Peggy Ference – First Female Golfer
in Golf Digest US Open Challenge at Pebble Beach

(photo courtesy of Steve Jennings/Wire Image)

If you were one of 24,000 golfers that voted for Peggy in the Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge, you know how much she loves the game of golf. Or if you were one of viewers of the NBC-TV Special on Sunday, June 20th, right before the final round of the Open, you watched Peggy play from the 7,040 yard tournament tees. You may already know that Peggy is the first female to play in the Golf Digest promotion.

(This is the last of a series of articles about Peggy and Pebble Beach. See previous articles on: www.cybergolf.com, ladiesgolfjourney.com and golfgurls.com as well as my website www.nancyberkley.com.)

A little more in the way of background: This was the third year of the Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge. The Challenge was prompted by a comment made by Tiger Woods a few years ago after the U.S. Open at Oakmont.

Basically, Tiger said that no amateur golfer could ever break 100 on U.S. Open courses – the courses were just too hard. Well, Tiger was right! Over the past three years of the Challenge, no amateur has broken 100 and only a few celebrities have done it.

The celebrities playing with Peggy this year were the actor-producer Mark Wahlberg, hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and MVP quarterback Drew Brees. Each of the four golfers also had professional golfers as their caddies. Peggy’s caddie was none-other than Corey Pavin, this year’s United States Ryder Cup Captain. The Challenge round was played on June 9th from the tournament tees under tournament conditions. The rough was long and the wind was blowing.

Now with the U.S. Open over and only one professional breaking par in the final round, I think we can all agree. “Yes, Tiger is right.” So it shouldn’t shock anyway that only one of the celebrities, Mark Wahlberg, broke 100. Peggy did not have her best game with her on her Challenge round and shot 118. But after looking at the pros final scores on Sunday, Peggy’s score of 118 doesn’t look all that bad.

At the pre-Challenge Round dinner, Mark Wahlberg in a private conversation with Peggy. Mark was the only person to break 100 at Pebble Beach in the Challenge round.

(photo courtesy of Steve Jennings/Wire Image)

Golf Digest made a somewhat risky decision when it selected Peggy as a finalist for the Challenge. And I want to give credit where credit is due. They might have avoided some controversy had they just gone with one more male scratch amateur as a finalist.

But Bob Carney, Creative Director of Golf Digest, said that selecting Peggy was not a simple gender decision. Instead it was intended to reinforce the concept that golf is an “open” game. Anyone can learn and play the game.

Golf Digest’s motives were admirable. But more importantly, selecting Peggy has given Golf Digest an option to reconnect with women golfers. It was a sad day when Conde Nast, the owner of Golf Digest decided to shut down Golf for Women magazine.

I caught up with Peggy after the exciting Open weekend. I wanted to ask about her reflections on her experience.

I also wanted a chance to speak with Peggy’s instructor and coach, Allan Bowman, the PGA Club Professional at Cherry Valley Golf Club, who coached Peggy over the last couple of years and helped her bring her handicap down over ten strokes. Allan has not received the credit due him. Most golfers in this country learn how to golf from their club pro. A good club pro is really the gatekeeper to the game for millions of Americans. Allan is one of those very good PGA Professionals. If more clubs had more professionals with his skill and dedication, the industry would be faring far better than it is doing now.

NB: My first question to Peggy was what she thought viewers learned from watching her and the other celebrities play a U.S. Open course like Pebble. Peggy didn’t have to think more than a second for her answer:

PEGGY: “I think people watched us out there – struggling – but with a smile on our faces at the same time. What I hope people learned is that even when you are not playing well — and I had my problems that day — golf is fun. I hope they say, ‘Wow. There’s somebody who can shoot 118 and love every minute of it.’ This is more than just about me. This is about opening up the game to more people.”
I liked that answer because for many golfers and especially women, they worry about embarrassing themselves on the course. And then there’s Peggy — capable on a very good day of maybe breaking 100 on the hardest course she will probably every play – and she shoots 118. And she is doing it on national television with a camera following her and a mike strapped to her waist to catch her moans and cheers.

As Peggy explains it, when she played a practice round with her teacher, Allan Bowman, who flew out for a day to be with her, she was calm and at peace in her mind. But she could not find that mental place during the actual Challenge tournament. As Peggy describes it, “The rough did me in.” After that, she just could not keep it together. (And we watched a few golf professionals struggle with that rough on Sunday.)

