Greetings from the road! I’ll be traveling a bit this month & will share photos in a future newsletter.
This week, I’m running a special “Father’s Day Tribute” newsletter, in memory and honor of my dad… and for all the dads out there. If you’re lucky enough to still have your dad around, be sure to give him a special shoutout and/or spend some time with him this Sunday (Father’s Day in the US), if you can, or as life allows.
Last week, I had the opportunity to be a guest on the Traveling Golf Diva Podcast for a special Father’s Day episode where I shared the story of how my dad introduced me to golf. Not only was this significant in my relationship with my dad (the fact that we played golf together led to many father-daughter bonding rounds), but it also introduced me to golf and led me to my current profession as a golf and travel writer.
As a special “thank you” to my dad (who sadly left this world in 2020), I’m including a copy of the first golf article that started me in the world of golf writing. When I initially wrote it, my goal had been for it to appear in print around Father’s Day. I envisioned handing him a paper or magazine and saying, “Here, Dad, your gift is on page 9.”
Well, it didn’t make the paper or a magazine as I’d hoped, but it did end up on the LPGA website, thanks to someone named Ashleigh Guerra (now Founder/CEO of BIRDHAUS Brand Studio), who at the time worked at the LPGA. She and her team liked the piece, published it on their Girls Golf Blog, and asked me to write for them regularly. And that was the start of it. (Shoutout to Ashleigh for my first “in” in the industry!)
I hope you enjoy the piece!
Afterward, I’ve put together some links for Father’s Day gift ideas, as well as my usual lifestyle batch of links.
Enjoy, and Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!
I wrote the piece below in honor of my dad around Father’s Day, 2014. It originally appeared
on the LPGA Girls Golf Blog, which no longer exists.
Article was updated in 2026.
A Win-Win for Golfing Dads Everywhere
This is for all of the golfers who happen to be dads. Girl dads, specifically. Perhaps you’re a new dad, with a newborn or a few toddlers. Perhaps your kids are older, maybe in elementary school. Maybe they’re already in high school. Many guys in your shoes look at the golf course as a place to escape the chaos and noise of their house. What I am about to propose is entirely different.
Take that chaos, namely your 4-year-old chatterbox, 6-year-old tutu-wearing princess, or the 14-year-old who seems more interested in friends than family... to the driving range. Just dad-and-daughter time. Got multiple daughters? Bring them all. At the same time, maybe you give your wife a few hours to herself. Everyone’s happy.
Do it after work, on the weekend, do it instead of mowing the lawn. Do it even though everyone in your family has a schedule that won’t quit. Do it because if you don’t, someday you’ll look back and realize what a tremendous opportunity you missed.
Yes, I’m telling you to stop everything and give your daughters some green time (much better than screen time). And here’s why. With golf, you’re introducing your child to something that’s more than a sport, more than a hobby, and more than just a way to kill an hour after dinner. You’re introducing them to a lifetime sport that will serve them throughout their lives. Golf provides a template for athletic, social, business, and self-development skills. And you, their dad, is who they’ll remember teaching them.
A Lifetime Sport, A Lifetime Bond ~ The best part about teaching your kids to golf is that while you’re getting one-to-one, uninterrupted time with them, you’re also kind of guaranteeing a lifetime playing partner. As your kids get older, and you get older too, golf is something you can do together. It’s something you can come back to, again and again.
I realize this isn’t a novel concept. Golfing dads throughout history have tried to teach their kids the game. Perhaps you’re already doing this. And if you are, you’re wondering... is it really worth it? Will my kid appreciate this when they’re older, or even play the game?
Well, I have good news for you. It’s worth it.
Return on Investment ~ Now, I’m not telling you that by taking your daughter golfing, they’ll end up on Tour. No, you’re probably not going to see their name on the leaderboard, and you probably should still contribute to their college fund because golf scholarships are few and far between. But trust me, you’ll both feel the returns.
Quality time ~ We all complain that there’s not enough time to do everything. There are life obligations, household projects, and work emails to return. I’ve got news for you, fellas. Those things will always be there. But the simple act of driving your child to a golf course, spending an hour or so there, and driving them home gives you precious time that can’t be interrupted by outside forces or things you “should do.” It’s just you and your daughter, and a bucket of balls.
