways. What’s important for all women golfers and potential women golfers and junior golfers is the realization that there is not one kind of swing that works for everyone.

This will be exciting final round. Don’t miss it.

Nancy Berkley

Peggy Ference and Nancy Berkley

The U.S. Open at Pebble Beach doesn’t begin until next week June 17th-20th. But I went there for a sneak preview on Sunday, June 6th, to meet Peggy Ference in person. Peggy is the first woman golfer – and an amateur — [...]]]> By Nancy Berkley, President, Berkley Golf Consulting

Peggy Ference and Nancy Berkley

The U.S. Open at Pebble Beach doesn’t begin until next week June 17th-20th. But I went there for a sneak preview on Sunday, June 6th, to meet Peggy Ference in person. Peggy is the first woman golfer – and an amateur — who will play Pebble Beach from the new 7040- yard U.S. Open tees on Wednesday, June 9th in a special event: The Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge.

As the first woman to play from the new tournament tees, she will set the women’s record – whatever she shoots. Her goal is to break 100. Playing with her will be three celebrities: Wayne Gretsky, Drew Brees, and Mark Wahlberg.

But, I guarantee you that Peggy will wow the gallery, and she has a few surprises in her golf bag and game. And, with Corey Pavin, the Captain of the 2010 U.S. Ryder Club Team, as her caddie she will have an amazing round. (Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler and Ricky Barnes are caddies for the other celebrities.)

As the winner of the Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge on line voting contest — and the first female golfer to do so — she won the right to play on Wednesday. For more background, see my previous article about the Golf Digest Challenge and interview with Peggy www.cybergolf.com/womensgolf.

The results of Wednesday’s Challenge round will make the news – because of the celebrities and because of Peggy. The first report will probably appear on www.golfdigest.com. But, Wednesday’s round will be filmed and broadcast for a 90-minute special on NBC TV right before the final round of the U.S. Open on Sunday, June 20th.

The celebrities have been working on their game. Brees plays to a five handicap, Wahlberg to a twelve and Gretsky, who has been working with Jim Flick to prepare for this round, has a ten handicap. Peggy’s handicap adjusted under the USGA Handicap System for playing from the 7000 yard tees is a twelve. (Peggy’s official USGA Handicap calculated from the forward tees is a five.) In last year’s Challenge, all three celebrities did break 100 but so far an amateur has not been able to do it.

Since I was in San Francisco over the weekend and knew that Peggy was getting ready for her big day, I decided to meet her for lunch at the Inn at Spanish Bay next to Pebble Beach on the beautiful Monterrey Peninsula and talk about how her preparation was going.

I also invited Joann Dost, the well known golf landscape photographer and former LPGA Tour player, to join us for dessert. Joann’s photographs of Pebble Beach are what most of us see when we think about Pebble. Conveniently, Joann lives just a few minutes away and biked over.

Before I met Peggy, however, I needed to stop and see that first tee at Pebble. I’ve played the course a few times and each round has been memorable.

My timing on Sunday was perfect. I walked behind the foursome of men beginning to assemble for their 11 a.m. tee time and looked back at a set of bleachers that probably had just been built behind the new back tees. That’s where some of Peggy’s family and friends will be sitting on Wednesday. I couldn’t resist pulling out my camera and taking a photo of what Peggy will be looking at on Wednesday.

And then I spotted one of those final touches that make USGA Tournaments such perfection. A painter was putting a final coat of white paint on the new first tee marker that would see its first golfers on Wednesday.

Almost time to meet Peggy, I headed over to the Inn at Spanish Bay. I recognized her right away. In person she is even more personable and attractive than the video of her in the on-line voting contest. We sat down for brunch and talked for two hours with Joann Dost pulling up a chair mid-way through. Here are just some highlights:

What comes through very clearly from Peggy’s enthusiasm is the tremendous support she is receiving from Golf Digest and the USGA. They want her to succeed – to break 100 – to be a great symbol of this Open. Peggy said that when she visited the Golf Digest offices after she won the contest, she received a fantastic welcome. She felt like a celebrity herself.

As Peggy describes it, for the USGA this is an opportunity to show that golf is not just an elite, men’s only game – but a game and sport that is truly “open” to everyone. In an environment where the number of golfers seems to keep declining, that kind of “open” attitude can only bring good things to the game.

THE WOMEN’S ISSUE: We talked about the gender issue. This is the third year of the Golf Digest Challenge and the first year that a woman has been one of the finalists for the amateur position. By the way, no amateur has broken 100 – yet.
I asked Peggy a tough question: If you had a choice of headlines: One was “First Female Amateur to break 100” or “First Amateur to Break 100” – which headline would you prefer?

She didn’t pause a second. Her answer was: “First amateur.” And then she went on to say: “I am very proud to be a woman golfer…. But this event is bigger than that. I love the game of golf and enjoy it equally with both women and men. I grew up a tom-boy. And today I work in the pharmaceutical industry that is male dominated. Playing the women card is not my priority. But I embrace my femininity, which was a perfect transition to our next topic.

JUST AN INTIMATE DINNER ON TUESDAY NIGHT: Peggy is particularly excited about a formal dinner on Tuesday evening before the Wednesday round. It is just a small group: A handful of USGA officials who will welcome the small group and go over the rules, then the three celebrities and the four caddies and Peggy. In fact, the only person there that Peggy will know will be Corey, her caddie, who is catching up with her on a Tuesday practice round.

