THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 30, 1994 TAG: 9409290185
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 20 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
BRIDGET PENDERGAST got married twice 27 years ago.
No, it's not what you think. She didn't violate any laws.
``When Jim and I decided to get married, he told me, `If you want to be with me, you better start playing golf,' '' Pendergast said. ``So I married a golfer who was already married to the game. I started playing and fell in love with it, too.''
That was in 1967.
In 1994, Pendergast still has the same husband. Her other marriage - to golf - also has worked out well. So well, in fact, that in November 1993, Pendergast was named head pro at Honey Bee Golf Course.
Women head golf pros are almost as rare as mulligans at an LPGA tour event. There are only two others besides Pendergast in Virginia. Karen Harrell heads up the Pines at Fort Eustis, and Kandi Keffler-Comer runs the Glenmore Country Club course in Charlottesville.
``My owner took a chance because I'm a woman,'' Pendergast said. ``I had no doubts. People who knew me had no doubts. And people who didn't know me, once they talked to me one-on-one, they could see for themselves.''
Pendergast earned a Class A certification from the LPGA teaching school in 1993. She once spent most of her days teaching.
``I used to give nine or 10 lessons, or more, a day,'' she said.
That has been curtailed. She now teaches ``maybe three or four lessons a day.''
She manages a staff of about 30 employees, overseeing everything from starting times to providing carts to buying golf clothing for the pro shop, as well as managing the shop's operation.
Then there are the administrative and social functions to deal with.
``It costs us about $20 per golfer, per round to keep the course open,'' she said of Honey Bee, a privately owned course on South Independence Boulevard.
Pendergast spends much of her days wheeling around the course in a golf cart, two-way radio in her hand.
She supervises the restaurant operation and acts as jill-of-all-trades when it's tournament time.
``April, May and October are our busiest months,'' Pendergast said. ``We have about 20 corporate outings, tournaments, always something going on, those times.''
It makes for long days at the course, but she has her family's blessing and support.
Jim Pendergast retired from the Marines as a colonel in 1993. Both of their children are college students. Brett, 22, is a senior at the University of South Carolina - a member of the golf team, of course. Colleen is a 19-year-old sophomore at Longwood College.
``I spend long hours, just about every day, at the course now,'' Pendergast said.
A Louisiana State University graduate and New Orleans native, Pendergast always has considered herself an old-fashioned girl.
``I stayed at home with the kids until they started school,'' she said. ``Then, I began working full-time when they reached high school. I have two great kids and a wonderful husband. They're No. 1.
``I modeled some in high school and played sports with the boys growing up - and I'm talking about baseball in the streets and on the sandlots.
``My mother was an excellent role model, all around. She was a Southern lady. She started working when my two sisters, my brother and I reached high-school age. She took a job to send us to private schools.
``She ended up as a vice president at the bank where she worked. She always insisted that if you're halfway intelligent and work hard, you'll succeed. No matter who or what you are.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHARLIE MEADS
Bridget Pendergast, golf pro at Honey Bee Golf Course, is one of
only three women head golf pros in the state. ``I had no doubts,''
she said. ``People who knew me had no doubts.''
by CNB