Fresh air ~ You’re away from work. Your daughter isn’t in front of a screen. So far, two-for-two. You’re both in the great outdoors, getting a big dose of Mother Nature. It may be freezing, raining, 100 degrees, or a perfect 60 and sunny. Whatever the case, you can share the experience together and round out the day with ice cream or a stop at Starbucks.
The chance to teach life lessons ~ Golf provides the perfect opportunity to subtly teach your kids important life lessons – like humility when you hit the ball well and good character when everything falls apart. How to shake things off when nothing is going your way. The best way to do this is, of course, to be a good role model. In worst-case scenarios, I guess you could say it’s a good chance to teach your kids how to swear softly, and hold it together enough not to throw your clubs.
Patience ~ Even though it may not always feel like you’re fine-tuning your patience, you are. When I think about the hours my dad stood behind me while I dubbed my irons in exactly the same way, I think he should be given a medal for not just calling it a day. He didn’t yell, he didn’t get frustrated with me. He just told me – over and over – what I needed to do (or not do). He took this patience to the tee, the fairway, the rough, the green, and everywhere in between. He didn’t give up on me, so I had no choice but to stop giving up on myself.
Lifelong golf buddy ~ My only warning for the dads out there who decide to teach their kids the game is that I hope you really like to golf, because your kids just may end up loving it as well. Years later, those same sassy 7-year-olds who “hated the game” or know-it-all 14-year-olds who were “never going to play this dumb sport again” are going to be the ones wanting to golf with you on their days off. They’ll look forward to the time they get to golf with and talk to their dad as adults and as good friends.
A Personal Perspective ~ I know all of these points are true because my own dad introduced me to the game in our back yard, where we’d hit around after dinner. In the winter, we’d have putting contests in the family room. Next came evenings at the driving range, then the practice course, and finally, I joined him for real rounds.
And certainly, there were times on the course with my dad where it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Like any kid or teenager taking up the game, I had my moments. (Believe me… I had my moments.)
I got frustrated.
I “quit golf” a million times over.
In the process of it all, I’m sure my dad got frustrated, too. But he stuck with me, through it all, coaching me in every phase of golf and every phase of life.
Fast forward to my adult years, and my summers were filled with golf with my dad and sometimes my mom. When I got married, my husband joined us, backing up another piece of my dad’s reasoning for learning the game: “Golf is something you’ll do with your spouse…”
In addition, my dad continued to play with me as he aged. During those rounds in his 80s, he’d smile and say, “You see, I told you golf was a lifelong sport.”
My dad played until he absolutely couldn’t any longer. We played our last round together physically when he was 92. And then, during the pandemic, at 94, he “played” one more round with me. This time, it was via FaceTime, and instead of playing, he “caddied” from the nursing home where he was in the end stages of cancer. This final round came just weeks before he died. He was still part of “my foursome,” giving me advice from afar.
The Takeaway?
If you’re wondering if those early (and maybe frustrating) practice sessions and rounds with your daughter are worth it, think of my story. The time invested in the course is as beneficial to your daughter as it is to you. You see, by spending time with your young golfer now, you’re not just grooming a future playing partner; you’re almost guaranteeing that they will want to spend time with you later. And even if your daughter has “moments” that test and frustrate you both, those moments are what you’ll both remember for years to come.
Deep within the frustration that comes to any new golfer – especially an 8-year-old girl who can’t seem to understand the phrase “keep your head down” – there’s a bond building.
I was that 8-year-old girl. I was also that 10-year-old girl who putted like she was hitting a tee shot. And, sadly, I was the 12-year-old girl who finally mastered the five iron only to hear her dad’s colleague declare, “Your son is a very good golfer.”
Yes, throughout all the stages of my life and game, my dad was by my side, always patiently teaching me what I needed to know. He was there to correct my errors and applaud my accomplishments. That’s what I remember, and that’s what your daughter will remember too. The time you spent with her.
