Q: When and where was your first golf experience and what do you remember most about it?
A: My first golf experience was joining some of my cousins who came in from Chicago and they wanted to go and get some golfing in at Makaha North at the time (on Oahu). I went along for the ride but was then asked if I wanted to try and hit a ball. Being an athlete, I remember thinking this can’t be that hard, so I teed it up and proceeded to hit one with a big old slice into the bushes. Needless to say, I was then bound and determined to find out what this game was all about.
Q: What excited you about the golf industry and brought you into the business?
A: What got me the most was that golf was a sport that you were basically on your own in how you did, there was no team to back you up. Only you were responsible for whatever success you achieved on a day-to-day basis. I got to meet a lot of great people along the way and made life-long friends in the process.
Editor note: Sherrie (Sue) Golden won the Jennie K (aka “Jennie K”) Wilson Women’s Invitational in 1986 and 1989, a 54-hole amateur event played at Mid-Pacific CC on Oahu.
Q: As a female, what do you do in your day-to-day job that helps carry the message about this being a great place for other females to work?
A: Golf has always been a male dominated industry as far as the managerial level was concerned. By taking pride in what you do and having the ambition to learn about all facets of the industry allowed me the opportunity to grow in the ranks and work my way from the driving range to becoming the head professional at a 36-hole resort facility. Being able to become part of a team and supervising the day-to-day operations has greatly helped me to gain the respect of my peers as we move into the future.
Editor note: Sherrie recently hired a female golf assistant to work under her at Ka’anapali.
Q: What do you think the golf industry should be doing differently to attract females into the golf world, both at the playing level and as a career?
A: Equal pay.
Q: What is one female mentor you look up to and what words of wisdom or actions did she do to help you become better in your career or game?
A: My Regional Operations Manager Melissa Dupuis who believed that I could get the job done and become the head professional at Ka’anapali.
Q: If you could play with any three women in a foursome for golf, who would they be (dead or alive)?
A: Nancy Lopez, Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam
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