Published: May 20, 2015
Hafeman overcomes doubt, criticism with induction
1975 East grad to be honored
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News
Eventually, golf was kind to Mary Hafeman, a 1975 graduate
of West Bend East.
At first, however, it was a bit torturous on her self-esteem
as it tested her mental toughness — and that criticism took place away from the
links.
Naysayers and traditionalists were appalled at the idea of a
woman being involved in golf, let alone be any good at it. Since its
introduction centuries ago, golf was a man’s sport. But even the use of the
word “sport” was challenged: What athleticism is needed to hit a stationary
object and walk to it afterward?
Tonight, Hafeman will be the lone inductee into the West
Bend Athletics Wall of Fame because of her determination, hard work and
success, eventually building a resume that is internationally respected by
women and men around the world.
The induction will take place during the high schools’
annual senior student-athlete awards banquet.
“It’s awesome,” Hafeman, 58, said. “It’s such an honor to
come back. This is the foundation of my whole career.”
In 1974, Hafeman was voted as East’s best athlete on the
front page of the school newspaper, “The Horizon.”
The article featured a picture of her holding a trophy from
the Northeastern Wisconsin Golf Association. She had already been a junior
state medalist in Wisconsin and was the starting point guard on a basketball
team that lost four games in her high school career.
Hafeman was also the first WIAA girls golf state champion in
1972.
Hafeman’s brother came home from school after the story
appeared in the paper and flashed it with a note from East’s football coach.
The note said, “How can she be East’s top athlete?”
“My brother was not happy and embarrassed, and I was too at
first,” Hafeman recalled. “Then my parents said, ‘They are jealous. Don’t worry
about it and ignore it.’” The Title IX gender equity law, which gave girls and
women across the country a chance at being treated equally in athletics, passed
in June 1972. But the struggles were still there and it took years for women to
be accepted as athletes.
For Hafeman and golf, it took longer.
The doubt continued long after high school. Her breakthrough
for being accepted as a woman in golf came when she attended her first PGA
Apprentice class in the 1980s where she was trying to become a PGA Golf
Professional.
How tough was it for her? She was the lone woman in a room
of about 200 men.
As a bachelorette, she smiled.
As a woman trying to earn respect in a man’s sport, she
struggled.
“I get there early and sit at a table for eight people by
myself thinking others would sit with me,” Hafeman said. “Well, no. The entire
morning session, no one sat with me at that table.”
During lunch, she called her mother upset. Hafeman used a
lesson taught to her by her parents to get through it — to be respectful of
others and take the high road.
She did that, but with a little twist.
Hafeman walked into the room a few minutes late with all the
men sitting in the room. She grabbed a chair and sat down with a group of guys
already seated at the table.
The tactic worked.
By the end of the session, she was involved in the
discussion and was later asked by the men if she wanted to join them to study.
“I sat with that group the entire session and still have
communication with them to this day,” Hafeman said. “I guess they figured out I
was just like them.”
Hafeman’s introduction to golf came as a child when her
father worked as a salesman for West Bend Co. He’d often go to the golf course
with prospective clients, hoping to close a deal on the links.
Hafeman often had to tag along with her mom, her brothers
and sisters.
“I learned how to play golf and I really loved it,” Hafeman
said. “It was fun.”
While she doesn’t think so, Hafeman can be considered a
pioneer in women’s golf.
In addition to winning the first WIAA girls golf state
championship, she became the first female head golf professional in Florida —
at the Ponce de Leon Resort in St. Augustine, Florida.
She was also one of the first women golf professionals
elected to the PGA of America in 1987.
Hafeman and three classmates formed the first girls golf
team at East. That group of finished second at the inaugural WIAA state
tournament in 1972, falling short by four strokes to Madison West.
The coach of the Suns was soon-to-be fellow Wall of Fame
member Geri Birkholz after they had begged four other teachers to do it.
Birkholz had played some golf and that helped, Hafeman said.
She earned a scholarship to golf at the University of
Florida.
At Florida, Hafeman was the Gators' most valuable player in
1978 and 1979 She was the Women's Western Amateur champion in 1979, played on
the 1980 Curtis Cup team — the equivalent to the Walker Cup for men — and was
the 1981 Women’s Eastern Amateur champion.
Also in 1979, she was a semifinalist at the USGA Women’s
Amateur championship.
Hafeman played on the LPGA Tour from 1982-85, with her best
finish being tied for 30th at the LPGA Corning Classic in 1984 in Corning, New
York. She also played in five U.S. Opens.
Hafeman’s career ended in 1985, not long after being injured
in a car accident in Arizona. It was her dream since she was 12 years old — she
wanted to be on the LPGA Tour.
“I had a mission; I really loved the game,” Hafeman said. “I
loved the competition.”
In 2005, she was the LPGA Southeast Section Professional of
the Year. Other accolades include 2011 and 2012 PGA Northern Chapter-North
Florida Section Teacher of the Year, 2012, 2014 and 2015 PGA Northern
Chapter-North Florida Section Player Development Award, 2014 Golf Range
Association of America Top 50 Growing the Game Teacher, and Golf for Women’s
Top 50 teacher.
In 2009, Hafeman started a golf academy — the Mary Hafeman
Golf Experience in Florida — where she teaches young and older golfers about
the game.
She also does lessons at Missing Links Golf Club in Mequon.
In 1998, she was inducted into the University of Florida
Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2003, she was inducted into the Wisconsin State Golf
Association’s Hall of Fame. “All these situations made me stronger as a person
and as an athlete,” Hafeman said. “So now I look back and thank those people
for using me as a motivation.
“It wasn’t fun then, but it has help me be the better person
for not crying about it or letting it bother me.”
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