Bev Miller: Late
Bloomer
Bev
Miller first tried golf when she was 18. It was the sport of choice
for gym class that day at Mehlville High School in St. Louis County,
Missouri. She went on to play for the University of Missouri Columbia
for a year. Then she gave it up.
Twenty-one years, four kids and a Dalmatian later, Bev came back.
Here’s how she tells it...
Why did you choose to return to and concentrate on golf?
I feel comfortable in all phases of the game of golf, and teach all
levels. My pleasure in teaching comes from the smiles and grins on the
faces of a student when they complete a shot that they are working on. I
began golf again as a fill-in for a group of four ladies that needed the
fourth to get a group rate on their lessons. I had given the game of
golf up for 21 years after I got married, to raise my children. The
instructor that gave us our group lesson told me that I could be a
professional. I asked him how, and I got started that year in the PGA of
America. I love all sports, and this was a chance for me to work and
compete in a professional sport. I love the outdoors and the game of
golf is certainly played outside. Ultimately, I wanted to become a
Senior Tour player, and I figured at the age of 40 I would have 10 years
to work on a game good enough to play at the level I would need to play
at. After getting my PGA membership, I applied to play in the Heartland
Classic, an LPGA Tour event in St. Louis, MO. They refused my
application, because I was not an LPGA member. I didn't understand this,
but went ahead and applied to be an LPGA member. They would not let me
play that year, but with my application and attaining membership the
following year, I was or am allowed to try to qualify in ONE tour event
a year. As an amateur, I would be allowed to try to qualify in as many
LPGA tour events as I wanted to. As a professional, in the PGA, I could
not qualify at all, and as an LPGA member, my limit is one event,
closest to my home per year. My hopes of playing as a senior were dashed
with the advent of the Lilly Legends. You have to have been a tour
player to be considered to play as a Lilly Legend. I still feel that
there is a need for a Senior Lady’s tour, and will probably be a very
old rookie when I get my chance. Golf is a game for a lifetime, and I am
in for the Life Haul.
Describe your tournament experience - list some events you have
participated in.
I have competed in four LPGA tour events, and tried to qualify for
only five.
I have competed in six National LPGA T&CP Championships
I have competed in seven LPGA Sectional events.
I was the 1999 Midwest Section Senior Champion.
I placed third in The Midwest Senior Chamioinship in 2000.
I have competed in over 40 PGA sectional events, and three PGA Team
Championships.
I have played in four LPGA Team Championships.
I have never played as an amateur in a tournament.
I turned professional 12 years ago and have competed as a professional
since.
What do you like most about giving golf lessons?
Teaching a skill to a
student, and watching that student reach levels they never dreamed
possible is almost as rewarding as raising four children. I have taught
all levels of players, and have some amateur champions. Actually, all of
my students are champions. If they can find the pleasure in a sport I
love, then I am even more excited than they are. They
just don't know it. Watching students, and friends accomplish tasks is
the reward a teacher gets out of teaching. A transfer of knowledge from
teacher to student is our heritage. What better place to do this life
event than in golf?
What do people inquire about most when first taking lessons from you?
Why do I slice? I find that of all the people that play golf, very
few have ever taken a lesson. Once they take a lesson, they always say
they wish they would have done this sooner. I teach them reasons for
everything that I ask them to do. I insist that they write down the
information I give them after each lesson. This helps ingrain the
training I give them. After a lesson with me, they know why they slice,
and then we work on not trying to have that happen as often, and
eventually to hit the ball straight.
What do people say they like best about taking lessons from you?
The students always tell me that I am easy to understand, and the
way I teach is great. I put my student first, and go the extra mile to
accommodate their time and schedule. I have a lot of referrals from my
first-time students. Most of the women want to be taught by a woman - I
disagree with this idea. I feel that a good teacher, should be able to
teach any student. I have a lot of PGA professionals that only want to
teach the better students. I find satisfaction in all levels of
students. I have fun when I teach. If you yell at a student, most of
them will not come back for another lesson. You have to be able to
communicate, and my students tell me that I do an excellent job of that.
I have great ways to show the student drills to learn a skill. I don't
use teaching aids. I feel the student feels stupid with gimmicks tied to
them, so I try to keep them comfortable.
What is your favorite shot to make?
My favorite shot to make, is the lob shot. It takes lots of
practice, but the results are fabulous.
What is your favorite course to play?
My favorite course is Trump International in Florida. A fellow LPGA
instructor works there, and Donald Trump spared no expense when he built
it. It is a private club, so not very many people get a chance to play
it. Very challenging.
What is your favorite golf travel destination?
Bahamas. Love the beach.
What is the hardest shot you ever had to make that stands out in your
mind? Or, what are the most challenging shots for you when you play?
My second tour event that I
played in was the Michelob Light LPGA Tour stop in St. Louis, Missouri.
My caddy was a member of the course the event was being played on.
I really didn't know him very well, and he kept
telling me what clubs I needed to play and what kind of shots to make.
He was not a very good caddy, I learned. During this event, he kept
trying to get me to use a 5-wood out of the rough. The rough at Forest
Hills C.C. in St. Louis for this event is always about 4-5 inches long.