Getting back to this dinner, I said, “So, you will be the only woman?” And I asked the question many other women would ask: “What will you wear?”

She is definitely prepared! She explained that a good friend took her shopping – a fashionista friend – and she bought the most expensive dress she has ever owned. As Peggy described it: It’s a little black dress by Rachel Roy and she will wear Kate Spade sandals and her friend’s special jewelry. As she talked about the evening and her enthusiasm for the event was growing. She said, “I think I will just have to keep saying to myself, ‘You’ve got to be kidding… I’m here?’” (I hope the cameras are there, too.)

DON’T WORRY ABOUT PEGGY: I don’t have a single doubt that Peggy will do just fine at that intimate little dinner. In her non-golf life she is regional sales manager for Allos Therapeutics, a bio- pharmaceutical company that develops innovative anti-cancer dugs. Peggy’s division is involved with a new treatment for a rare form of lymphoma.

Now in her new position, she has had to take a few days off from work these last few weeks. But, her sales team is doing well. For a few minutes we talked about her work. It was clear that she loves team-building, delivering top results and best of all — coming in first.

Peggy is a take-charge-person. It’s no surprise that she is on the Board of Directors of Cherry Valley Country Club. Or, that during her down time while trying to find a new job, she became the tournament director for the Garden State Women’s Golf Association, which is almost a full-time job.

PLAYING TIPS AND PRACTICE ROUNDS: On Wednesday, coming in with a low score is what it is all about. Allan Bowman, the Head Golf Professional at Cherry Valley Country Club near Princeton where she plays, is flying out from New Jersey to play a practice round with her and offer a little last-minute coaching and confidence-building.

The celebrities playing with Peggy have had access to the famous golf instructors. It is a compliment to the PGA of America, that Peggy’s game owes its current strength to her PGA Pro. He knows her game very well.

In fact, she tried to convince him to try a new driver with a lower loft to get a little more distance. But after going through the simulators and videos with Allan, she realized he was right. For the golf techies reading this, the reason her 12-degree Ping Rhapsody driver with the pink Aldila shaft works so well for her is that she comes at the ball with a slightly closed club face.

On her practice rounds, she also will have the help of a former caddie at Pebble. Completely unsolicited, Kris Schreiner, who caddied at Pebble for over fifteen years (until two years ago), sent Peggy a set of detailed notes about each hole. And because there have been some changes in the course in the past two years especially in preparation for the U.S. Open, he had called upon a few of his Pebble-caddie-friends to make sure his notes were updated for the current conditions. Peggy is going to use those notes on her first practice round on Monday.

And then on Tuesday, Corey is going to go out with her for a few holes. Peggy thinks that Corey might be able to help her out on a couple of trouble-spots she has been working on – like her right-hand release.

WEDNESDAY MORNING’S ROUTINE AND A FEW SURPRISES. And then I asked about Wednesday morning. The tee off time is 10 A.M. Her answer, “I am going to do what I usually do before a match. I’ll get there one hour early and start with my putting.” Then as Peggy explains it, she works with her driver – beginning with a 20 percent swing, then 40, 60, 80-percent and then the full swing. Then she will work on some short shots. Her final practice will be with her driver and the varied tempos. That’s her confidence builder.

“My driver is my best club in my bag”, she said a few times. “I’m not trying to kill it – just hit it straight.” So rather than using a 3-wood off a tee when she has to play short off the tee, she will adjust the swing and tempo of her drive. Watch for this on the first tee.

There will be a few other surprises in her golf bag. She has switched out wedges and is a little worried about what Corey will think of them. She did not want to tell me the names of the wedges she will be carrying in her bag. That will be a surprise on Wednesday. But she did say that they use a new face-forward technology that is working for her.

Peggy will have to play strategically. There are five holes that she thinks she just cannot reach in regulation. So she will play a driver – sometimes short – and then use her hybrids on the fairway and great short shots to the green to position herself for a bogey.

Joann offered her advice: As you lay in bed on Tuesday night, replay the whole course – shot by shot — and visualize all your perfect shots. That reminded me of a comment by Babe Didrickson who explained that she didn’t have to go to the practice tee; she practiced in her head.

“THREE” IS PEGGY’S MAGIC NUMBER. All of Peggy’s balls will be a Titleist ProV1 – Number 3. Why three? Because as Peggy describes it: “Everyone will be seeing three celebrities playing with me. But, I have my own celebrities – the ones that heaven sent: my brother and my mom and dad.

And all of my friends with me on the course will be wearing red hats with the number “3″ on them and “Peggy” on the back. There is a theme here. Peggy will be wearing red, white and blue.

Joann Dost listened to this and then said: “If three’s your number, then you have to shoot a 93!” Peggy had already figured that out.

THE HARDEST HOLE: Peggy’s answer to that was the 18th hole. “It’s all going to come down to that,” she said. “I am going to stand on that tee box with the opportunity to close it out there.

” I don’t keep score as I play and I am going to try not to even look at the standards that officials will be carrying. In fact, I haven’t even tried to translate what a “plus 5″ score translates to in terms of my breaking 100. I think I will let Corey carry my scorecard. If he tells me that I need a six on that hole to close it out, I think I know how I will play the hole.

ABOUT GOLF BALLS: We talked about golf balls. How many should Peggy have in her bag? How should she rotate them? “Rotate them?” Peggy asked. “I usually use a ball for four rounds!” Peggy and I both learned from Joann that it takes a golf ball 20 minutes after being played on a hole to resume its perfectly round shape, which is why golfers rotate balls between holes. Peggy listened to all this and said, “I’m leaving all that up to Corey!”