As Peggy describes it, “The rough did me in.” After that, she just could not keep it together.

(photo courtesy of J. D. Cuban/Wire Image)

NB: I asked Allan Bowman, Peggy’s instructor, for his reactions after playing a practice round with her at Pebble and what he thought her chances would be of breaking 100 on that course.

ALLAN: “I thought that Peggy’s nerves could be problem.”
He went to say that Peggy was a little worried about that also. They had hoped to have some kind of practice round in front of 500 members of Cherry Valley, but they never got that in. All this confirms how important that mental game is. Allan added that with the rough the way it was, he thought that breaking 100 would be very difficult. We talked a little bit about the sheer strength required to hit through that rough.

Peggy was playing with one of the new “face-forward” F-2 wedges that eliminates a hosel. But, according to Allan, even with that new technology, more strength is required than most women golfers are prepared for. There is a reason, he says, that Tiger can bench his own weight in the gym. He needs it on the course.

Peggy had mentioned that she was not the only female at her club that has been successfully coached by Allan. So, I asked Allan whether he thought that he was a particularly good teacher for women. His answer was a modest “yes.” He went to on to say that when teaching women he asks more questions about what they are “thinking” than showing them a video of what they are “doing.” Allan’s advice for all instructors is, “Listen to your student and ask questions.”

NB: Then I moved on to the most controversial issue: Should a female golfer have been the non-celebrity golfer in the Challenge foursome. Or should a guy with a low handicap have been selected because the U.S. Open is after all a men’s tournament?

Well, we just got through saying that amateurs – regardless of gender — can’t begin to match the skill of professionals. That issue is finished. Done with! So male or female amateur, it’s not going to really matter. Golf is hard but at the same time it is fun.

And, consider this: One day, a female may very well qualify for the U.S. Open. Although the USGA Women’s Open comes up soon in mid-July, women are not prohibited from trying to qualify for the U.S. Open. Michelle Wie, in fact, tried to qualify a few years ago at Canoe Brook Country Club in Short Hills, New Jersey.

And, when that day happens and a woman plays in the U.S. Open, which by the way is scheduled for 2019 at Pebble Beach, she will have to break Peggy’s record of 118.

NB: The door has been opened – this is another chance for golf digest to reconnect with women golfers.

Golf Digest and the USGA will decide whether the Challenge with non-celebrity golfers has run its course. In my opinion it has.

Maybe there is not much to “learn” from watching the Challenge. Maybe it is primarily entertainment. We all know how popular “Dancing with the Stars” is. I’m not sure whether more people are taking dancing lessons after watching celebrity dancers, but somehow I don’t think that more people will take up golf because Mark Wahlberg shot 97.

But I think that Golf Digest has started something by opening the door to women in this year’s Challenge. Once you see Peggy play golf and see her talk about her love for the game, it doesn’t matter what she shot that day at Pebble.

In my view, Golf Digest owes women golfers. They are in the media business and in the golf business. So they don’t want to publish a women’s golf magazine anymore, that’s okay. But they have another option.

Golf Digest has the opportunity to provide the funding for a speaking platform for Peggy. They can develop a series of speaking opportunities – branded Golf Digest for Women — that then would also be on the golfdigest.com website.

If what Golf Digest and supposedly the USGA said was true – that they wanted to “open” the game to more golfers, then sponsoring Peggy on a speaking circuit would be a good way to follow up on their goal.

NB: If Golf Digest walks away from this opportunity, some other media organization, product manufacturer or association should grab her as their spokesperson. Women are great communicators and we need Peggy out there to help grow the game.

In my opinion, Peggy is the perfect ambassador-in-general for women’s golf. She will be speaking at the Women’s Metropolitan Golf Association (NY, NJ and CT). I hope it is the first of many inspirational speeches she will give. If you have an event coming up, think about asking Peggy to be your event speaker.

And… this summer, renew your commitment to golf: take a few lessons, make some new golf friends, practice your short game. And take a junior out to the range or course. July is family golf month and there are great values in instruction and course fees to be found. See: www.playgolfamerica.com and search by zip code for participating courses near you.

Play well and have fun!

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 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, Fla., 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.