Pro golf and Motherhood

With all the talk about Tiger Woods and his wife just having a baby, its forgotten there are Moms who play professional golf too.

(June 19, 2007) — PITTSFORD — Being a mother is not an easy job by itself, but balancing children and life on the LPGA Tour can get pretty demanding.



That's the challenge that 28 women on the tour face on an almost daily basis.

There just aren't enough hours in the day for them to accomplish everything they want to.

"First of all, it's the greatest thing I've ever done. But it's hard work," said Nancy Scranton, a 22-year tour veteran and mother of 2-year-old twins. "I don't get any free time, and I don't work out anymore."

Fortunately it's not even more difficult. The women on the tour no longer have to make the choice between career and family.

In 1993, the LPGA partnered with Smucker's to become the first professional sport with a traveling day care center.

Instead of having to leave the kids at home or give up professional golf, the moms can stay on tour and have the confidence that their children are with trained professionals. Four full-time, credentialed staff members of Bright Horizons Family Solutions care for the children while the moms hit the links.

"We're very proud of the consistency of the program," said Betsy Clark, the vice president of professional development for the LPGA. "It's something absolutely needed if the moms want to perform well."

The best playing mother on tour by a mile is Hall of Famer Juli Inkster.(HOFer Nancy Lopez still plays some and is a mother also, but hasn't been a force on tour in quite a few years) Juli who two teenage daughters born before the LPGA began its daycare.

After Juli, the best playing Mom is either Pat Hurst, Hee Won Han(who is expecting her first child next month) or Carin Koch.(A nominee for one of the sexiest women golfers) Hee Won has the most US victories but Pat is the only one of the three to win a Major Championship. Pro golfer Moms are not much unlike other working Moms, except the travel they do and those good enough to make it on television. If I were to guess right, some of these Mothers have probably had their kids tell complete strangers, 'My Mom was on television!'

The rest of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle article is below.

Linked to- Adam, Cao,

"We're very proud of the consistency of the program," said Betsy Clark, the vice president of professional development for the LPGA. "It's something absolutely needed if the moms want to perform well."

The day care also gives LPGA mothers like Leta Lindley peace of mind while they're out on the course.

"My kids love it," Lindley said. "I drop them off and they don't even look back, so I know they're in good hands."

Lindley and the other mothers on tour must make their own travel and housing arrangements, and that can be troublesome with children. So LPGA officials put together a fact sheet listing local hotels and places to eat, among other things.

These common challenges of the 28 women have formed a bond among them. They often stay at the same hotels so the kids can play together.

"You share experiences," Scranton said. "Somebody that doesn't have kids traveling here doesn't know what it's like."

Thanks to the accommodations of the LPGA, being a professional athlete and a mother can go hand-in-hand.

"I'm very lucky," Lindley said. "I get to play a game that I love, and I get to bring my children along."