FORE Magazine

Top Menu

  • About Me
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Home

Main Menu

  • Current Issue
  • Profiles
  • Sustainability
  • Travel
  • 19th Hole
  • Classic Course
  • FORE Her
  • More
    • Know the Rules
    • Handicap Hints
    • SCGA Junior
    • Where Are They Now?
    • News
    • Public Affairs
  • scga.org
Sign in / Join

Login

Welcome! Login in to your account
Lost your password?

Lost Password

Back to login

logo

FORE Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Profiles
  • Sustainability
  • Travel
  • 19th Hole
  • Classic Course
  • FORE Her
  • More
    • Know the Rules
    • Handicap Hints
    • SCGA Junior
    • Where Are They Now?
    • News
    • Public Affairs
  • scga.org
FORE Her
Home›FORE Her›Planting The Seed: LA City Golf

Planting The Seed: LA City Golf

By Madison Lomas
July 23, 2018
3828
0
Share:

The City of Los Angeles is making strides and presenting opportunity in a career field originally untouched by women.

Four of the seven Los Angeles city golf superintendents are women.

That’s all I needed to hear, and I was ready to learn more. When I spoke with Laura Bauernfeind, golf manager at City of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation to plan an interview, she didn’t hesitate despite her busy schedule, “Are you free this afternoon? I want to be the one to talk to you about this. It’s important.”

From the minute we spoke, I knew she and I had a common goal: tearing down the very present gender barrier within the golf industry. A barrier invisible to Laura from when she started as a part-time greenskeeper in college, to now as golf manager, the idea of women being at a disadvantage was not on her mind.

“[The] superintendent is responsible for the setup, care and everything related to course conditions,” Laura said. “Our goal here in LA is to strive for excellent course conditions across the entire golf system. That is not a man versus women expectation.”

Laura has attended many conferences within the superintendent industry. Nine times out of ten, she is the only woman in the room. However, here in the Los Angeles sector, that’s beginning to change.

“The city has been so proactive about mentoring women and leveling the playing field,” Bauernfeind said. “It helps to have someone to aspire to, having a woman in a higher position to look up to, such as myself.”

Laura, along with these four superintendents, Marina Gutierrez (Sepulveda Golf Complex), Virginia Micka (Rancho Park GC), Kristina Osier (Woodley Lakes) and Germinia Duenas (Penmar GC), have worked their way up the ladder because they were the best candidates for the job. LA City has been mentoring women, offering an environment with no glass ceiling and proving that there are opportunities not just for men in this industry.

“It’s been a very supportive environment – [women] here are encouraged,” said Bauernfeind. “They aren’t treated any differently than their male colleagues.”

The problem seems to stem from lack of awareness, not the physical or intellectual inability for women to be successful. As Laura describes it, “it’s an unknown” that having a career as superintendent is an option.

“For whatever reason, this is not really on a woman’s radar – pursuing agronomy or turf management,” she said. “We need to do a better job showcasing all the different avenues in this industry.”

So where do we go from here? How do we keep the train moving? Laura shared her thoughts about the junior sector, where they could introduce greenskeeping to kids already involved in the game. She suggested a “Meet the Superintendent” day, where kids could have an opportunity to see the machines used to take care of the golf course, see how a cup is cut or even how tee boxes are rotated.

“[To] expose them at that level – you’re already excited because you’re playing it… this could plant a seed, and this could be something they would pursue as they continue going to school.”

Previous Article

This App Reads Your Putt’s Breaks

Next Article

KINONA: One Size Does Not Fit All

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Madison Lomas

Related articles More from author

  • Gore Family
    FORE HerSpring 2016

    Meet the Gore Family

    April 1, 2016
    By Jill Painter Lopez
  • FORE Her

    Q&A with WSCGA Executive Director Deb Long

    May 3, 2017
    By Julia Pine
  • FORE Her

    Master of the Mind and the Game

    August 22, 2018
    By Hailey Tucker
  • Fall 2018FORE HerProfiles

    First Cut – Equal Pay: It’s The Right Thing To Do

    October 22, 2018
    By Jill Painter Lopez
  • USGA President
    FORE HerSpring 2016

    Mrs. President

    April 1, 2016
    By Julia Pine
  • FORE Her

    Driving Forces

    November 16, 2017
    By Christina Lumsden

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Recent Posts

  • Fall 2022FeaturedProfiles

    Giving Back With Gusto: Joe Grohman Gains Joy in Helping Others

  • Classic CourseFall 2022Featured

    Pure Golf: La Purisima

  • Fall 2022FeaturedKnow the Rules

    Cut! Rulings Hollywood Got Wrong

  • Fall 2022FeaturedTravel

    A Beautiful Wildness: Golf in Hawaii is as Good as it Gets

  • Fall 2022FeaturedSCGA Junior

    A Mission of Renewal: Supporting a New Generation of Golfers

Fall 2022FeaturedHandicap Hints

Handicap Allowances

There is often anticipation in the air as the date for the next handicap competition at a club approaches. Participants want to know what handicap value will be used in ...
  • The Single Life: The Simple Pleasures of Being “That Guy”

    By John DeGomez
    October 25, 2022
  • Cut! Rulings Hollywood Got Wrong

    By Jeff Ninnemann
    October 25, 2022
  • From Crisis to Confidence: The Southern California Golf & Water Summit

    By Craig Kessler
    October 25, 2022
  • Direct to Golf Consumer: How Social Media is Changing the Way We Buy Equipment

    By Scott Kramer
    October 25, 2022
© 2016 FORE Magazine About Us | Contact Us | Advertise