Aurora LPGA golf pioneer still bringing women into the game

BY BRAIDON NOURSE FOR SENTINEL COLORADO

Karen DeSantis knew early on in becoming a golf pro, the journey would take her far beyond the course.

Almost 40 years after starting down that path, she’s arrived.

“It was just something I wanted real badly,” DeSantis said. “I just loved it.”

She has the same passion now as she did when she rst picked up her own club: Grow the game and make it more accessible to any who might want to try it, especially women. DeSantis’ dedication to the game, and a welcoming and helpful demeanor to those who come to her for guidance, has long been her trademark teaching and coaching on Aurora courses.

Her love for the game started at 31. She would go out to courses with her husband, Carl DeSantis, to spend time with him while he played. She got bored watching and wanted to try it out herself. She took lessons and never looked back.

She once thought of going on tour, but money mattered, and teaching, and the stable income that comes with it was more appealing.

DeSantis started certi cation from the Ladies Professional Golf Association. In order to do that, she needed to work at least part-time at a golf course to gain experience and earn no less than an associate’s degree in a business–related eld. So she got to work.

Beginning as a part-time instructor at Springhill Golf Course in 1980, where DeSantis teaches today, she had to work nights as a server at Red Lobster to supplement her income. All the while, she went to Pickens Technical Institute in Aurora to get her associate’s degree in management of technology.

“It was a struggle, but I was pretty young,” DeSantis said. “Teaching just became my outlet. When I was on the lesson tee, I was in my own world and my own boss.”

Helping people solve a problem with a swing or a putt was as satisfy- ing as her own personal wins.

By 1984, she was o cially an LPGA Pro.

While she was working toward her LPGA Pro certi cation at Meadow Hills Golf Course — where she worked for a few years between stints at Springhill — DeSantis noticed the virtual dearth of female players. Tee times were dominated by men, especially on weekends when working women had time o , too, and could theoretically take tee times of their own.

She wanted to see more women in golf, so she decided to take action.

DeSantis came up with a proposal to the then Head PGA Pro of Meadow Hills, Mickey Byrne: come up with a program encouraging women to learn the game, socialize, have fun and, ultimately, compete.

Byrne was all for it. After he and DeSantis got the OK from the City of Aurora’s manager of golf, Dennis Lyon, the Working Women’s program was up and running in 1984.

In its inaugural season, there were about 45 members. By the second season, it exploded to more than 100 members. With the boost in popularity and a novel idea, Aurora Hills Golf Course o ered their course to the group.

Today, more than 150 Working Women rotate rounds between all ve Aurora city golf courses every weekend, backed by the Colorado Women’s Golf Association.

Over time, DeSantis realized the e ect of bringing more women into golf was about much more than just the game. Many women who came to play were leaders in their industries. Some were bringing clients out to courses to play. Not only were women learning to play golf, but also about the social intricacies of golf that can often drive business connections.

Most important, though, were the friendly, casual relationships on the course that women could make with other women.

“( e social aspect) is very important,” DeSantis said. “ ere’s still to this day so many women that want to go and play with other women, but don’t have an outlet. So that’s where the Working Women’s (program) came into play. … It kind of expanded and blew up, and now there’s all kinds of ladies groups that you can join.” ough female participation in golf has been growing slowly since DeSantis has been a pro, the COVID-19 pandemic is where it really began to skyrocket. e National Golf Foundation reported that in 2019, there were 5.6 million female golfers. Today, there are 6.4 million, a 15% increase in the female player base in comparison to a 2% increase in male players during that time period.

“Way unexpected,” DeSantis said. “I mean, the lessons went crazy, the rounds went crazy. Most of it was because it was one of the few sports that people could still come out (and play). … I think it introduced a lot of people back into the sport and into the sport.”

She has taught LPGA 101, a beginner’s golf lessons program for women and their families, since its inception in 2019. at’s when she began to work with Dan O’Shaughnessy, who took over as Head PGA Pro at Springhill in 2020.

O’Shaughnessy, whose main goal is to expose the game to as many people as possible, built a dedicated learning area in 2021 for DeSantis and others to teach newcomers. Even though 70-year-old DeSantis retired in 2021, O’Shaughnessy has kept the door open for her to teach on weekends, a nod to the value she brings to the course.

Plus, DeSantis doesn’t think she’ll ever stop wanting to teach.

“I would say Karen is a bit of an anomaly in that she still loves to teach after” 40 years in the business, O’Shaughnessy said. “A lot don’t. … (She’s) passionate about teaching, helping golfers, giving them the tools for starting out. She’s just really good at knowing what to give people and how much to give them, so (students) aren’t overwhelmed.” at passion and knack for teaching is what got Liz Vonau to stick around for a ve-lesson course from DeSantis.

Vonau had a little experience golfing as a teenager with her father, but she never got into it. Last summer, at 41, she decided to jump back in. She wanted to take up something outdoorsy, and with her father still being an avid golfer, she wanted to be able to do that with him.

One of the only ways to get better at golf is to go out and play a course, but for many new golfers, doing so can be intimidating at rst. According to Vonau, DeSantis has a air for making the learning process more comfortable.

“She really taught you the basics, but then also taught you to not be intimidated,” Vonau said. “It was just like building that con dence of (saying) if you hit well, you don’t need to hit far. (She) really makes you feel like you don’t have to be the best player, you don’t have to be the farthest hitter to go and play and have fun.”

A year after taking lessons from DeSantis, Vonau still plays with her dad every week.

Karen said her husband mentored her during her career in golf, as they traveled across the country during winters to play as she got better at the game. Her fondest memories were when she and Carl played golf in Hawaii on two occasions to celebrate anniversaries. is year will be their 40th anniversary.

DeSantis said that her proudest accomplishments were earning her LPGA Pro certi cation and becoming the rst assistant golf pro at Springhill when she moved back there from Meadow Hills in 1987.

“To have the opportunity that they gave me was just such a blessing,” DeSantis said. “I’ve never regretted it, I never regretted getting into the LPGA. I’ve been around the city so long that I don’t go somewhere where I don’t meet someone, and they tell me a story.” is Sentinel story via e Associated Press’ Storyshare, of which Colorado Community Media is a member.