A pharmaceutical sales executive who started playing golf when she was 8 and made history as the first woman to play in the US Open Celebrity Golf Challenge at Pebble Beach on June 10, 2010. I know Peggy's story will inspire you.

For the first time in the history of women's golf – and probably in the history of the men's U.S. Open – an amateur female golfer, Peggy Ference, age 51, from Skillman, NJ, played the Pebble Beach US Open course from the 7,040 yard tournament tees under tournament conditions on June 9th in the Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge – one week before the Open officially began. (Most average women golfers play from tees that are about 2,000 yards shorter.)

Her goal was to break 100 – a challenge Tiger Woods put in place a few years ago when after the U.S. Open at Oakmont (outside Pittsburgh) in 2007, he said that a ten-handicapper couldn't break 100 playing that course under US Open tournament conditions. Peggy didn't break 100 but she still made history.

This was the third year of the Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge. For this 2010 contest, which began accepting entries in December, Golf Digest received over twenty-four thousand 60-word essays from average golfers who each had their very own reason for wanting to play at Pebble. From those thousands of essays which are also part of a promotional sweepstakes, the Golf Digest judges selected five amateur golfers as finalists – four men and one woman.

The history-making news is that this is the first year that a female golfer has been a finalist. And the first year that the women's-network could go to work and deliver the on-line votes needed to win. We always knew that women were great on-line communicators and word-of-mouth marketers, and Peggy’s victory proved the point. For more background, see www.cybergolf.com/golf

After hearing of Peggy's victory, I wanted to know more about her and what motivated her to take on this challenge. I emailed her and asked for an interview. Following is our interview. I know you will enjoy meeting Peggy.

Q. Let's start at the beginning – when did you learn to play golf? Who inspired you?

A. I started to play golf when I was 8 years old in 1966. I was living in Springfield, Illinois and my parents had joined a private country club, the Illinois Country Club. To learn the basics, my mother signed us both up for a golf clinic sponsored by the YMCA.

What's really interesting is that at that golf clinic, I remember using my mother’s hickory-shafted clubs. My mom, who was a pretty amazing woman, managed to get a nursing degree, raise a family and even take up golf – probably back in the fifties when the LPGA was just getting started.

Q. I heard that you played Pebble Beach when you were ten.

A. Yes, that's true. When I was ten years old, our family went on a vacation to Pebble Beach. I have an older sister, and she and my dad scheduled a round of golf. I think that at the time, two golfers at Pebble were probably all our family could afford.

That day, however, turned out to be cold – too cold for me to go swimming. So, I begged my dad to take me along on the course. He finally agreed but told me to just sit in the cart and be good. I started bugging him: “Why can't I play? This isn't fair!” He said that when we get away from the club house he would let me hit a couple of shots.

As I remember it, we came to a hole that was surrounded by the ocean and was far away from the clubhouse. I know now that it was the 7th hole – the famous par three. My dad hit a shot that landed in a bunker. Then my sister hit a shot that also landed in the sand. My dad said "This is a perfect hole for you" and handed me my sister's 4 wood. I put my shot on the green and ended up parring the hole. He started laughing and we all couldn’t stop laughing about it.

Q. So would you say that you were a "natural" at the game?

A. Not really. I don’t recall being a “natural”. I credit the Illinois Country Club. They had a very active junior golf system in the summer – one that I have never seen anywhere else. The juniors played every Wednesday and were divided into groups – half hour group lesson and then we played on the course.

The key I think was that parents were involved. Parents had to agree to be a “walker” two times during the season and once during a tournament. The parents gave us encouragement, helped with the safety aspects, offered a few tips and made it possible for all the juniors to play on the course rather than just stay on a practice tee.

One summer because I had to take typing classes in the morning, I ended up playing with the older group of girls who played eighteen holes in the afternoon. I realized that I was playing as well as they were.

Q. Did you ever consider a career in golf – as a teacher or a tour player?

A. No. not at all. My dad was a pediatrician, and I worked in his office and loved it. But I didn't want to be a doctor or nurse. My goal was to do medical sales, get married and have ten children! It's not exactly what happened.