Joann also warned not to give too many balls away during the round and told the story about how Tiger had only one ball left in his bag (only his caddie knew it) when he teed it up on 18 for his Open victory in 2000. His caddy handed him a 4-iron knowing that he could not flirt with the water using his driver.

ADVICE TO WOMEN GOLFERS: We had been talking for over an hour and I needed to get to my core questions. What did Peggy think was the biggest problem for average women golfers? Without hesitation she said, “They can’t chip.” She went on to say that when she plays with average women golfers she will offer to give them a five-minute chipping lesson at the end of the round. The key she said is to keep the weight on the left (target) side. By the way, Peggy is left-handed, but has always played golf as right-y.

“And, what do we have to do to encourage more women to play golf?” I asked. Peggy’s answer was that golf has to be seen as more fun and more 9-hole rounds have to be encouraged. At her club, in fact, there is a four-hole loop that busy women can do that brings them back to the club house quickly in time to do all the other things they need to do.

Peggy is a great mentor to junior golf and encourages moms to get out on the course with their children. She has wonderful memories of her mom taking her on the course and telling her how every shot was great. “Where can you go these days with your children and spend a couple of hours without cell phones or music or any of today’s distractions? The golf course! ” she answered.

FINAL THOUGHTS: For Peggy, this is a “Can you believe this?” experience. She is well prepared and has worked on her relaxation deep-breathing techniques and figured out just how to conserve her energy for the next few days ahead.

As I listened to her, I couldn’t help thinking how great she would be in a television booth – hopefully for the U.S. Women’s Open – explaining the game from an amateur’s perspective. She is good at selling pharmaceuticals but maybe there is another career ahead for her as well.

FINAL PRAYERS: Peggy has rediscovered her Catholic faith over the last couple of years. She said it was a sign from God that on Sunday morning when she went to mass, she found herself in a church at Pebble Beach with the same name as her church back in Princeton. “I’m looking for signs from God that this is where I am supposed to be now: Playing golf – here in Pebble – with my friends and family and heaven-sent celebrities.”

When I interviewed her a few weeks ago, she said that when she is swinging well, it feels like God is holding her hand. So let’s say a prayer for Peggy, that God’s game is “on” for her on Wednesday.

WATCH THE RESULTS: Watch for the results on www.golfdigest.com. Don’t forget to watch the TV special on NBC before the U.S. Open final round on Sunday, June 20th. Set your TV to record the program 90 minutes before the final round begins.
Let Peggy’s enthusiasm for golf encourage everyone to play more golf and have more fun playing it.
_________________________________
Nancy Berkley, President of Berkley Golf Consulting, is an expert on women’s golf and junior-girls golf. She is a frequent contributor to www.cybergolf.com/womensgolf. Her book, Women Welcome Here! A Guide to Growing Women’s Golf, published by the National Golf Foundation, is an industry reference on marketing golf to women and spotting trends within the industry. She offers information and advice about the golf industry on www.berkleygolfconsulting.com and www.ladiesgolfjourney.com and is often quoted in national publications.. She is also the author of the NGF publication: An Insider’s Guide to Careers in the Golf Industry. She was a contributing editor of Golf for Women magazine and a founding advisor of Golfer Girl Magazine. Her interviews with women in the golf industry now appear on www.golfergirlcareers.com. Nancy lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida., and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, Harvard University and Rutgers Law School. After a business and legal career, she decided to write about the game she learned and loved as a teenager. She describes herself as a good bogey golfer with permanent potential.

Peggy Ference is making history. Yes, you read it right. The first round of the U.S. Open is Thursday, June 17th at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in California’s beautiful Monterey Peninsula. And, for the first time in the history of women’s golf – and [...]]]> By Nancy Berkley, President, Berkley Golf Consulting

Peggy Ference is making history. Yes, you read it right. The first round of the U.S. Open is Thursday, June 17th at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in California’s beautiful Monterey Peninsula. And, for the first time in the history of women’s golf – and probably in the history of the men’s U.S. Open – an amateur female golfer, Peggy Ference, age 51, from Skillman, NJ, will play the Open course from the 7,040 yard tournament tees under tournament conditions on June 9th in the Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge – one week before the Open officially begins. Her goal is to break 100 – a challenge Tiger Woods put in place a few years ago.

Peggy will not be playing alone. Peggy, with her 4.9 handicap, will join in a foursome with Drew Brees, the MVP quarterback from the New Orleans Saints, who has a 3 handicap, Wayne Gretsky, National Hockey League Hall of Famer, with a 10 handicap, and the actor and producer, Mark Wahlberg who plays to a 14 handicap. For more about celebrities see: http://www.golfdigest.com/magazine/usopencontest/2010/05/gd_usopen_challenge_celebrities

The three celebrities were selected by the joint event sponsors: Golf Digest, NBC and USGA. But the fourth golfer, Peggy, representing an “average” amateur golfer, earned her place as the winner of an essay and on-line voting contest. Peggy captured 37% of the 65,000 online votes cast during the Month of April.

The challenge round will be taped for a 90-minute TV special. All America will have a chance to watch Peggy’s foursome on NBC television on Sunday, June 20th right before NBC begins their coverage of the final round of the Open. Can she break 100? Remember: She doesn’t have to shoot par. She only has to shoot 99 or less.

