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PATTY JORDAN
Life Athletes Biography
Sports as the Driving Range of Life...
Meet Patty Jordan, LGPA Golfer ('83-'97)
Life Athletes Officer
Life in the LPGA...
Patty talks about her beginnings. After graduating from Wake Forest (alma
mater of Arnold Palmer), Patty did not even then intend to play pro. The
first step in ladies' pro golf is the Mini Tour, where golfers pay to play
every week. Patty said this about paying to play:
I was working in a pro shop in Miami, and I had a very nice boss who would
let me leave and play in the tournaments... Every cent I had I needed to
survive; when I was thirsty out on the course I would wait for my one Coke
of the day. I could only have one because that was all I could
afford.
The next step after the Mini Tour is the Qualifying School. It's intense
and competitive, like the bar exam for lawyers or boot camp for Marines.
If you pass, you make the money list. If you fail, you sit out an entire
season before you can try again. Patty made the money list on her second
try, making it to the highest level, "Exempt."
 Ever wonder how people get hooked on golf? Patty says it happens when you
make that one perfect shot. You chase it until you can do it again... and
again... and again. Patty says to aspiring golfers: There is no room for
pictures on the scorecard. Perfect shots or ugly golf can get the same
end result. Don't get hung up on the process.
Being a Life Athlete...in Patty's own words.
I have made the Life Athletes commitment, and I agree with it. It is
well-written. It is a challenge, even now. When you're younger, outside
pressures are the hardest thing to deal with. These decrease when you get
older, but you're always going to fight against yourself.
Commitment 4,"I will try again", is not that different from what you see
in success books these days. Failure is a learning tool, and so it is not
to be feared. It's actually becoming popular not to quit! Just
remember, in all areas of life, that if you get burned once, you can try
other available ways until you find success. Figure out what works! For
instance, pure will power might not work in achieving the Life Athlete
commitments, so try another option. If the New Age option (finding your
"greater self") doesn't empower you, again, try another option. If you
keep asking questions, eventually you'll find peace, because there is only
one True answer, God.
Commitment 3, "I will respect life..." I started getting really involved
in life ministries about 5 years ago. We have down in Florida the "Patty
Jordan Love the Children Golf Classic", which raises money for crisis
pregnancy centers. I've been with Life Athletes for about three years. I
am also part of a Christian fellowship on the LPGA tour, and for the past
eight years we've been involved in building projects like Habitat for
Humanity. One year the girls raised about 35,000 to pay for a new house.
All this has earned me the nickname of "The God Squad", but when we lost a
couple of girls on the tour to breast cancer a couple of years ago, people
started changing their opinions about me.
Commitment 2, " I will only give myself to that special person who I
marry." If you feel like everything out there is an option, it feels like
you're always saying "no". Abstinence is an option, it can be done, but
it depends what you focus on. If your eyes have a conscience, and you
stay away from the movies and books that we all know affect you, you won't
need to flash a neon "no"sign in your mind... good habits make it
easier.
What good is abstinence? Well, I might say to kids in school, Look if you
apply yourself only a little bit right now in your education, you'll get a
huge bonus for the rest of your life. You won't have to stand in the
checkout lane at Winn-dixie forever. If your school sacrifices have a
reason for to more, so does waiting. The concept is, You will be married
a long time, and playing the field now will make a difference
then!
Map out your life. Do you want to be single and playing the field when
you're seventy? Most of us may want someone to love, and cherish, and be
with forever. Now, what can you do to become that person for someone
else?
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