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The Way It Was

Before jumbo drivers, graphite shafts and women's forward tees, the misconception among strangers was that Indiana was "India-no-place." Especially when the subject of lady golfers triggered muffled harrumphs of, "Nonsense!"

Now, the best of all the rest of the lady amateurs in the United States and elsewhere will be on stage at the course at Crooked Stick Golf Club to chase the Robert Cox Trophy and become the 2007 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion.

Please stifle all snickers of disbelief that this contest should be competed on the fairways at Crooked Stick Golf Club--the brainchild of innovative course guru Pete Dye and his Hoosier-bred wife, Alice.

It is certainly no happenstance that the USGA chose this venue for the 2007 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship since it is no longer a cornfield, but a well-manicured 6,595 yards with dipsy-doodle greens, bunkers that are so deep a ladder is needed to exit the sand, and the friendliest gang of hosts and hostesses emitting Hoosier hospitality at its pinnacle.

The girls of golf in Indiana have been stars on the horizon since 1921 when the accepted attire of that era was a long skirt, sweater, heavy hose and a bonnet of some sort--no flesh exposed.

In the late 1930's, when flappers and the Charleston were the hot tamales of show biz, Indiana was wowed whenever Elizabeth (Liz) Dunn hit the links. She wore the acceptable long skirt, socks, a beret atop her head and worked the night shift as a telephone operator before heading to the practice tee with her hickory-shafted clubs and a swing which emulated Babe Ruth at bat. She was built like him, too.

And, as she stepped her left foot off the ground and into to the downswing she belted drives over 200 yards with weapons long considered obsolete but with which she won eight state championships between 1926-36.

In those days no one heard the terms "higher inertia", "milled groves versus square grooves" hybrids or square heads.

Following "Liz" came determined, intelligent Alice O’Neal (Dye), the debutante daughter of an old Indianapolis family whose protective mother Lucy was aghast that her daughter wanted to play golf--and in shorts.

Alice won the city title in 1945 at the age of 18, after holing a shot from a cornfield behind the 8th green at Hillcrest Country Club (there were no out-of-bounds then) for a birdie 3 when she was 2 down (match play) to a 20-year-old Butler graduate and her best friend--me. Drats!

Alice went on to take 11 city titles between 1945-70 and nine state championships. She was on the Curtis Cub team at age 43, won numerous senior events and became the chief draftsman (woman) for Pete's ingenious layouts of golf courses.

Through the years, many women golfers from Indiana have claimed headlines.

Jane Nelson (Weiss), a temperamental but talented golfer. If you were playing too slowly ahead of her she, most likely, would hit into your group. She was runner-up in the U.S. Women's Amateur in 1955 and was on the 1956 Curtis Cup team.

The youngest to astound in golf up until then was Claudia Mayhew. She was just 15 years old when she took the state crown in 1964.

Sandra Spuzich was the U.S. Women's Open champion in 1966. Her winnings? A paltry $4,000 from a total purse of $20,000---big bucks back then.

The dynamic duo of Nancy Fitzgerald and Frances (Cookie) English took the limelight for 20 years--best friends off the course and combative foes in competition.

Nancy won 11 city titles between '69-98 and three state diadems. Nancy was the USGA Senior Women's Amateur champion in 1997, and also defeated all comers in the British Women's Senior and the Canadian Women's Senior.

Cookie, three times city titleholder and one time state winner, also won the Women's Western Senior in '98.

The list of Indiana notables goes on and on. The Hession sisters--Therese and Mary; Ann Wilhoite Brilley, Julie Hull Armington, Julie Carmichael, Robin Hood (no kin to the archer of Sherwood Forest), Marcia Luigs, Kelli Akers, and Libby Akers Pancake.

The horizon of female amateur golfers from Indiana includes many of the champions noted and many young and dynamic golfers with unlimited potential. With such a deep cast of talent, it is conceivable that Indiana will be well represented by multiple hopefuls who will be up to the task to challenge Kimberly Kim, the reigning and youngest-ever USGA women's amateur champion.

But, just for old time's sake, I'm going to dust off my old Calamity Jane putter, my mashie, spoon and brassie (5-iron, 3-wood and 2-wood respectively) and see if they still work as well as all those new-fangled sticks that left me bankrupt.