As we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, we look back at the founding of the Women's Golf program at Harvard. Bob Leonard, head coach of the Harvard Men's Golf program (1991-2003), recently shared his recollections of the early days of the women's program. Leonard drew from his contemporaneous notes from the events and from conversations with alumnae on those teams.

Beginnings of Women's Golf at Harvard

By Bob Leonard


Bob Leonard (far right), along with Warren Smith (far left), helped coach the first Harvard women's golf team members Christine Sadlowski `94, Valerie Rademacher `93, and Anne Schoofs `94 (middle left to right).

In August of 1991, I was hired to be the Golf Coach at Harvard. Bill Cleary was the Director of Athletics; Pat Henry was the Assistant Director, and John Veneziano was Sports Information Director. At that time, the golf team included only men.

In the fall of 1992, three undergraduate women contacted me to express an interest in playing on the team. I didn't know if any policy existed regarding their eligibility to try out for the team. I discussed the issue with Pat Henry, and she noted that a precedent had been set in the late 1970's when an undergraduate woman (Leslie Greis '80) did play on the team. A woman was also on the men's golf team at the University of Vermont. The decision was made to allow the women to practice with the team and after a period of time, to allow them to try out for the team.

Tryouts were held in October at The Country Club in Brookline. I made a decision at that time (which, upon reflection, was not a good one) that because the team would be competing with men's teams from other colleges, the women should qualify from the same tees as the men. Although the women played well, the additional length of the course from the men's tees was too much, and they did not qualify.

However, after additional discussion, it was decided that women at Harvard should have their own golf team, commencing in the spring 1993 semester.

At this time, Title IX was a prominent issue in college athletics, and Harvard very actively supported it. The golf situation gave Harvard the opportunity to show leadership in the cause. I believe that the NCAA provided a stipend to help start the process to make women's golf the 41st varsity sport at Harvard. Bill Cleary and Pat Henry were very cognizant of the need for a women's golf team and were in full support of the effort to initiate the program.

The next issue to handle was the actual mechanics of implementing a program. I was given the responsibility for organizing and coaching the team, including scheduling of practices and competitions, purchasing equipment, and arranging for travel/lodging when required. Thankfully, through the efforts of the equipment manager Chet Stone, business manager Fran Toland, and Paul Corcoran '54, the owner of The Harvard Shop and a great Harvard supporter, we were able purchase the equipment needed for the team.

The scheduling of competition was difficult because we only had three players on the team, and a minimum of four players were required for tournaments. In college golf, most competing teams consist of five players, from whom the four best 18-hole scores are used to determine a team total for each round. A tournament is usually two or three days/rounds long.

In some instances, however, teams could enter a competition with fewer than four players—when they were allowed to enter individuals. These players competed individually, with their scores only eligible for individual recognition. Harvard's team competed as individuals for the first two years of the program.

In the spring of 1993, it was difficult to arrange a schedule of competitions, as most tournament schedules had already been set years previously. However, some schools supported Harvard's participation. In particular, Izzy Johnson, the women's coach at Dartmouth and Director of the Northeastern Women's Golf Association, invited Harvard to participate in a tournament on an unofficial basis. It was held on April 24 at Amherst (Hickory Ridge Golf Club) and April 25 at Mount Holyoke (The Orchards), and featured teams from Princeton, Rutgers, Mt. Holyoke, Amherst, Boston College, Middlebury, Yale and Dartmouth. Although we were not an official participant, the team competed respectfully and was optimistic about the future.

The Harvard players that competed in the first tournament were Valerie Rademacher`93, Anne Schoofs `94 and Christine Sadlowski`94. These young women provided the original impetus for the beginning of women's golf at Harvard, and have expressed their pride in the historic opportunity.

It quickly became evident that it was not possible for me to coach both the men's and women's teams, so we decided to recruit a women's coach. John Veneziano, recommended that we consider interviewing Warren Smith. Warren had been active as an assistant golf professional at several local golf clubs. Because of health issues, Warren had retired and lived less than a mile from Harvard Stadium.

As a result of his knowledge of golf and his ability to communicate with people, Warren had become the unofficial coach/golf pro for members of the Harvard community. His "office" was Dillon Field House. John, through personal lessons, was aware of Warren's talent and set up a meeting. It was immediately evident he was perfect for the job, and he was hired, to begin in September 1993.

Prior to the fall 1993 season, the golf teams did not have an office. We needed a place where we could meet with applicants and conduct business. It was suggested that we look at the squash courts on Linden Street—which were not being used by the squash teams— as a possible office location. We toured the courts, and Warren selected the one at the entrance to the building.

The next challenge was to set up equipment in the squash court to allow Warren to give lessons and team members to practice indoors during the off-season. Bob Conolly, the course superintendent at Winchester Country Club, installed a golf netting which would catch golf balls as they were hit inside the squash court. Then we purchased video equipment to be used for swing analysis and teaching. Warren now had his "studio", where he provided instruction and counsel for the teams and for the Harvard community. And we had our own golf office.

Warren provided assistance to the teams during the spring 1993 season and assumed responsibility for coaching the women's team the following season. Members of that team included: Christine Sadlowski '94 (Captain), Anne Schoofs '94, Alexis Boyle '97, Emilie Kao '96, Madge Roberts '96, and Megan Murray '97.

The first two years of the women's golf program included joint spring training trips with men's team. After the completion of the April 1995 trip, we decided that the complications in scheduling made it impractical to continue the joint trips, and we would go to separate destinations in the future. We continued to share our Linden Street office/practice facility. Warren continued to teach, coach and recruit new candidates for the team.

Warren's health declined over the next several years. Fortunately, he had maintained a strong connection with a former basketball player, Fred Schernecker '90, who provided a great deal of support in the continued growth of the program. Warren passed away in October 2004. Fred continues to carry on his legacy and to lead the program as the Director of Golf (2003-present).