One of the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional founders, Betty Hicks, passed away on Sunday, February 20, 2011.

Hicks (born November 16, 1920) was an American professional golfer, golf coach and teacher, aviatrix, and author. She also competed under her married name, Betty Hicks Newell.

Hicks was born in Long Beach, California. As an amateur golfer, she won the 1941 U.S. Women's Amateur and was Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year. She turned professional later that year.

Hicks competed on the LPGA Tour, finishing second several times in the 1950s but never winning. She finished second in the U.S. Women's Open in 1948 and 1954 and third in 1957. She won the All American Open, which would later become a LPGA Tour event, in 1944.

Hicks also taught golf and coached several women's college teams.

In 1959, with Marilynn Smith serving as president, the LPGA membership voted to establish the Teaching membership. Shirley Spork, Barbara Rotvig, Betty Hicks and Marilynn Smith were the division's founding members and served on the first Teaching Committee, playing pivotal roles in creating guidelines and strategies for the LPGA Teaching membership's future growth.

As an author, Hicks co-authored the book "Golf Manual for Teachers" with Ellen Griffin in 1949. In 1996, she co-authored "Patty Sheehan on Golf" with Patty Sheehan. In 2006, she wrote "My Life: From Fairway to Airway" which chronicles her life in golf and her second career as a pilot.

Hicks was a member of the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Hall of Fame, the Long Beach Golf Hall of Fame, San Jose Sports Hall of Fame, the Women's Sports Foundation International Hall of Fame, the California Golf Writers Hall of Fame, and the International Forest of Friendship Aviation Hall of Fame. In 1999, she won the Ellen Griffin Rolex award for her efforts in helping the LPGA grow and in teaching the game of golf to women.

LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Founder Hicks Passes Away

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