The drug company sales reps used to come in to the office. I couldn't believe that they got company cars. That really made an impression on me. I started asking them where they went to school and how they got their jobs.

My favorite rep had a pharmacy background and my chemistry teacher – a nun in the Catholic school I attended -- also had a pharmacy background. That's what led me to the St. Louis College of Pharmacy and in five years earned my bachelor of Pharmacy degree.

I always knew I wanted to be in sales because I am outgoing and love meeting people. I started working as a sales rep for the Eli Lilly Company, which at the time only hired pharmacists.

Q. Was your golf skill a help in your pharmaceutical sales career?

A. In our industry, we can't take physicians out to play golf. So I couldn’t use my golf there. But golf did come in handy when we were at national sales meetings. The president didn’t want to just play with guys because it was not a good diversity image. So I was the designated female in the president's foursome even though at the time I was playing to a sixteen handicap which meant that I could pretty consistently shoot between 88 and 92.

Q. And what about the marriage and ten kids?

A. I did get married, but about ten years later we divorced. And the ten kids never happened. And, I didn't play much golf during that period either -- except with my brothers and sister at family functions. My husband was not a golfer. Maybe I played five rounds a year and held on to my 16 handicap.

Q. What brought you to New Jersey?

A. After my divorce, I needed a change. In 2000 at the age of 42, I took a new job with ImClone Systems and moved to Skillman, New Jersey, which is just a few miles from Princeton. The move was something of a wake-up-call for me.

I decided that in my new life I was going to play golf again. I joined Cherry Valley Country Club where there were a core of good golfers to play with – both men and women – and no “men’s-only” tee times.

Most important, that's where I met Allan Bowman, the Director of Golf at Cherry Valley. It was a turning point in my golf – and my life.

Q. Talk a little more about this turning point and Allan's role in it.

A. It starts with a wonderful woman golfer at Cherry Valley, Mickey Burgess – a role model for me. She had a 4 handicap and was the women's Club Champion.

One day – in 2002, I made the statement to Allan that I had a goal. My goal was to get down to a single digit handicap and be the Club champ.
Allan asked if I was really serious. When I said, "Yes", he made me an offer that I couldn't refuse. He said that he and his assistant were at the range every morning at 6 a.m. where they work on their game for an hour before the shop opens.

If I was really serious – and came every day – and they really meant "every” day at 6 a.m., they would take me on as their project. So I start getting up very, very early and making it to the practice tee by 6. I worked on my game for an hour and then took a shower and went to work.

Q. Did they make many changes to your swing?

A. I would call it a complete overhaul. At our first lesson, they asked me what ball I played with. I told them I played with any ball regardless of the brand. They wanted to know how far I hit every club, and I couldn't answer that question. I remember Allan saying, "We are going to have to do a lot of stuff with you.”

They changed my grip, my swing plane, my putting. I had been putting with a reverse grip and they took me back to a regular grip and cut my putter down much shorter. Now I have a pendulum putting stroke with my arms straight down.

Q. How would you describe your swing?

A. I think it's a strong swing. People tell me that I have a beautiful swing. It's evolved over the years. When I learned golf as a junior, the equipment and the instruction were different. I learned in the era of the "reverse C" which was needed to get the ball up into the air. That means when my game is off and I revert back to old habits, I’m a slider and dipper. When that happens I have to tell myself to just "stay tall."

I think that I swing naturally. I describe it as: "When you are playing your best game, it feels like God is holding your hand."

I am a thinker and pretty analytic – always reviewing everything and every conversation. But, when I am on the golf course, I have the ability to let that over-thinking go… and stay in the moment.

Q. Everyone will want to know: What equipment are you using?

A. Well, I'm a "Ping girl" – driver, woods, hybrids and most irons. My 56-degree wedge is a TaylorMade. And my 60-degree wedge is the Titleist Vokey. I have a couple of other wedges also. My putter is the Odyssey two-ball putter. And I play a Titleist ProV1 ball. My favorite club is my 7 iron which I hit 135 yards. I’m counting on that club working for me.

