FORE! Rising Latina LPGA Star Soaring Your Way Long day, me and my pup CJ are ready to snuggle :) Night Friends!” tweets Florida native Nicole Hage, 23, to her 1,048 followers on Twitter.com which includes world-renowned professional golf players, coaches, media, family from her Cuban mother’s side and from her Italian-Lebanese father’s side, and golf enthusiasts. They know she is one of today’s brightest rising stars coming up in the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). “I know I can be the best,” says the determined golfer. Not only are they her admirers but most are part of the team that has supported, inspired, and believed in Hage throughout her ascending journey that began at a young age in Coral Springs, FL. Today the young professional golf player has determined to make it to the top of her game. Although she does not have full status on the LPGA, Hage is currently competing in the 2009 Duramed FUTURES Tour which concludes in September, and a top finish would earn her a LPGA card. Hage admits playing golf can take its toll physically, mentally and emotionally. The busy golfer travels across the country, is on the road six months out of the year on tour away from her family, friends and fiancé. “Everyone thinks it is a glamorous life,” she says. “It is but it’s still a lot of hard work. It’s nonstop.”

Nicole Hage Photo Courtesy of Play Golf Designs, INC

Where did this passion for golf that would make her willingly sacrifice so much come from? According to her parents, Joe and Sybelis, Hage, as a 3-year-old, she refused to stay behind when her father would go out to the range. At one point, he tried to sneak out of the house but his persistent and clever daughter would already be waiting at the door golf clubs in hand. Naturally, he gave in and would create fun games.

Soon, this childish fun became a life-long passion. As a young girl, she saw Nancy Lopez, one of the best players to ever play the game, as a big sister. She could relate to her because she was a beautiful and young Hispanic woman who was also very fan-friendly. “It’s easier to relate to someone if you look like them and you have the same background,” asserts Hage who grew up eating Cuban food and a proud Latina. “You feel like you have the same morals. It’s like having a Barbie doll that kind of looks like you.”

Instead of playing with her Barbie dolls, Hage, at 7 years old, began to take golf lessons. With her training and natural ability to strike the ball at a long distance, she began to develop into a stellar player. So much so that her father has not touched a golf club since she was eight. “He says that I started beating him so he stopped practicing,” says Hage.

This was the age when her Dad took her to her first LPGA tournament. Being impressed by and being able to meet her sports role model, Kelly Robbins, during that 1992 tour, the young Hage decided she wanted to play professional golf.

Nicole Hage during the 2008 U.S. Open

From competing in tournaments at the age of seven to being one of the top players in college. In 2007, the accomplished young golfer graduated from Auburn University with a degree in Communications and a minor in Sport Coaching. As a collegiate player, she was the 2004 Southern Eastern Conference Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year; four-time all-conference selection; and a four-time National Golf Coaches Association All-American. Hage says the four years at Auburn University is when she “grew up.” “I absolutely loved it. I had a great team and a great coach. It was a great learning experience for me,” recalls Hage, who still talks to her college coach, Kim Evans once a week and team mates every day. The best advice Evans gave Hage was to have her main thought for every round be, “fairway and green.” Though, she says sometimes the most random song may slip into her mind while she is on the course. After her college graduation Hage moved to Coral Springs, FL and immediately started working with her current coach, Martin Hall, a noted trainer in the golf world. Everything was going as planned until her rookie professional season in 2008. Playing on two tours, the LPGA and Futures tours made for some stumbling blocks. “I had a pretty rough year. Last year was a learning year. I think that it was definitely a good direction for me,” says Hage who had made the cut in two LPGA events, and on the Futures Tour had a best finish of third.

With valuable lessons learned in 2008, Hage is determined to gain full LPGA playing privileges in 2009, and that means focusing first on the Futures Tour money list. “I have expectations and goals,” shares Hage. “I want to be out there more than anything. I have been waiting and working hard since I was very little to get out in the LPGA. I have part of it; I just don’t have all of it yet. It’s frustrating because I really do work hard.”

Despite her frustrations, Hage realizes that she must learn to be patient. “You know, it’s a marathon; not a sprint for this kind of a career.” However this is something she still struggles with today. She says it is a mental game and it is easy to make it a lot more complicated than it needs to be. “Mostly, it’s just me getting in my own way mentally,” asserts Hage. “Not letting myself just go and play and do what I do naturally.”

Hage is certainly grateful for her friends and role models who have given her advice along the way and even more grateful that they happen to be some of the best players to ever play golf. During her 2008 season, Hage recalls the kindness bestowed onto her when golf greats, Meg Mallon and Beth Daniel invited her to a dinner that lasted for three and a half hours. They shared their similar experiences when they first began on the LPGA which reassured Hage and advised her to look at the bigger picture. “It was just reassuring to know that there’s a learning curve out there and you have to figure some things out,” says Hage. “Since that dinner my scores started coming around and I started seeing a different trend in my game. That dinner really made a difference for me.”