A little history of the event: This is the third year of the Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge. The challenge began with a comment by Tiger Woods, after playing the U.S. Open at Oakmont (outside Pittsburgh) in 2007, that a ten-handicapper couldn’t break 100 playing that course under US Open tournament conditions.

Tiger may have been wrong. At the 2008 Open,Tony Romo shot 84 at Torrey Pines, and in the 2009 Open, Justin Timberlake, Michael Jordan and Ben Roethlisberger all broke 90 at Bethpage.

No non-celebrity amateur golfer has been able to do it – at least so far. Some golf reviewers have suggested that celebrities are used to crowds and can maintain their concentration while most amateurs cannot.

But Peggy has a good shot at making history. She began her journey by making it through a rigorous screening process.

For this 2010 contest, which began accepting entries in December, Golf Digest received over twenty-four thousand 60-word essays from average golfers who each had their very own reason for wanting to play at Pebble. From those thousands of essays which are also part of a promotional sweepstakes, the Golf Digest judges selected five amateur golfers as finalists – four men and one woman.

The history-making news is that this is the first year that a female golfer has been a finalist. And the first year that the women’s-network could go to work and deliver the on-line votes needed to win. We always knew that women were great on-line communicators and word-of-mouth marketers, and Peggy’s victory proved the point. For more background, see “Attention Women Golfers Who Want to Make History” posted in the Blog below.

Hundreds of women (myself included) sent out hundreds of emails that generated thousands of votes. When the final results were tallied, Peggy won the contest with 37% of all votes cast. “Yea” to all the women (and men, too) that voted for Peggy.

But on another level I wondered whether Golf Digest selected a women finalist on purpose – perhaps with a special motive. So, I went to the source – Bob Carney, Creative Director of Golf Digest and asked him whether there was some publicity reason for selecting a woman.

Bob promptly answered: “To your question about highlighting Peggy as the first woman, it would be strange not to acknowledge the fact that she is a woman, and that this is the first time that we’ve had a female in the foursome. That said, this is really about only one thing: an average golfer’s dream of playing the Open course under the same conditions as the Open contestants. In other words, just as our amateur challengers have in the past, Peggy is representing all golfers, male and female. The Challenge is all about what a wonderful, “open” game this is, and it celebrates the role the USGA plays in keeping it that way.”

I really liked Bob’s answer because the USGA Opens are unique to the game of golf. There are no farm teams, tour cards to earn or qualifying tournaments to win. If you are a really good golfer, you can enter one of the regional qualifying open rounds. It’s “open” golf in the true meaning of the word.

After hearing of Peggy’s victory, I wanted to know more about her and what motivated her to take on this challenge. I emailed her and asked for an interview.

We spent over an hour talking about her family, her love for the game and what she is doing to prepare for Pebble. I also asked a few “experts” to offer some advice and then asked Peggy what she thought about that advice.

Following is our interview. I know you will enjoy meeting Peggy.

Q. Let’s start at the beginning – when did you learn to play golf?

A. I started to play golf when I was 8 years old in 1966. I was living in Springfield, Illinois and my parents had joined a private country club, the Illini Country Club. To learn the basics, my mother signed us both up for a golf clinic sponsored by the YMCA.

What’s really interesting is that at that golf clinic, I remember using my mother’s hickory-shafted clubs. My mom, who was a pretty amazing woman, managed to get a nursing degree, raise a family and even take up golf – probably back in the fifties when the LPGA was just getting started.

Q. I heard that you played Pebble Beach when you were ten.

A. Yes, that’s true. When I was ten years old, our family went on a vacation to Pebble Beach. I have an older sister, and she and my dad scheduled a round of golf. I think that at the time, two golfers at Pebble were probably all our family could afford.
That day, however, turned out to be cold – too cold for me to go swimming. So, I begged my dad to take me along on the course. He finally agreed but told me to just sit in the cart and be good. I started bugging him: “Why can’t I play? This isn’t fair!” He said that when we get away from the club house he would let me hit a couple of shots.

As I remember it, we came to a hole that was surrounded by the ocean and was far away from the clubhouse. I know now that it was the 7th hole – the famous par three. My dad hit a shot that landed in a bunker. Then my sister hit a shot that also landed in the sand. My dad said “This is a perfect hole for you” and handed me my sister’s 4 wood. I put my shot on the green and ended up parring the hole. He started laughing and we all couldn’t stop laughing about it

Q. So would you say that you were a “natural” at the game?

A. Not really. I don’t recall being a “natural.” I credit the Illini Country Club. They had a very active junior golf system in the summer – one that I have never seen anywhere else. The juniors played every Wednesday and were divided into groups – half hour group lesson and then we played on the course.

The key I think was that parents were involved. Parents had to agree to be a “walker” two times during the season and once during a tournament. The parents gave us encouragement, helped with the safety aspects, offered a few tips and made it possible for all the juniors to play on the course rather than just stay on a practice tee.

One summer because I had to take typing classes in the morning, I ended up playing with the older group of girls who played eighteen holes in the afternoon. I realized that I was playing as well as they were.

Q. Did you ever consider a career in golf – as a teacher or a tour player?

A. No. not at all. My dad was a pediatrician, and I worked in his office and loved it. But I didn’t want to be a doctor or nurse. I wanted to get married and have ten kids!

The drug company sales reps used to come in to the office. I couldn’t believe that they got company cars. That really made an impression on me. I started asking them where they went to school and how they got their jobs.

My favorite rep had a pharmacy background and my chemistry teacher – a nun in the Catholic school I attended — also had a pharmacy background. That’s what led me to the St. Louis College of Pharmacy and in five years earned my bachelor of Pharmacy degree.

