 |
|
HELEN
GAWLIK
USGTF Associate Member, Arlington Heights, Illinois
|
I am fifty-three
years old and have been golfing since the age of twelve. My
father was an avid golfer, and I was constantly following him
around on the course. Finally, picking up a club and seeing that
I had inherited his talents, my father hired a pro golfer at
Loring Air Force Base in Maine to teach me the fundamentals of
golf.
My first golf tournament at the age of 15 was absolutely
wonderful. Even though I was competing with the entire male
gender (my boyfriend too), I held my own and won the tournament.
What excitement there was in our household! Okay, my boyfriend
broke up with me because he could not believe that I would
actually go up against him. Oh, well, his problem, not mine.
Anyway, at the time I thought I was onto something great in my
life, until my dad was relocated to Langley Air Force Base in
Virginia. Starting off again at a new school, and no less my
last year of high school, was not what I bargained for. I did
keep playing, but my interest went somewhere else because of the
new location. I did continue to golf, but felt like I was being
pushed into another direction. Mistake! I got married and left
home. Big mistake! We won’t go through the entire next 28 years,
but as I try to advise my daughter: don’t leave home just
because you want and you think it’s better on the other side,
leave home when you are mentally and financially ready, and
definitely when no outsiders are influencing your plans you have
set in your life. Overall summary, if I could go backwards, I
would have listened to my father and already been retired as a
professional golfer.
So, here we are today. Over the past seven years, I have been
pursuing the passion and dream that somewhere I hid inside.
Well, it’s out and watch out!
My passion is to achieve and move forward into the golfing
world. I cannot join the LPGA and there is no senior women’s
division, so I am forwarding my passion as a certified associate
member golf instructor for the USGTF. I have already achieved
two levels (with the help of my tournament sponsors, and my
daughter) and cannot wait to achieve the other two levels.
Back to Member Profiles - Back
to Main Articles
