What they might not know is before that she was also a highly successful amateur, winning 40 junior girls tournaments in California. Ferraris won the 1963 USGA Junior Girls Championship and the 1963-1964 Western Junior Girls Championships. She also finished first in the San Francisco Women’s Championship four years in a row. In 1965, Ferraris was ranked number one in the U.S. Junior Girls division and 5^th in the Women’s Amateur division.

Having been an accomplished competitor at both the amateur and professional level for over 35 years, Ferraris offers her students a powerful and unique perspective. Chances are, she’s been in most of the golf situations possible; she can help golfers of all abilities find solutions and improve. “My students tell me I’m very easy to understand,” says Ferraris, “and that I have excellent communication skills. I really like teaching and being able to give something back to the game.”

Whatever talent or skill a student may bring to the game, Ferraris recommends the same general approach for everyone: 1. Set realistic goals for improvement. 2. Find an instructor who communicates with you and who will help you reach those goals. 3. Set aside time to practice at least twice a week.
4. Play with equipment that was fitted for you. 5. Patience, patience, patience!

Ferraris once worked with an 18 handicapper who couldn’t keep it in the fairway. He had plenty of power, but no control as his swing was big and loopy with lots of arm swing and no leg action. Ferraris encourage him to set a goal. He wanted to be a single digit handicap. Together, Ferraris and the student mapped out a lesson schedule and practice plan, following it religiously for the past couple of years. The man improved to a 7 handicap. “He is very happy with his game now,” says Ferraris.

Ferraris takes time out to practice her own game depending on what state it’s in. If she’s having trouble with a particular aspect, she’ll focus on that until she feels it’s improved. Otherwise, she will generally practice all areas of her game. Her favorite shots to make out on the course are pitch shots with a sand or lob wedge. It comes as no surprise, then, that the best part of Ferraris’ game is her short game. During her career, she admits having occasional trouble off the tee, but she always stayed patient knowing she could get back on track.

“If I’m making bogies, I try to dig inside myself and go for fairways and greens,” says Ferraris. “I tell myself, ‘Don’t try to get it back all at once.’ There are 18 holes in a round and 72 holes in a tournament, so there’s plenty of time to turn things around if you’re patient.”

Patience and a positive attitude paid off for Ferraris in the Lady Pepsi when she was leading by one shot going into the final hole. She needed par and faced a lengthy approach to an uphill green with a back pin placement. Ferraris struck her 4-iron exactly as planned and placed the ball perfectly for her two-putt win. “As a golfer you get used to motivating yourself,” says Ferraris. “It’s different than playing a team sport and having a coach.”

A 20-year resident of Phoenix, Arizona, Ferraris was born in San Francisco and attended Odessa College in Texas on a golf scholarship. Her favorite course to play is Moss Creek Plantation in Hilton Head, but she wouldn’t mind traveling to Monterey Peninsula for a few rounds, either. You might find her there teeing up an odd number ball, depending on the importance of the match. “I always used to use balls with 4’s on them in practice rounds so they’d be gone by the time the tournament started,” recalls Ferraris.