I always knew I wanted to be in sales because I am outgoing and love meeting people. I started working as a sales rep for the Eli Lilly company, which at the time only hired pharmacists. My goal was to do med sales, get married and have ten children! It’s not exactly what happened.

Q. Was your golf skill a help in your pharmaceutical sales career?

A. In our industry, we can’t take physicians out to play golf. So I couldn’t use my golf there. But golf did come in handy when we were at a national sales meetings. The president didn’t want to just play with guys because it was not a good diversity image. So I was the designated female in the president’s foursome even though at the time I was playing to a sixteen handicap which meant that I could pretty consistently shoot between 88 and 92.

Q. And what about the marriage and ten kids?

A. I did get married, but about ten years later we divorced. And the ten kids never happened. And, I didn’t play much golf during that period either — except with my brothers and sister at family functions. My husband was not a golfer. Maybe I played five rounds a year and held on to my 16 handicap.

Q. What brought you to New Jersey?

A. After my divorce, I needed a change. In 2000 at the age of 42, I took a new job with ImClone Systems and moved to Skillman, New Jersey, which is just a few miles from Princeton. The move was something of a wake-up-call for me.

I decided that in my new life I was going to play golf again. I joined Cherry Valley Country Club where there were a core of good golfers to play with – both men and women – and no “men’s-only” tee times.

Most important, that’s where I met Allan Bowman, the Director of Golf at Cherry Valley. It was a turning point in my golf – and my life.

Q. Talk a little more about this turning point and Allan’s role in it.

A. It starts with a wonderful woman golfer at Cherry Valley, Mickey Burgess – a role model for me. She had a 4 handicap and was the women’s Club Champion.

One day – in 2002, I made the statement to Allan that I had a goal. My goal was to get down to a single digit handicap and be the Club champ.

Allan asked if I was really serious. When I said, “Yes”, he made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse. He said that he and his assistant were at the range every morning at 6 a.m. where they work on their game for an hour before the shop opens.

If I was really serious – and came every day – and they really meant “every” day at 6 a.m., they would take me on as their project. So I start getting up very, very early and making it to the practice tee by 6. I worked on my game for an hour and then took a shower and went to work.

Q. Did they make many changes to your swing?

A. I would call it a complete overhaul. At our first lesson, they asked me what ball I played with. I told them I played with any ball regardless of the brand. They wanted to know how far I hit every club, and I couldn’t answer that question. I remember Allan saying, “We are going to have to do a lot of stuff with you.”

They changed my grip, my swing plane, my putting. I had been putting with a reverse grip and they took me back to a regular grip and cut my putter down much shorter. Now I have a pendulum putting stroke with my arms straight down.

Q. How would you describe your swing?

A. I think it’s a strong swing. People tell me that I have a beautiful swing. It’s evolved over the years. When I learned golf as a junior, the equipment and the instruction were different. I learned in the era of the “reverse C” which was needed to get the ball up into the air. That means when my game is off and I revert back to old habits, I’m a slider and dipper. When that happens I have to tell myself to just “stay tall.”

I think that I swing naturally. I describe it as: “When you are playing your best game, it feels like God is holding your hand.”
I am a thinker and pretty analytic – always reviewing everything and every conversation. But, when I am on the golf course, I have the ability to let that over-thinking go… and stay in the moment.

Q. Everyone will want to know: What equipment are you using?

A. Well, I’m a “Ping girl” – driver, woods, hybrids and most irons. My 56-degree wedge is a TaylorMade. And my 60-degree wedge is the Titleist Vokey. I have a couple of other wedges also. My putter is the Odyssey two-ball putter. And I play a Titleist ProV1 ball. My favorite club is my 7 iron which I hit 135 yards. I’m counting on that club working for me.

Q. What about that driver?

A. My Ping driver is special. It has a pink Aldila shaft – the same one that Bubba Watson uses and Paula Craemer also. It has a special meaning for me because revenue from the sales of that pink shaft goes to breast cancer research. I call it my “Mom’s Club” because my mom died of breast cancer twenty years ago. I feel like I have her with me when I play.

Q. Let’s talk about how you are preparing for Pebble Beach? What’s first on your list?

A. This may surprise you. First on my list is that I pray a lot. In fact, every morning I say: “Dear God, let me accept whatever you are about to present to me out there and to enjoy it and understand the lesson.” Clearly in my mind there is a lesson out there. Because how do I come to grips with being one of 24,000 entries and ultimately getting all these people behind me to win this contest.

Q. Has religion always been an important part of your life?

A. Only in the last few years do I consider myself a religious person. I went to Catholic schools and was pretty typical. When things were bad, I went to mass. But when things were “OK”, church wasn’t that important.

When I lost my job two years ago and things were bad, I started going back to mass. Usually I can pick myself up – but I was having a hard time getting another job. We have a great pastor here who helped me shift from feeling sorry for myself to becoming more involved in my church and my community.

As I look back on those two job-less years, I have come to view them as really rewarding. My mother was a devout Catholic and went to mass every day. So in some regards, my re-discovering my Catholic faith is a tribute to her.

Q. Prayer is a good transition to my next question. A hot topic for competitive golfers is how they manage their minds and their nerves during a match. I asked Dr. Patricia Donnelly, who specializes in helping competitive athletes manage their mental game.