Other LPGA hall-of-famers that have taken Hage under their wings are Karrie Webb and Wendy Ward. Just a phone call away, they are constantly watching out for Hage’s game and take every opportunity to send her a congratulatory text when she has a great round. As a young player, Hage is amazed at the warmth and generosity of these accomplished players who are very busy themselves. “It’s so nice to know I have someone willing to take time and talk to me,” she says. “They don’t have to do that but they do. That just means the absolute world to me.”

Integrity and respect for others is one of the values Hage holds most highly. She adheres to the Golden Rule wherever she goes, making sure she thanks everyone who works behind the scenes at any event. “I try to treat people how I want to be treated,” says Hage who has seen a lot of nastiness in the game. “I want to leave a good impression on everyone that I meet because without the fans I don’t have a job.”

Lorena Ochoa, currently the number one ranked female golfer in the world and the first Mexican golfer of either gender to be ranked number one in the world, is someone Hage admires not only for her success but for her grace on and off the course. “I don’t know her personally but she just oozes class,” notes Hage.

As impressive and important as Ochoa has been for the Latino community and for the sport, Hage would like to see more diversity on the tours. She is very proud of her heritage and likes that she is different. “I’m not a blonde with blue eyes or green eyes or fair skin,” says Hage. “I’m very tan, I have a different look out there and I love it.” There are great opportunities for all women in the LPGA, observes Hage. “I think more Latinas out there can definitely bring a different crowd to the golf course.”

What this dynamic player loves most about the sport is that no one can judge her based on the way she performs. Her final score is how she is rated. She is glad that she “can’t have extra penalty shots because [she] didn’t look good.” Her biggest critic, however, is herself as she admits to placing very high expectations on herself. “I want to be on the top every week,” she asserts. “I don’t want to be a player that barely makes cuts every week.” Mediocrity is unacceptable for Hage. She believes that being a professional golf player takes too much of a commitment and is too hard of a lifestyle for a player to be just mediocre at it.
She is a true believer that if you give it all you have and you believe in yourself anyone can achieve their dream. “If you don’t then you are not a failure because you know in your heart you did all you could,” she says. “At the end of the day, if this is not to work out, I know I believe I gave it all I have. So there’s no doubt in my head that I’m going to get there. I just need to be patient and wait for it to happen.”

This is a lesson Hage has learned as she has matured within the game and in life. “Golf is important to me but […] it’s really not that important when you look at the big picture of life,” observes the young professional golfer. Her family and friends are most important to Hage who says that when it comes down to it, what will matter most when her life is over is not what she shot at some event but her relationships and reputation she left behind.

“You will not let anyone down because you have done your best and given all you have. We’re not super heroes.”
We may not be super heroes but Nicole Hage is certainly a super golfer and a genuine person who will make it to the top.

Outstanding Latina Golfers Lorena Ochoa Hometown: Guadalajara, Mexico Home Golf Course: Guadalajara Country Club Birth date: 11-15-1981 Education: University of Arizona Record setting Mexican golfer Lorena Ochoa who plays on the U.S. based LPGA Tour continues to solidify her position as the number one ranked woman golfer in the world after recently winning her 2009 season debut at the Honda LPGA Thailand and the 2009 Corona Morelia Championship. Ochoa grew up next door to the Guadalajara Country Club and took up golf at the age of five. She won her first state event at the age of six and her first national event at seven. As a junior, she captured 22 state events in Guadalajara and 44 national events in Mexico. She won five consecutive titles at the Junior World Golf Championships and in 2000 she enrolled at the University of Arizona in the United States. In November 2008, she became the host of a new annual LPGA event, the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, held at her original home course, Guadalajara Country Club. Proceeds from the tournament help support the Lorena Ochoa Foundation.

Lorena Ochoa

Gerina Mendoza

Gerina Mendoza Hometown: Roswell, N.M. Home Golf Course: Sherrill Park Golf Course, New Mexico Military Golf Course Birth date: 3-29-1984 Education: University of Texas - El Paso Gerina Mendoza, a native of Roswell, NM, played collegiately at UTEP and won four tournaments while in college, including the 2007 Conference USA championship. That year, she was named the CUSA Player of the Year. Mendoza turned professional in 2007 and played on the Futures Tour in 2008. In her rookie season she made 15 of 17 cuts, had four Top 10 finishes with a best of second place; finished 10th in scoring average and 15th in money. Currently, she is a contestant in "The Golf Channel's Big Break: Prince Edward Island series (2009)." Best Tournament: 2nd at the 2008 USI Championship in Concord, N.H.

Lizette Salas Class: Sophomore Hometown: Azusa, Calif. Birth date: 7-17-1989 Education: University of Southern California Lizette Salas is one of the top young players in the country who looks to follow her fine freshman season with an even better sophomore campaign in 2008-2009. During the fall season, she posted four top 10 finishes in as many events, including a win at the Stanford Intercollegiate and another third-place finish. In summer of 2008 she competed for U.S. at the Fuji Xerox USA vs. Japan Collegiate Golf Championship at Tokyo Golf Club. She was among only four NCAA women's golfers selected to the team, was medalist at the U.S. Women's Open Local qualifier; medalist at the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship and competed at the U.S. Women's Amateur. By Esperanza Urbaez

Lizette Salas