Get Your Golf On!: Your Guide for Getting in the Game

"In this easy to read guide for beginning golfers, Debbie Waitkus of Golf for Cause
shares her enthusiasm for the game and encouragement for all those women [and men] who
want to play golf but are perhaps too intimidated to start. Beginning with her own
story of hitting the course for the first time, she answers every question a beginning
golfer is likely to ask. What to wear, what equipment to buy, borrow or rent,
where to practice, and basic tips about golf etiquette and rules every golfer should
know. Including reflections from a wide variety of recreational and professional
golfers, Get Your Golf On! offers inspiration for every beginning golfer. Deb's goal in
writing the book was to remove the fear factor so many new golfers face. Get Your
Golf On! does just that."
              ~ Pat Mullaly, Editor, GolfGurls.com

Get Your Golf On! contains information on:

• How to get started, including wardrobe and equipment
• Etiquette and basic rules, as well as how to drive a golf cart and read a scorecard
• How to take your game, even as a beginner, to the golf course
• Common golf terminology
• How golf can enrich your life

Debbie Waitkus, speaker, author and business/golf networking consultant is the President and Founder of Golf for Cause®. She is passionate about helping others Turn Golf into Gold®, enriching their lives both personally and professionally. Waitkus, whose professional background includes tenure as president of a successful mortgage banking firm, is also the author of Get Your Golf On! - Your Guide to Getting in the Game and a contributing author to the EWGA Foundation book, Teeing Up for Success. As a speaker, she skillfully weaves golf stories into lessons ranging from business and personal development to player development. New, aspiring and hesitant golfers attest that Debbie demystifies golf and rolls out an oversized welcome mat. A seasoned presenter, she has the ability to share information in an upbeat way that resonates well with her audience. Recognized by the Arizona Golf Association as a Champion of Golf and the YWCA as a Sports Leader, Debbie has collaborated with corporations and not-for-profit organizations in successfully developing and executing charitable giving and outreach plans that have resulted in raising more than $3 million. She considers herself fortunate to have served as co-tournament director, along with LPGA Co-Founder Marilynn Smith, of the Marilynn Smith LPGA Charity Pro Am, providing scholarships for young women to attend college. Honors and Recognition: • Arizona Golf Association - Champion of Golf • National Women's Golf Alliance - Co-Founder • Get Your Golf On! - Author • Marilynn Smith Scholarship Pro-Am - Tournament Director • Teeing Up for Success - Contributing Author • First Tee of Phoenix - Board of Directors • Women in the Golf Industry - Treasurer, Past-President • World Golf Foundation - Women's Task Force • Golfweek Magazine - Panelist • Arizona State University Sports Business Association - Advisory Board • YWCA - Sports Leader • University of Arizona - Entrepreneurial Leadership

Marilynn Smith started playing golf at the age of 12 - long before it was popular for women to be playing sports, let alone think about playing sports as a life-long profession. She could not have known then what a profound impact she would have on the game and what an important legacy she would leave for young women in generations to come. Marilynn was a three-time Kansas State Amateur champion (1946-48) and in 1949 she won the Inter-Collegiate title while attending the University of Kansas. She turned pro shortly after that and in 1950, at the age of 20, she was one of 13 co-founders of the Ladies Professional Golf Association. She was known as "Miss Personality" and the "LPGA's Goodwill Ambassador" on the LPGA Tour. And it was Marilynn, wearing pearls and heels, who often was pushed out to ad-lib the LPGA's earliest public relations efforts in front of fans, sponsors and the media. Accompanied by her fellow pros, she would often hit balls from home plate to the outfield and invite fans at Major League Baseball parks to come watch the local LPGA tournament. Once, she and Shirley Spork attended a boxing match with the goal of reminding fans between rounds to attend that week's LPGA event. But while Smith was a true girl-next-door native of Topeka who called herself "just an ordinary gal from the Kansas prairie who has lived an extraordinary life," she was a solid competitor on the LPGA Tour, wining 21 tournaments, including two major championships at the 1963 and 1964. Smith was always interested in helping the LPGA build a strong foundation. She served as the LPGA's president from 1958-1960, and along with players Betty Hicks, Barbara Rotvig and co-founder Shirley Spork, she helped launch what would become the LPGA Teaching &Club Professionals (T&CP) in 1959. As was typical in the LPGA's early days, Smith conducted golf clinics sponsored by Spalding in many of the 37 countries she visited. She participated in more than 4,000 golf clinics around the world and was a regular face in the LPGA "Swing Parade" clinics that were conducted for two decades. Since 1949, she estimated that she taught some 250,000 golfers while visiting all 50 states and 37 different countries. In October 2006, Marilynn was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame through the Lifetime Achievement Category. Marilynn's book, Have Clubs Will Travel, shares insights into the early days of the LPGA and her adventures along the way.

Pam Wright hails from Scotland, the home of golf, and has been playing golf since the age of 4. Her golf journey has taken her around the world and as she often says, "Golf has been good to me!" From age 12, Pam represented Scotland and started competing throughout Europe. Her first visit to America came in the Summer of 1984 when she competed in the Trans Amateur Championship and US Women's Amateur Championship. Earlier that summer in Scotland at the British Amateur Championship at Royal Troon GC Pam met Arizona State University standout Heather Farr. It was this meeting and new friendship that would change Pam's life forever. After meeting Heather Pam became an ASU Sun Devil under the guidance of Coach Linda Vollstedt. By Fall Semester 1986 Pam had a full NCAA Scholarship and was on her way to a new life and an exciting career in golf. Pam qualified for the LPGA Tour in 1988 and went on to be the 1989 LPGA Rookie of the Year. She played for 15 years before a recurring shoulder injury ended her playing career in 2004. Pam resides in Scottsdale, AZ and is Director of Instruction at Fire Rock Country Club. She is an Expert Golf Instructor who puts her students at ease and turns the confusion of the golf swing into straight forward easy to understand ideas that help them get results quickly and effortlessly. Her enthusiasm and passion for her students is infectious and her extensive knowledge of the game comes from years of competing and teaching around the world.