Here is Pat’s advice for you:

“First: Stay in the present. It is imperative as you are about to begin your pre-shot routine to erase all past and future shots. Focus only on executing the current shot to the best of your ability which you know is superior. Second: Although you will try to hit your best shot each time, remember no one hits all perfect shots. That would result in all birdies and a score of 54. Even Ben Hogan would tell himself before each round that he would hit five bad shots. So when he hit a shot he didn’t like, he didn’t get upset: he had expected it to occur. And third: Decide how you will relax during the round and practice these relaxation methods until they become automatic. This way they’ll kick in during competition. Relax between shots – there are hours when you’re not hitting shots. Deep breathing, progressive relaxation and visualization are tried and true relaxation methods.

A. That’s really good advice and deep breathing is a technique that I do use to relax. I also am trying to make contact with Bob Rotella, a friend of a friend, to see if I can get ten minutes of his time and hear his suggestions. I am going to speak with Sherry Herman, who is the reigning USGA Women’s Senior Amateur Champion. I would like to know where her head is when she stands on that first tee.

Q. Suzy Whaley played from the tournament tees eight years ago at the 2002 Greater Hartford Open. She was the first female to take on that challenge since Babe Zaharias did it in 1945. Here’s Suzy’s advice for you as it appeared in an article by Stina Sternberg for Golf Digest online http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-digest-woman/blogs/golf-digest-woman/2010/05/suzy-whaleys-advice-for-peggy.html

“I’d tell Peggy to stay focused on the task and not on the results. The golf ball has no concept of the tee played, score shot, or tournament entered. [When I was preparing for the Greater Hartford Open,] I devised a plan to get stronger mentally and physically, and I surrounded myself with people who supported my efforts and were there to help me accomplish my goals.

And that leads to my next question because fitness training is also a hot topic in golf these days.

I asked Karen Palacios-Jansen, the Managing Editor of Golf Fitness Magazine and developer of a program called “Cardio Golf,” what her advice would be for you. Here’s what she said:

“Strength training exercises are important for increasing muscle strength and bone mass and require the addition of weight or resistance to challenge the muscles. But some people think that free weights and machines leave them tight in the shoulders and chest, so I recommend using resistance bands instead. Resistance bands stretch your joints and tendons while strengthening your muscles.

A. That’s not exactly my routine but I agree with it. I don’t use bands – but definitely something to think about. My current program is: Lift weights 3 to 5 times a week, alternating upper and lower body; 2-3 sets of push-ups and 15-20 minutes of sit-ups; stretching and 30 minutes of cardio – alternating between the elliptical and the bike.

Q. Your training routine is impressive but let’s get back to golf and the shots you are concentrating on in these final weeks?

A. My achilles heel is my 30-yard shot. I spent April working on drives, long hybrids, putting and my 8 and 9 iron for short chips. But now that I won the contest, I have to be more efficient in my time. I am taking two lessons a week and only working on my 30-yard shots out of heavy rough. High, soft shots with my sand wedge that hit the green, bounce twice and stop.

Q. And what about course management and strategy? I asked Brad Klein, the Architecture Editor of GolfWeek magazine for his advice to you. Here’s what Brad offered?

“The greens are so small at Pebble Beach and the surrounding trouble so difficult for recovery that I’d suggest never once looking at a flag but simply playing for the center of every green. It will help build confidence that way and it also takes a lot of pressure off your iron/approach game, since, by definition, you’re allowing yourself the largest possible margin of error on each shot into the green.

A. I absolutely agree with that strategy! I know that I cannot get on every green in regulation. I hit my driver about 220 yards. The pros hit theirs 250 or more! Although now that I am playing from Cherry Valley’s back tees, I can see that the more I play, the more greens I hit. But I am prepared for Pebble and know that I will rarely get on in regulation
But, if I get nine bogies and nine double-bogies, that is a 99. Pars are a gift. I want to avoid the big numbers; so, I’m going to play “safe” – along the lines that Brad suggested.

Q. And I asked Ron Whitten, the Senior Editor of Architecture at Golf Digest, for his advice. Here is what he said:

“Who could possible outdo that gem of wisdom from Brad Klein? I’m sure that strategy will work, especially on the hourglass-shaped 17th green. Honestly, I have no advice for Peggy. The hardest thing in the world to do is shoot a particular score. I just hope she has fun. Enjoy the venue, the foursome, the scenery, the moment. If it works out, great; if not, it’s only a game.”

A. I have to keep remembering that advice – it’s so important. I will have about fifteen people — my personal gallery — cheering me along on the course, including my brother, my nephew (Mike’s son) and his wife, my three best girl friends and a few other special golf friends. I hope I golf well, but just having them there on the course with me will make
the day very special.

Q. Aren’t you worried about the distractions: The cameras, the gallery and that you will be taped and then shown on national television?

A. I am very good at blocking things out. I have played in our club championships and we have a gallery of 10-15 people or so walking along. There are a few other things that keep me focused on the present: I don’t add up my score. I never add up after 9 holes. I play one shot at a time and let the bad ones go.

I am not going to think about how I am doing. I know that it will be a 6-hour round. I will be prepared with my protein bars and nuts. I don’t like to eat a lot but I have to make sure that I eat what I need for energy. And I’ve thought about what I will wear. It will be a skort if it’s warm enough and a lot of layers because of the variable weather conditions.

Q. Have you met your other celebrity players?

A. No. Not yet. I can feel the pressure building up. I will have practice rounds on June 7th and 8th. I have the last practice tee time and my teacher Allan Bowman is coming out for those rounds. We will play until dark. This is our chance to develop the strategy for how I will play each hole. Allan knows my game and swing and will keep me on track.

