Ex-Hockey Player Envisions Second Career
Ken Gustafson is considering a career change, but the longtime local educator hasn’t given up his day job just yet - at least not permanently.
Gustafson, 52, has taught locally for 26 years, but took a leave of absence as a fifth-grade teacher at Woodridge Elementary this semester to scratch his itch to become a golf professional.
He is currently giving golf lessons and working on his own game at Beacon Hill Golf Center. Gustafson said he hopes to attend the Senior PGA Tour qualifying school in California later this summer, and might try to become a PGA club professional if he doesn’t make the Senior Tour.
“It’s just something I’ve always wanted to do,” explained Gustafson, who carries a zero handicap as one of the area’s top amateur golfers. “I’ve always enjoyed the game and thought I might want to do it as a second career.
“But I’m really just kind of getting my feet wet here (at Beacon Hill).”
Gustafson, who also played senior hockey for the Spokane Jets and Spokane Flyers, realizes that qualifying for the Senior Tour is “a tough deal.
“But if you don’t try, you’ll never know,” he added. “And working here at Beacon Hill is ideal for me, because I can practice all the shots.”
Gustafson, who is still a co-holder of the course record at Wandermere with a 9-under-par 62, said he might return to teaching elementary classes this fall if he doesn’t qualify.
LPGA star on way to Hayden Lake
Sandra Palmer, a former Women’s United States Open champion and 21-time winner on the LPGA Tour, will begin a five-month stint of on-the-job training as an assistant club professional at Hayden Lake Country Club this month.
According to Hayden Lake head professional Dan Hill, Palmer will join his staff May 15 and will be available for member and non-member lessons on a space-available basis until Oct. 10. Palmer will spend time in the golf shop and on the lesson tee as she prepares to take over as the head professional at Lookaway Golf Club in upstate Pennsylvania in 1998.
“We feel very fortunate to have her,” said Hill, who is already scheduling lessons for club members. Hill said he met Palmer four years ago when she was in Hayden Lake working on her game with Randy Henry, of Henry Griffitts Precision Club Fitting.
“She came out and played a couple of times and we struck up a friendship,” Hill said. “She actually was looking at moving to this area because she likes it here so much. But then she got offered this (Lookaway) job.”
Palmer, 56, won the U.S. Open in 1975 and finished as the LPGA’s leading money winner and player of the year that season. She has earned $1,354,002 since joining the Tour in 1964.
Palmer has played a limited number of LPGA events the past six years and pocketed only $1,967 while playing in 15 tournaments in 1996.
Hill said Palmer will do her own scheduling of lessons with non-members once she arrives at his club.
Calling all caddies
The Junior League of Spokane will stage its Junior Caddy Tournament Saturday, May 10, at Manito Golf and Country Club, with the top performers earning the opportunity to caddy for one of the four touring professionals - Tom Lehman, Annika Sorenstam, Peter Jacobsen and Tom Weiskopf - at the Junior League’s 1997 Golf Exhibition in September.
The tournament is open to students in grades 9-12 with handicaps of 15 and under. Caddies for the exhibition will be selected on a combination of golf ability, caddy skills, golf etiquette and knowledge of golf rules.
For more information, contact Meg Lindsay at (509) 747-1109.
Good Guys
Tournament on tap The 16th-annual Good Guys Golf Tournament will be held May 17-18 at the Avondale Golf Club in Hayden Lake. Entry fee of $80 includes green fees, but the field will be limited to 120 players. For more information, call (208) 772-5963.
, DataTimes