A wood is not easy to hit out of there. I did try, for 17 holes, to play
his game. Then on the 18th hole, it came time for me to play my game
(wish I would have started sooner). My tee shot was errant off the tee
and went in the right rough. When we got to my ball, I was about 210
yards to the green, a shot with my 5-wood might have reached the green,
but it didn't feel right. Mike gave me my 5-wood, and I handed it back
to him. Mike asked why not hit the five wood and give them what they
came for. I said, Mike, you have pushed that five wood at me all day, I
want a short iron to punch out to the middle of the fairway, and hit a
short iron in for a par. I want to par the last hole. He shook his head,
and was not happy. I took a nine iron, and punched out to the middle of
the fairway. I walked to my ball, and had a 140- yard shot left to the
pin. The green was at least a three club elevation. Mike again tried to
club me, I refused, and asked for an 8-iron. I took several practice
swings with my iron. Then I did something I should not have done. I
looked up at the gallery. Being the last hole of the day, the crowd was
about 250-300 people strong. Oh boy. What in the world did I get myself
into. Was that par out of the question for me? No it was not. I made up
my mind to swing easy, and just try to put it on the green. I stood over
my shot, and gave it my best. I hit the ball as pure as any ball could
be hit. I didn't even want to look up to see where it was going. Then I
heard the roar. I figured some other player did something great on an
adjoining hole. Well, the roar was for me. I holed the ball out from the
fairway for a birdie. I still couldn't look up. My heart was in my
throat. I walked up to the green with a little smirk on my face. The
first person I saw was Pearl Sinn, my playing partner, looking very
agitated. I guess so, she had to settle for a par, and I know I stole
her thunder. The next guy that was dejected was good old Mike. Of course
he was happy for me, but it didn't happen his way, it was my way. All of
the Gallery was shouting and cheering and one guy even yelled, You’re
The Woman. I do believe that I will hear the roar of that crowd in my
mind for the rest of my life. It wasn't over yet, when I went to walk
off the green, every local person from family to students to gallery
came over to me to get my autograph. Did I feel special? Heck, no. I was
still wondering how in the heck I hit that shot. But, in golf, you take
what you get. I will have more shots like that. I know it.
Do you have a "best shot ever" story?
I think the best shot I ever made was my hole in one. Everyone says
that a hole in one is just luck. I disagree. It is my intention to put
the ball in the hole, on every par three that I step up to. If I intend
to do it, then it is not luck. I accomplished what I wanted to do. The
other best shot was my first eagle. I have had three double eagles, but
the first eagle was on a par five. I was playing with three workers who
were not the best golfers. I hit my third shot into the green, and it
disappeared. I look at one of my playing partners, and said that I think
I shot an Eagle. He looked at me, and then to the sky, to see if he
could see the Eagle I shot. He actually thought I meant an Eagle in the
sky. I have a ton of funny stories such as this to remember. That is
what I love about the game. You never know what or when something is
going to happen.
Who motivates you? Who do you like to watch play golf?
The people who motivate me the most, are my family. Sometimes my
husband gives me such a reputation of being such a great player and
teacher that his aspirations are a little hard to live up to. All of my
family have made sacrifices to help me get to the position that I am in
for my career in golf. Without any of them, I could not even imagine
being as successful as I am. My success if because of them, and their
faith in me.
What do you tell yourself when things are difficult or aren’t going
well during a round?
This is a hard one for me. My weakness in golf is my mental game. I
am going to a few classes this winter to bone up on my mental game, and
I would recommend this to all golfers. What seems to work right now for
me is just to think about my game one shot at a time. I have unlimited
drive in my own personal goals, and am very strong in the fact that one
day you will see me on the Ladies Senior Tour.
How do you practice your golf game? What is your routine?
I start my practice with my short clubs, hitting three or four balls
with each club until I get to my driver. I then go back to my short
shots and then to the putting green, never leaving the practice green
until I hole out my last putt.
What do you recommend beginner players do to get better?
Intermediate? Advanced?
Take lessons. Find a teacher you are comfortable with and stick with
them. The better teachers will be the ones who have put themselves where
you want to be. How else can they teach you what you will need to know
to get better. If they can't go the extra mile, how can they ask you to?
What can a student expect out of a lesson from you?
They will be assessed in their skills. I need to see what level they
are at. That is put together with their own evaluation of what they
need, and we work on their game from that point on, trying to improve
one skill at a time. Remember, it’s a lifelong sport to learn.
Share a success story - describe the progress of one of your students
who has made good strides since working with you. What specifically did
you help him or her accomplish?
I have had this student for about seven years. We have worked on a
better swing plane, a better take away sand shots, putting, wedges,
fairway woods, drivers and three and five woods, fitting her for new
clubs. I felt she was a better golfer than she showed, and it was
helpful for her to get clubs that were to her level of play. She has
competed at an amateur level for three years now, and her best finish
was third place in the USGA Women’s Amateur event at Spencer Tee Olen
G.C. She comes by about once a month for a tune-up, and calls if she has
a serious problem with her swing. Her work holds her back from
practicing and playing more than necessary to reach her next level. I
feel that she would make a great teacher of the game of golf, and her
interests are leaning towards turning professional.
Miller has lived in Hillsboro, Missouri for 18 years, raising
four children with her husband, James: James (31), Jennifer (21),
Samantha (20) and Richard (15). You can e-mail Miller at bmiller@epconline.com
for more info on taking a lesson. Thanks for sharing, Bev!
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