Q. All during our conversation, I have sensed how important your family is to you. And I know that one of your brothers died on a golf course.

A. Everyone in our family played golf, so that is a special bond. My older brother, Mike, died of a heart attack after finishing the 18th hole on a course in Georgia on his way to watch the Masters. It was a trip of a lifetime for him. As a good luck charm, I carry a ball that he had in his bag – a ball marked with a smiley face. After my brother Mike died, we were going through the things on his bedside table. On top of everything was a scorecard with a round on it when he beat me!

I also have a younger brother Matt who will be at Pebble Beach. He also likes to play competitively with me. I asked Matt to come to New Jersey and play in the Women’s Metropolitan Golf Association Sister-Brother Tournament. We had fun. But we didn’t win anything!

Q. We have really been talking mainly about your golf. I want to shift our conversation and get your thoughts on the bigger picture. What about teaching juniors? And what are your thoughts about the declining number of women golfers?

A. For a number of years I have stated that my retirement goal is to work with juniors and women golfers. Learning to play golf can be very embarrassing and humiliating – lots of swings and misses. Women don’t want to be publicly embarrassed. I think in the beginning – for both women and kids – golf has to be fun. Hit the ball eight times – then pick it up and put it down at a place where you can hit it to the green.

I also think that women need to focus on getting that ball into the air – even if it means using a tee on the course. And women need to play on the course – even if just one hole. Imagine a place where you can go with your friends or husband for 2 or 4 hours – no cell phones, no kids, no interruptions. Golf has to advertise that benefit.

I think the trend towards shorter tees for women is great. If women score better, they will feel better and play more. I think it’s good for the game that the Old MacDonald course out at Bandon Dunes in Oregon is putting in a shorter set of tees. That’s a tipping point for the industry and the growth of women’s golf.

Q. At most golf clubs, the number of women who want to play competitively – such as in Club Championships, is declining. What’s your feeling about that?

A. Yes, I see that decline at Cherry Valley also. I think that there is clearly a group of women who are competitive by nature and a group that aren’t. I think that definitely when I play in competitive events or even in my Saturday game with the guys where everything may be riding on an 18th hole press, I get that adrenaline rush and enjoy it. Women like me are not worried about fear of failure. We just want to see how good we can be.

But I also think that it is personally “OK” if women don’t want that competition. I would much rather see the number of women playing golf increase – even if not playing competitively. We need to get more women out there playing golf.

Q. And, my final question: Why do you love to play golf?

A. I love golf because every time you play, it’s different. You can never perfect it and it’s a constant challenge. It’s the most mentally stimulating and challenging thing I do. But now that I have my handicap down to a 5, it’s both a blessing and curse. When I shoot 82, it’s a bad day. I’m hoping for a really good day at Pebble on June 9th!

_______________________________
Thank you, Peggy, for sharing so much about golf and your life and why you entered the contest. Your challenge could not be occurring in a better month. June is the American Express Women’s Golf Month with Suzy Whaley as one of its spokespersons. Because many courses will be offering lessons and clinics for women, this is the month for all women to reconnect with the game – like you did – or to take it up for the first time. (for more information about courses participating in Women’s Golf Month, go to www.playgolfamerica.com.)

And to all those women out there who are wondering if they could enter the 2011 contest and do what Peggy did, mark your calendar. Start looking at www.golfdigest.com and reading Golf Digest magazine. The contest entry information is announced in November.

In closing, please join me in sending special “Good Luck” wishes to Peggy. We all know she can break 100. But she already has made history by being the first woman golfer in the Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge. Don’t forget to watch the NBC Special about the Challenge round on Sunday, June 20th. I will have a chance to meet her before she steps up to that first tee; so, watch for my follow up story.

©copyright Nancy Berkley 2010. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission by www.ladiesgolfjourney.com.
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Nancy Berkley, President of Berkley Golf Consulting, is an expert on women’s golf and junior-girls golf. She is a frequent contributor to www.cybergolf.com/womensgolf and also to www.ladiesgolfjourney.com. Her book, Women Welcome Here! A Guide to Growing Women’s Golf, published by the National Golf Foundation, is an industry reference on marketing golf to women and spotting trends within the industry. She offers information and advice about the golf industry on www.berkleygolfconsulting.com and is often quoted in national publications.. She is also the author of the NGF publication: An Insider’s Guide to Careers in the Golf Industry. She was a contributing editor of Golf for Women magazine and a founding advisor of Golfer Girl Magazine. Her interviews with women in the golf industry now appear on www.golfergirlcareers.com. Nancy lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida., and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, Harvard University and Rutgers Law School. After a business and legal career, she decided to write about the game she learned and loved as a teenager. She describes herself as a good bogey golfer with permanent potential.

In the next few weeks, I – along with many other women and men — will attend a fund-raising golf tournament in support of breast cancer research. We all want to find “The Cure”, and the landscape for breast cancer charity golf tournaments is actually becoming a little [...]]]> By Nancy Berkley, President, Berkley Golf Consulting

In the next few weeks, I – along with many other women and men — will attend a fund-raising golf tournament in support of breast cancer research. We all want to find “The Cure”, and the landscape for breast cancer charity golf tournaments is actually becoming a little confusing and a bit competitive. This is probably good.

