Laura Baugh
Encyclopedia
Laura Zonetta Baugh is an American
golf
er, who played the LPGA Tour for 25 years. She is a published writer
and golf broadcaster.
. As a child she won the National PeeWee Golf Championship five times, her first coming at age three. Her parents divorced when she was 11 years old, and she moved with her mother from their Florida home to Long Beach, California
. Her father Hale Baugh, a lawyer
, was a very good amateur golfer, who introduced his children to golf at early ages. Her older brother Beau Baugh played professionally for a time. She graduated from high school at the age of 16 with excellent grades. She studied at Long Beach City College
and California State University, Long Beach
. Lacking the money to pay green fees, she and friends would sneak onto golf courses to play. At age 14 she won her first of two straight Los Angeles
Women's City Golf Championships.
, she defeated Beth Barry in the 36-hole final match to win the U.S. Women's Amateur
, becoming the youngest champion in the event's 76-year history to that stage. Her physical appearance brought her considerable publicity, and for 1971 she was chosen as a Los Angeles Times
"Woman of the Year". In 1972 she won Golf Digest's
"Most Beautiful Golfer." She made a television commercial for UltraBrite
toothpaste that won a Clio Award
. Baugh was a member of the U.S. teams that won the 1972 Curtis Cup
and the 1972 Espirito Santo Trophy
.
, but she declined because Stanford did not have a women's golf team. She turned professional in late 1972 and played several pro events in Japan
, where her appearance attracted immense interest and publicity. She had not yet turned 18 so she was ineligible to join the LPGA Tour, but she was eligible to play in Japan. She earned her LPGA Tour card on her first attempt in 1973, and the very next week placed second in her Tour debut. She earned 1973 Rookie of the Year honors.
and emotional problems took over her life, and she never won an LPGA tournament. Her drinking caused spontaneous bleeding that could have ended her life, had she not sought treatment that included time at the Betty Ford Clinic in 1996. She described her battle with alcohol in a 1999 book titled "Out of the Rough."
During her professional golf career from 1973 through 2001, Baugh earned 71 top-10 finishes, including ten runner-ups. She earned significant prize money, and supplemented this with even greater earnings from endorsements and golf outings, after signing with the International Management Group upon turning professional. She became a member of the Women's Senior Golf Tour, and has also worked as a television announcer for The Golf Channel
. She operates "Laura Baugh Golf Workshops for Women Only".http://www.laurabaugh.com/
Baugh has been married four times, twice to Bobby Cole, the father of her seven children.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er, who played the LPGA Tour for 25 years. She is a published writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and golf broadcaster.
Early life, family
Baugh was born in Gainesville, FloridaGainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
. As a child she won the National PeeWee Golf Championship five times, her first coming at age three. Her parents divorced when she was 11 years old, and she moved with her mother from their Florida home to Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
. Her father Hale Baugh, a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, was a very good amateur golfer, who introduced his children to golf at early ages. Her older brother Beau Baugh played professionally for a time. She graduated from high school at the age of 16 with excellent grades. She studied at Long Beach City College
Long Beach City College
Long Beach City College, established in 1927, is a community college located in Long Beach, California. It is divided into two campuses. The Liberal Arts Campus, known as LAC, is located in the residential community of the Lakewood Village section of Long Beach, on Carson Street west of Clark Avenue...
and California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach is the second largest campus of the California State University system and the third largest university in the state of California by enrollment...
. Lacking the money to pay green fees, she and friends would sneak onto golf courses to play. At age 14 she won her first of two straight Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
Women's City Golf Championships.
Wins U.S. Women's Amateur, awards
In 1971, at age 16, at the Atlanta Country Club in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, she defeated Beth Barry in the 36-hole final match to win the U.S. Women's Amateur
United States Women's Amateur Golf Championship
The U.S. Women's Amateur is the leading golf tournament in the United States for female amateur golfers. It is played annually and is one of the 13 United States national golf championships organized by the United States Golf Association . Female amateurs from all nations are eligible to compete...
, becoming the youngest champion in the event's 76-year history to that stage. Her physical appearance brought her considerable publicity, and for 1971 she was chosen as a Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
"Woman of the Year". In 1972 she won Golf Digest's
Golf Digest
Golf Digest is a monthly golf magazine published by Condé Nast Publications in the United States. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competitive golf. Condé Nast Publications also publishes the more specialized , and Golf World Business. The...
"Most Beautiful Golfer." She made a television commercial for UltraBrite
Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive Company is an American diversified multinational corporation focused on the production, distribution and provision of household, health care and personal products, such as soaps, detergents, and oral hygiene products . Under its "Hill's" brand, it is also a manufacturer of...
toothpaste that won a Clio Award
Clio Awards
The Clio Awards are annual awards bestowed to reward innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design and communication. The categories include work in nearly all types of media, and the judges are advertising professionals from around the world....
. Baugh was a member of the U.S. teams that won the 1972 Curtis Cup
Curtis Cup
The Curtis Cup is the best known team trophy for women amateur golfers, awarded in the biennial Curtis Cup Match . It is co-organised by the United States Golf Association and the Ladies Golf Union and is contested by teams representing the United States and "Great Britain and Ireland"...
and the 1972 Espirito Santo Trophy
Espirito Santo Trophy
The Espirito Santo Trophy is a biennial world amateur team golf championship for women organised by the International Golf Federation. The inaugural event was held in 1964 and recent tournaments have featured teams from around forty countries. It is a strokeplay event, in which the best two...
.
Turns professional
Baugh was offered a full academic scholarship to Stanford UniversityStanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, but she declined because Stanford did not have a women's golf team. She turned professional in late 1972 and played several pro events in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, where her appearance attracted immense interest and publicity. She had not yet turned 18 so she was ineligible to join the LPGA Tour, but she was eligible to play in Japan. She earned her LPGA Tour card on her first attempt in 1973, and the very next week placed second in her Tour debut. She earned 1973 Rookie of the Year honors.
Struggles
Despite her successful start and prodigious talent, alcoholismAlcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and emotional problems took over her life, and she never won an LPGA tournament. Her drinking caused spontaneous bleeding that could have ended her life, had she not sought treatment that included time at the Betty Ford Clinic in 1996. She described her battle with alcohol in a 1999 book titled "Out of the Rough."
During her professional golf career from 1973 through 2001, Baugh earned 71 top-10 finishes, including ten runner-ups. She earned significant prize money, and supplemented this with even greater earnings from endorsements and golf outings, after signing with the International Management Group upon turning professional. She became a member of the Women's Senior Golf Tour, and has also worked as a television announcer for The Golf Channel
The Golf Channel
Golf Channel, known as The Golf Channel before the July 2008 dropping of The, is an American cable television network with coverage focused on the game of golf. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, the American headquarters and studio are currently located in Orlando, Florida...
. She operates "Laura Baugh Golf Workshops for Women Only".http://www.laurabaugh.com/
Baugh has been married four times, twice to Bobby Cole, the father of her seven children.