Sally J. Sportsman's experience in golf defies neat categorization on an index card. Her eclectic interest in golf stems from her childhood days, when, wishing she could join them, she used to wave goodbye to her male cousins as they went off for weekend golf lessons and rounds at their country club. That memory has stayed with her, spurring her to help create opportunities for others that she never had.
Currently her interest in golf includes such areas as writing, history, junior golf, public relations and growth of the game. Long a freelance golf writer, Sportsman has had pieces appear in publications such as Golfweek, Golfweek's Superintendent News, Junior Golfer and Kansas City Golf Magazine. From 1997-2000 she wrote and edited both the NCAA Men's Golf Championships program books as well as the Palmer Cup program books.
As one of the originators of the Palmer Cup, Sportsman has watched this annual collegiate golf tournament between the United States and Great Britain and Ireland, the only tournament bearing Arnold Palmer's name, assume a place among the most prestigious amateur golf tournaments in the world.
Sportsman formerly served as the first Executive Director of the Junior Golf Foundation of Greater Kansas City , working with Chairman Tom Watson to bring golf to the disadvantaged youth of that metropolitan area. During her tenure in this position, from 1994-2000, she directed the development of two First Tee sites, brought an AJGA event to town, and led the Foundation to win the Card Walker Award, given by the PGA Tour for outstanding contributions to junior golf.
While in Kansas City , Sportsman was invited to serve as keynote speaker for the kick-off meeting of Kansas City's Chapter of the Executive Women's Golf Association.
Today Sportsman continues to write about golf, and to help spread the word about this great game which touches the lives of so many worldwide.
Sally J. Sportsman has had the good fortune to have been involved in golf in a number of ways.
Her presentations, based on those experiences, offer glimpses into how the game has affected her life and how she hopes she has affected the lives of others through golf. Through her storytelling Sportsman educates, entertains and inspires audiences about the game we all love.
Speaking engagement interest areas for Sally J. Sportsman encompass junior golf, The First Tee, college golf, her writing experiences, golf personalities and women in golf. A few of her cherished moments in golf, representing just some of the stories she tells, include:
Seeing her first bylined piece in a golf publication
Organizing the first-ever golf clinics for inner-city youth in Kansas City , and seeing their joy at learning the game
Observing Tom Watson as he showed off with pride the junior golf facility he designed and donated in Kansas City's Swope Park
Becoming acquainted with Tiger Woods at the NCAA Championships during his days as a Stanford Univsersity golfer, and watching him interact with his collegiate teammates
Finding the perfect trophy for the Palmer Cup, a sterling silver British antique loving cup circa 1935, through networking in the Golf Collectors Society
Meeting Sir Michael Bonallack, O.B.E., former Secretary of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, and standing with him out on the balcony of the R&A clubhouse, during the planning stages of the inaugural Palmer Cup
Sitting next to Arnold Palmer as he addressed the participants in the inaugural Palmer Cup, and seeing the rapt expressions on the college players' faces as they drank in the King's words
Getting to know Winnie Palmer, a warm and wonderful woman, at the inaugural Palmer Cup
Driving down the interstate listening to Judy Bell, then U.S.G.A. president, practice her speech for the Women's Big 12 Conference Golf Championship
Attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Colbert Hills, Jim Colbert's legacy golf course in Manhattan, Kansas, site of the National First Tee Academy, a model for the entire country
Serving as keynote speaker for the kick -off meeting of the Kansas City Chapter of the Executive Women's Golf Association, and sensing the excitement of the women over the new venture
Interviewing and writing about some of golf's most renowned and colorful personalities, including Ben Crenshaw, Curtis Strange, Phil Mickelson, Gary McCord, Tom Watson, Justin Leonard, Lee Janzen, Jim Nantz, Jay Haas, Scott Simpson, David Edwards, Jim Awtrey , Gary Schaal, Dr. John Reynolds HI, Wayne Levi and Mike Bender
Served as Communications Coordinator for the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA)