Going back about five years ago, there were two major breast cancer organizations that women chose for charity golf tournaments. The first and oldest was founded in 1982 by Nancy Brinker, in memory of her sister, Susan G. Komen, who died of breast cancer. See www.komen.org

Komen is the global leader in the breast cancer movement and Nancy Brinker brought them there. Originally, the organization was called the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. But its current official name is the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. The organization is supported by a grass roots network of Komen Affiliates who support breast cancer initiatives in their local communities.

According to the Komen website, the organization has invested nearly $1.5 billion (yes, “billion”) dollars in promoting and donating funds for breast cancer research. Many men, women and children have participated in actual “races” (and walks) organized by the Komen foundation.

Closely aligned with the Komen organization and providing the historic link to golf events is “Rally for the Cure” a not-for-profit association founded in 1996. Rally for the Cure organizes fabulous turn-key-kits that women use to run golf tournaments. The kits not only include information on how to run putting and closest-to-the-pin contests but also include pink-ribbon pins and other informative written materials focused on early detection and diagnosis.

Rally events have reached more than 1.65 million participants (primarily golfers although Rally is now sponsoring events for tennis players). In fact, the full name of Rally has evolved into “Rally for the Cure – Supporting the Promise of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.” See www.rallyforthecure.com. Rally for the Cure has sent over $50 million dollars to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

The all-in-one Rally kits were critical because the women really had to get the tournaments organized themselves. The concept was small donations and lots of participants in a fun golf event. Rally and its founder and executive team must be credited with building the bridge between breast cancer and golf tournaments and women golfers.

About three or four years ago, Golf Digest – a Conde Nast publication that used to publish Golf for Women magazine — acquired the Rally for the Cure association. Probably most valuable to Golf Digest’s marketing department were the names of the many thousands of women who played golf in Rally events.

It was a sad day when Conde Nast shut down Golf for Women magazine two years ago. But Golf Digest and Conde Nast – to their credit – have maintained their support of Rally and the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. In fact, one of the most helpful planning aids in running a golf tournament is the “Golf Digest Tournament Planner” found on the Rally website. See www.rallyforthecure.com. The 12-month planner is so good that it could be used for any type of golf tournament.

However, as the Susan G. Komen foundation and Rally for the Cure grew, their organizational structure grew as well. They were charting a new course, and to maintain the integrity of their organizations, they had to maintain staffs that could oversee the operations – all over the country — and make sure that donations were channeled to breast cancer research. The increased administrative costs of managing the Susan G. Komen foundation caused some concern.

Enter another breast cancer charity: The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The BCRF was founded in 1993 by Evelyn H. Lauder, the Senior Corporate Vice President of The Estee Lauder Companies, Inc. An important goal of BCRF was to keep its administrative costs down so that 85% of all funds raised by the Foundation could be dedicated directly to breast cancer research and awareness programs. See www.bcrfcure.org

In 1996, the low-administrative-cost goal of BCRF attracted the interest of Laura Lassman. Laura decided that by concentrating on running golf tournaments only with volunteers, the return on charitable donations to breast cancer research could be even better.

Laura founded “Play for Pink” – known as “P.I.N.K.” According to its website, Play for Pink has a volunteer network in over 26 states. See www.playforpink.org. Play for Pink contributed $3 million dollars to BCRF in 2009 and anticipates more growth in 2010.
The volunteer-basis of Play for Pink is very attractive to women as they choose a recipient organization for a golf outing. The good news is that the increased focus on managing costs is good for all charitable organizations and the competition will keep them all on their toes. To find out the ratio of administrative costs to actual chartable contributions see www.charitynavigator.org. Both Susan G. Komen and BCRF earn high grades from charitynavigator.

The landscape for breast-cancer-charity golf tournaments is definitely changing. Next week, I will play in a golf tournament that offers yet a different breast cancer charitable recipient: A local hospital with a specific cancer research foundation.

Coming up is the 4th Annual PGA Women’s Cancer Awareness Day at PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Charitable contributions from entrance fees and raffles will go to the Daniel C. Searle Clinical Trials Access Program at Jupiter Medical Center’s Foshay Cancer Center. This program provides access to more than 50 cooperative group research clinical trials for patients with cancer. (The Jupiter Hospital is about fifteen minutes away from PGA National.) Women from PGA National are the volunteer organizers – so administrative costs are reduced.

When the Susan G. Komen Foundation was established almost thirty years ago, it would have been highly unlikely that a local hospital in southern Florida had its own foundation working on clinical breast cancer trials. Susan G. Komen was critical and essential decades ago as a national resource for breast cancer research with its outreach to women. It was truly a pioneer. But times have changed, which is why women’s golf events supporting breast cancer are changing also.

My second golf tournament this month in support of breast cancer research will be at Banyan Golf Club, in West Palm Beach Florida. The designated charity is the Susan G. Komen Foundation. But what is unique about this tournament is not only that their will be a fund-raising auction of knitted quilts made by the members but that each attendee will receive a recently published book written by Banyan member, Rochelle Hirsch (and illustrated by Naava Parker).

Lumps and Bumps

I hope that everyone who reads the book will pass it along to their children and friends – and to their doctors and clergy. Until we find “the Cure”, many families will appreciate the comfort of this book. I especially like the last page when the little girl telling her story says: “I wish this part of our lives could have moved a little faster. But like my favorite fairy tale, we lived happily ever after.”

For those just beginning their planning process for next year’s breast cancer charity golf event, you have more choices than ever to bring women and men to the golf course for a successful fund-raising event in support of finding the cure for breast cancer.

Nancy Berkley