Legendary Coach Goldie Bateson

Goldie M. Bateson was a member of the LPGA Professionals (formerly Teaching and Club Professionals) since its inception in 1959 and a pioneer in the golf teaching industry.

Born Sept. 9, 1915, in Milwaukee, Wis., Bateson had a successful amateur career. She began playing golf in 1928 at the age of 13 and in the same year won the Wisconsin State Junior Golf Championship. Bateson was a five-time Milwaukee Women's District Golf champion and two-time Wisconsin State Women's Golf champion. From 1934-40, she participated in the Women's Western, Trans-Mississippi and U.S. Women's Amateur Golf Championships.

Bateson had been an active member of the LPGA since she turned pro in 1954. She became the first female head golf professional in Wisconsin when she went to work at the W.A. Roberts Golf Course in 1956. In the early 1960s, she participated in the first National Teaching Schools, both as a student and an instructor. Bateson aided junior youth programs, local recreation departments and the YMCA, as well as coaching golf in high school. In addition, she sponsored golf seminars in Milwaukee and trained and taught nine assistant golf professionals.

In 1965, Bateson was recognized as the LPGA National Teacher of the Year. In 1978, she achieved Master Professional classification, the most distinguished and highest classification for an LPGA Professionals member.

In 1976, LPGA Commissioner, Ray Volpe, decided the Teaching Division, which consisted of a few cardboard boxes and an electric typewriter that were passed from one National Chairperson to another, needed help. Volpe invited one member from each section to come to New York, where he presented his idea of allowing the Teaching Division to organize and govern itself. The members who were present became the first LPGA Section Presidents and were designated as the “Teaching Committee.” They were:

Central Section: Scherry Allison
Midwest Section: Goldie Bateson
Northeast Section: Carrie Russell
Southeast Section: Marge Burns
Western Section: Joanne Winter

Among the items on the agenda at this meeting were:

Write the Constitution and By-Laws for the Teaching Division
Appoint officers for each section
Begin monthly Section Newsletters to members
Implement education seminars in each section
Find all the members in each section and determine:
- Correct address/phone number/current employment information
- current classification and date of eligibility for next classification
- whether members wanted to continue under the new administration and governing laws being put into practice.

Meeting every six months at various locations, the Teaching Committee tackled such chores as setting policy and procedure, initiating disciplinary action for violations of the Constitution, and setting duties for each section officer and future members of the Teaching Committee.

Western Section President, Joanne Winter, and Northeast Section President, Goldie Bateson, were commissioned with rewriting the tests for Apprentice, Class B and Class A certifications. The committee also elected the Teaching Division's first National President: Scherry Allison. Bateson served as the Midwest Section President from 1976 to 1978.

In 1981, Bateson was inducted into the Wisconsin State Golf Hall of Fame. In 1983, Bateson was named Honorary Golf Consultant to the National Golf Foundation. In 1984, she received the National Golf Foundation's Outstanding Service Award. Bateson was the 1993 recipient of the LPGA's Ellen Griffin Rolex Award. During the LPGA's 50th Anniversary celebration in 2000, Bateson was recognized as one of the LPGA's top 50 players and teachers. In 2002, she was inducted into the LPGA Professionals Hall of Fame. She passed away Feb. 1, 2003 in Brookfield, Wis., after a short illness. She was 87 years old.

The previous recipients of the LPGA Midwest Section’s Goldie Bateson Service Award are:

YEAR	AWARD RECIPIENT
2025	Susan Fromuth
2024	Nancy Quarcelino
2023	Ann Bloomfield
2022	Jill Mann Strite
2021	Janet Darnell
2020	Debbie Williams- Hoak
2019	Terri Boehm
2018	Martha Malott
2017	Suzanne Noblett
2016	Rita Reasons
2015	Maria Palozola
2014	Louise Ball
2013	Penny Porter
2012	Patricia Gray
2011	Faith Egli
2010	No Recipient
2009	Betty Kaufmann
2008	Sheila Tansey
2007	No Recipient
2006	Beverly Miller
2005	Alecia Larsen
2004	Dr. Constance Hein
2003	Paula Wagasky
2002	No Recipient
2001	No Recipient
2000	Paula Wagasky
1999	Dr. Dede Owens
1998	Fran Kocsis
1997	Laurel Dieken
1996	Jan Nolting
1995	No Recipient
1994	Kelly Trent
1993	Nora McGuire
1992	Goldie Bateson

Goldie Bateson Service Award

The LPGA Midwest Section