THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 8, 1995 TAG: 9507080053
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Women in Golf
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
Bridget Pendergast, Veronica Karaman, Sue Rusnock and Molly Malloy would cringe if you called them pioneers. But a pioneer is defined as someone who goes before the rest, opening the way for others to follow - a fitting description of these four:
Pendergast is head pro at Honey Bee Golf Course in Virginia Beach.
Karaman recently founded Wonder Women golf schools in Virginia Beach and Williamsburg.
Rusnock is golf coach at Salem High School in Virginia Beach.
Malloy is part owner and general manager of Seven Springs Golf Course in Chesapeake.
After dozens of phone calls, no one - from the Census Bureau to cyberspace, from the National Association of Golf Courses Owners to the National Organization for Women - could do more than guess at how many other women in the U.S. hold the same jobs as Pendergast, Karaman, Rusnock and Malloy.
``We never needed to track the women holding these jobs before,'' says Betsy Clark, director of education for the Ladies Professional Golf Association. ``Nearly every job like that, the answer would have been between one and five. Who needed tracking? Now we have a reason to track.''
Although women's participation in golf isn't growing at the same rate as men's - according to the National Golf Foundation, the number of women playing eight or more rounds annually rose by a mere 0.1 percent annually from 1988-93 - young women are taking to the game in numbers that suggest they'll be an economic force to reckon with in the future.
The NGF also released statistics that showed that the number of female golfers ages 12-17 increased by 73.9 percent from 1988-93. The participation rate for that group also increased, from 2.0 percent to 3.2 percent.
And, they have more money to spend. In 1988, less than 35 percent of all female golfers came from households with incomes of $50,000 or more. Five years later, the percentage of women golfers in that income bracket had grown to 50 percent.
``Our membership is up 25 percent,'' the LPGA's Clark said. ``Positions in the golf industry are changing and women are becoming more a part of what's going on.'' MEMO: Related stories on page c4. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Gary C. Knapp
Veronica Karaman, left, founder of the Wonder Women Golf School,
teaches Mary Harper how to swing.
by CNB