« Return to all Inductees

Suzy Whaley is one of the most accomplished/distinguished professional female golfers and instructors. She is the first female to ever serve on the board of PGA of America as a Secretary in 2015 to now holding the Honorary President position today. Her trailblazing nature is revealed in her numerous other accomplishments, including being named Sports Business Journal’s “Game Changer” in 2018, Golf Digest’s “Top 50 Instructor”, competing in the 2003 Greater Hartford Open which made her the first woman to qualify for a PGA tour event since 1945, instructing over 300 children to collegiate golf, and being inducted into the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame.

Whaley was born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey on November 10, 1966, where she lived for four years. She is the youngest daughter to her mother MaryAnn, a professor at Syracuse, and Mick McGuire, who worked in telecommunications. Her family then moved to DeWitt, New York, where she spent the rest of her adolescent life. She attended the same school system from kindergarten to high school and even stayed in the same home. Her family was very sports-oriented growing up; Whaley and her sister Tracy were introduced to a variety of different sports like swimming and ski racing. She recalls how she learned golf from her mother, who was a golfer and challenged those gender-norms herself and watched it on television all the time.

Young Whaley would spend her summers playing amid pros and boys at her country club. Whaley attended Jamesville DeWitt High School, where she is now a current member of its Hall of Fame. Alongside being a member of the National Honors Society, she was an active participant in athletics, playing soccer, running cross country, and playing on the boy’s golf team.

Shortly after graduating high school, Whaley and her family would continue playing at Radley Run Country Club in West Chester, New York. Whaley admits that it was difficult to get lots of playing time as women were not usually invited to play. In some places, she could only play on Mondays.

Whaley graduated high school in 1984 and went on to attend the University of Boulder in Colorado for one semester. She quickly transferred to University of North Carolina in January of 1985 to play golf for the women’s team on a sports scholarship for the rest of her college career.

She graduated in 1989 with a degree in Economics and was set to go to law school. However, her plans changed after graduation when she successfully played in the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tour in 1990.

Whaley continued to pursue golf when she moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She met her husband, Bill Whaley, through golf and the two were married a year later on November 22, 1991. Whaley continued to compete in LPGA tours for the next two years.

In 1994, Whaley had her first daughter, Jenn. The family lived in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida for two years until deciding to move back to Connecticut. Whaley had her second daughter, Kelly, in 1997 in Farmington, Connecticut, where the two girls lived and completed their education.

While in CT, Whaley worked at Jim Flick Golf Course from 1996-2001, Tumble Brook golf course from 1999-2002 and Blue Fox Run golf course from 2002-2005. During this time, Whaley became a three-time Connecticut Women’s Open Champion from 1999-2002, National LPGA Teaching & Club Professional winner, Connecticut PGA Section Champion, Connecticut PGA Club Professional Champion, and a two-time LPGA Northeast T&CP Section Champion.

She also famously competed in the 2003 Greater Hartford Open and made history as the first female player to participate since Babe Zaharias in 1945. Her family continued to support Whaley’s endeavors, with her mother being her caddie for many of her professional games. Whaley’s mother, unfortunately, passed away in 2007.

Whaley started her own instruction business, Suzy Whaley Golf, where she instructed many children to play collegiate golf at TPC River Highlands golf course from 2006-2018. During this time, Whaley was first elected to the PGA of America officials board as Secretary in 2015-2016 and as Vice President in 2017-2018.

Whaley and her husband moved back to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida in 2018 to work as the Director of Instruction at the Country Club of Mirasol. Whaley continued to be a part of the PGA of America, serving as the President from 2019-2020 and currently serving as the Honorary President. Alongside this, she is the Honorary chair of the PGA Reach Capital Campaign, President of Golf Nation, and an Analyst and On Course Commentator for ESPN since 2021. Both of Whaley’s daughters, Jennifer and Kelly, have participated in the Girls Junior

PGA National Championships and have gone on to be Division I athletes at their universities. Whaley continues to inspire players and works to establish a more inclusive environment in the sport of golf, specifically in terms of pay. “We will continue to work tirelessly until we get equity not only in championships, but in the game. We’ve come a long way but we have a lot of work to do to ensure anyone who chooses to play the game feels welcome and valued.”

Related Links: