I recently read a book titled Teeing Up for Success: Insights and Inspiration from Extraordinary Women. The book was written to support the EWGA Foundation and features 30 inspiring stories from women from all professions who attribute a part of their success to the game of golf. I had reached out and requested a copy because I had read some other reviews and wanted to read the entire book firsthand. I have to admit, there are quite a few inspiring stories in Teeing Up for Success.
The Executive Women’s Golf Association (EWGA) was originally known as the Executive Women’s Golf League but the name changed after the popularity of the golf league grew. The EWGA was founded by Nancy Oliver in 1991 and had first been organized to provide a way for women to join an 8-week series of golf clinics at Emerald Dunes Golf Club in south Florida. After four weeks of clinics, participation swelled to 28 women and friendships were born. Word spread quickly about what was going on and interest from other golf courses in south Florida began to pour in.
But it was an article in USA Today that took EWGA to another level. Soon after the article, women from all across the country were inquiring about setting up chapters and growing the game of golf for women in their own cities. According to the book, within three years of that USA Today article, there were 50 chapters across the United States, and women all over the country were building friendships and playing golf together in a predomiately male-dominated industry.
According to the EWGA website, there are currently 141 chapters spanning across 41 states, the District of Columbia and four countries. And yes I just had to look on Google, but there is a chapter here in San Antonio where I live and in fact, the EWGA annual conference is being held here in San Antonio next weekend.
But let’s get back to the book review. As mentioned above, in Teeing Up for Success, 30 women provide their personal stories on how golf has impacted their lives through business deals and relationships built on the golf course. There’s no denying the golf course is a highly popular place to conduct business, and the women profiled in Teeing Up for Success have ascended to the top of their professions and attribute a large part of their success to the game of golf.
There’s a story from Alice Dye, the first female golf architect who got started in the game at age 11 and who has taken part in designing and building famous courses such as Crooked Stick and Harbour Town Golf Links. She became the first women member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.
Another great story was from Judy Rankin, the hall of fame golfer and broadcaster. She joined the LPGA at age 17 and won 26 LPGA tournaments. She now is a broadcaster for Golf Channel and ESPN and has given just about her entire life to the game of golf.
Whether you are a woman moving up the ranks in the corporate world or an aspiring junior player looking to find inspiration on taking your game to the next level, I highly recommend Teeing Up for Success. All proceeds of the book go towards the EWGA Foundation to help grow the game of golf for women all across the world.
Leave a Reply