There are days when Kate Golden wonders if life on the LPGA Tour is worth it. The missed cuts. The expense. The travel.
“It’s a long grind,” she said. “About three years ago, I woke up in a hotel at the Newark airport; I had no idea where I was, I had no idea where I was going. I had to turn on the TV to get the date. I looked through my organizer for the rest of it. I said: ‘OK, I’ve had enough. It’s time to go home.”‘
For a time, Golden, 38, did exactly that. But like Michael Corleone in “The Godfather: Part III,” she found that just when she thought she was out, the game pulled her back in.
“I got a job at a golf course and I was a ranger, a starter, a range picker, shop girl and cart girl,” Golden recalled. “I didn’t touch my clubs for four months. After the first month, I thought: ‘I’ll never play again. I’m fine with this.’ After two months, I thought: ‘I don’t know. Maybe I’ll give it another try.’ After three, it was like, ‘I can’t wait to play golf again.”‘
That occurred after the 1994 season, when Golden didn’t make a cut in 16 events. Things got better upon her return. A respected veteran, Golden has carved out a solid if unspectacular career – with one exception. On the final day of the 2001 State Farm Classic, the Texan shot a 63 to overcome a five-shot deficit and win her only tour event.
The player she beat? Annika Sorenstam.
“It’s fun and exciting and glamorous and low stress when you’re playing well. When you’re not, there’s nothing worse,” Golden said. “You’re away all the time and it’s expensive and you’re digging a hole, it’s scary. I’ve been on both sides.”
When fans come to Cherry Hills Country Club for this week’s U.S. Open championship, they’ll likely immediately focus on Sorenstam, who’s attempting to win her third consecutive major. They’ll also be awestruck by the immense power of 15-year-old Michelle Wie; but the vast majority of LPGA players live in a world of routine not defined by scores or potential.
It’s an existence of finding bargain rates at hotels and dinners at Chipotle rather than The Palm.
According to the LPGA’s official money list, Golden made $215,463 last season, a figure anyone interested in can find. That rankles Golden, because it doesn’t give the whole picture.
“I spent probably close to 40 grand on caddies alone last year. And it’s not like team sports, where you travel together and somebody makes the arrangements for you. You make your own travel. You get the rental cars, airline tickets, caddies, hotels, cabs, everything.”