The Win-Win
To all of the golfing dads (and moms) reading this: if you love your sport and love your kids, take them to a golf course now. It may just turn out to be the greatest win-win in the history of golf.
The story behind “A Win-Win for Golfing Dads Everywhere”
and
The Life Lesson Everyone Should Hear
My intention for writing “A Win-Win for Golfing Dads Everywhere” back in 2014 was two-fold.
First, I wanted to express my gratitude to my dad for taking the time (so much time!) over the years to teach me golf. But it wasn’t just about learning golf – it was the fact that we spent the time together… In my formative golf years and beyond. And that time my dad spent with me, using golf as the conduit to great conversations, laughs, and time together, is one of the greatest gifts of my life.
The second reason I wrote the piece was as an inroad into the world of golf writing, my current profession. At the time, I was starting out and had dreams of writing great stories of golf… not necessarily about the game itself, but the people in that world and the stories that emerge because of it. Well, I got lucky with that first piece. It led to an article on the LPGA website, then a monthly column of inspirational stories on the LPGA Girls Golf Blog. Then came work for Youth on Course, other pieces for the golf industry… and now, here I am, a full-on golf writer and content creator in the industry. It’s something I do with my husband – we play together and travel together for golf and work.
Golf isn’t just my profession, it’s my passion. And honestly, I owe it to my dad and the love and advice he gave me over the years.
As it turns out, his greatest advice was shared on that very last round, FaceTimed during the pandemic.
I called him from the course and said, “Dad, we’re out here playing nine, and I wanted you to play along. But… It’s only a par three. Just short shots.”
My dad, at that point, wasn’t doing well and could barely hold a conversation. He could, however, get something out that turned out to be perhaps the best golf advice of his life.
“No, no. The short shots… those are the important ones. Those are the shots you need to get. That little shot leads to the next one… and the next. And before you know it, you’re in the hole. Focus on the short shots. They matter. More than you know.”
He was right on the short shots - as a classic-three putter, I’m still working on it. But I realized since that round that my dad maybe wasn’t just talking about shots around the green.
As I finish this piece, I know that I wouldn’t be where I am today, personally, professionally, or in golf terms, without the many shots I took on and off the course.
Each “shot” led to the next… leading me to where I am and giving me the biggest gift of the career I have today - on and off the course.
Thanks, Dad!
I bet if you look at your life, you’ll see how your short shots have led you to today as well.
Here’s to short shots and making them with the people who matter most to you.
Add years to your life by switching up your exercise routine this way. (Hint: the secret is in switching things up.)
The hippest new haircut? The sliced bob.
Father’s Day Golf gift ideas (or golf gifts for anyone, anytime)… start with the best deals on accessories and throw in a new polo. Here are some more elegant golf apparel options, and some mid-range picks.
The Story of Golf in 50 Tournaments by Tony Dear would make a great Father’s Day gift or gift for the golfer in your life. Dear tells the history of the game through 50 pivotal events that shaped professional golf. Well-researched, well-written, and accompanied by great photos and design, this book is not only informative but also a little showpiece. (Looks great on a coffee table.)
Another great golf book is Make Your Next Shot, Your Best Shot by Dr. Bob Rotella. The book sort of goes with this week’s theme, and spoiler - it isn’t just about golf. It’s a book full of life lessons too.
Podcasts worth a listen - What the Wealthiest Women Know About Time & Money that Most People Don’t, and from the Real Food Traveler, Jerez de La Frontera, Spain- An Insider’s Guide. A really great listen, and maybe a spot for your travel list this year… Jerez de La Frontera has been named Spain’s Gastronomic Capital of 2026.
And, speaking of podcasts and Father’s Day… I was honored to be a guest on the Traveling Golf Diva Podcast in a special Father’s Day episode.
Some recipes to try - roasted salmon with peas and radishes, Spanish tortilla (great to have in the fridge when you don’t feel like cooking), a salad recipe if you’re looking to eat an entire head of lettuce, and for your home’s grill master, Bobby Flay’s top grilling recipes.
Speaking of food, here’s a