Q. What about that driver?

A. My Ping driver is special. It has a pink Aldila shaft – the same one that Bubba Watson uses and Paula Craemer also. It has a special meaning for me because revenue from the sales of that pink shaft goes to breast cancer research. I call it my “Mom’s Club” because my mom died of breast cancer twenty years ago. I feel like I have her with me when I play.

Q. Let's talk about how you are preparing for Pebble Beach? What's first on your list?

A. This may surprise you. First on my list is that I pray a lot. In fact, every morning I say: "Dear God, let me accept whatever you are about to present to me out there and to enjoy it and understand the lesson." Clearly in my mind there is a lesson out there. Because how do I come to grips with being one of 24,000 entries and ultimately getting all these people behind me to win this contest.

Q. Has religion always been an important part of your life?

A. Only in the last few years do I consider myself a religious person. I went to Catholic schools and was pretty typical. When things were bad, I went to mass. But when things were "OK", church wasn’t that important.

When I lost my job two years ago and things were bad, I started going back to mass. Usually I can pick myself up – but I was having a hard time getting another job. We have a great pastor here who helped me shift from feeling sorry for myself to becoming more involved in my church and my community.

As I look back on those two job-less years, I have come to view them as really rewarding. My mother was a devout Catholic and went to mass every day. So in some regards, my re-discovering my Catholic faith is a tribute to her.

Q. I know you have a strong fitness training in place, but let’s get back to golf and the shots you are concentrating on in these final weeks?

A. My achilles heel is my 30-yard shot. I spent April working on drives, long hybrids, putting and my 8 and 9 iron for short chips. But now that I won the contest, I have to be more efficient in my time. I am taking two lessons a week and only working on my 30-yard shots out of heavy rough. High, soft shots with my sand wedge that hit the green, bounce twice and stop.

Q. All during our conversation, I have sensed how important your family is to you. And I know that one of your brothers died on a golf course.

A. Everyone in our family played golf, so that is a special bond. My older brother, Mike, died of a heart attack after finishing the 18th hole on a course in Georgia on his way to watch the Masters. It was a trip of a lifetime for him. As a good luck charm, I carry a ball that he had in his bag – a ball marked with a smiley face. After my brother Mike died, we were going through the things on his bedside table. On top of everything was a scorecard with a round on it when he beat me!

I also have a younger brother Matt who will be at Pebble Beach. He also likes to play competitively with me. I asked Matt to come to New Jersey and play in the Women’s Metropolitan Golf Association Sister-Brother Tournament. We had fun. But we didn’t win anything!

Q. We have really been talking mainly about your golf. I want to shift our conversation and get your thoughts on the bigger picture. What about teaching juniors? And what are your thoughts about the declining number of women golfers?

A. For a number of years I have stated that my retirement goal is to work with juniors and women golfers. Learning to play golf can be very embarrassing and humiliating – lots of swings and misses. Women don’t want to be publicly embarrassed. I think in the beginning – for both women and kids – golf has to be fun. Hit the ball eight times – then pick it up and put it down at a place where you can hit it to the green.

I also think that women need to focus on getting that ball into the air – even if it means using a tee on the course. And women need to play on the course – even if just one hole. Imagine a place where you can go with your friends or husband for 2 or 4 hours – no cell phones, no kids, no interruptions. Golf has to advertise that benefit.

I think the trend towards shorter tees for women is great. If women score better, they will feel better and play more. That’s a tipping point for the industry and the growth of women’s golf.

Q. And, my final question: Why do you love to play golf?

A. I love golf because every time you play, it’s different. You can never perfect it and it’s a constant challenge. It’s the most mentally stimulating and challenging thing I do. But now that I have my handicap down to a 5, it’s both a blessing and curse. When I shoot 82, it’s a bad day. I’m hoping for a really good day at Pebble on June 9th!

How did she do? Not as well as she expected. Her practice round went well, but on the day of the tournament, with all the cameras and her celebrity caddy, Corey Pavin, she admitted to distracting nerves. More importantly, the fescue rough was extremely heavy and had been mowed away from the greens. So, every shot that went astray into the rough turned out to be very costly. Peggy shot a 118 and loved every minute of it!

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