Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2011 - 15

(mga profile
)
Canadian Import
Jo-Ann Lindsay has made a
name for herself in golf-above
and below the border.
By Jon Roe
T
o say Jo-Ann Lindsay was nervous standing on the first
tee in her initial appearance in the Minnesota Women's
Match-Play championship would be a gross understatement.
She was petrified.
Not only was she making her debut in the event, but she was
facing Jan Calin, a winner of numerous state titles and eventually
a Minnesota Hall of Fame inductee.
" I don't remember a great deal about our match, " Lindsay says,
" except that I got whipped pretty good. I mostly remember that I
took a swing at the ball on my first tee shot, and I almost missed
the ball completely. I think the ball actually came bouncing off the
tee and between my feet and went behind me someplace.
" I kind of remember that Jan never spoke to me the rest of the
match, " Lindsay adds. " I'm sure she didn't know what to say because
I played so poorly the whole time. It was awful. "
Fast-forward a few decades, and among the senior women
golfers of Minnesota nowadays, it's Lindsay who owns numerous
state titles and is a candidate for further honors. In many respects,
she is an international champion, for she has won at least
eight Minnesota medal, match-play and four-ball titles, as well as
numerous amateur and senior amateur championships in her
native Canada.
Indeed, by the time Lindsay was 14, she was winning the Manitoba
Juniors title and traveling to Vancouver, B.C., to play in the
Canadian Juniors.
" I was lucky to have what you could call a natural swing, " Lindsay
says. " But I also was so naïve that I really didn't know what I
was doing when I went to the national juniors. The amateur golf
association in Manitoba had to buy me some golf shoes to make
the trip. I was a real hayseed. "
Her promising golf career came to a sudden stop, however, at
the age of 19. She got married and started raising a family that
eventually would include five children and 15 grandchildren.
( The Jo-Ann Lindsay File
Handicap Index: " Right now it's about 6. I wish I could play to that. "
Holes-in-one: " Not any legitimate ones. At Olympic Hills one time, I had to re-tee off a temporary tee and
knocked the shot in the hole. That's about it. "
Favorite golf experience: " What I came to respect about golf is the chance to play against golfers who are
very competitive and to see the drive they have to get better, to strive for excellence. It helps make you a better
player, too, because you know you have to work and keep improving to stay up with them. "
Jo-Ann Lindsay has won several titles in Minnesota and Manitoba.
Lindsay would later move to the Twin Cities, get divorced, remarry
and return to golf-first at Braemar Golf Course and then at
Interlachen.
" Through all the tournaments, I got to know Nancy K. Harris,
who belonged to Minneapolis [GC], and over the years we teamed
together in four-ball tournaments, " Lindsay says. " Nancy was a
very good, steady player, and we had success as a team.
" We're both sort of shutting it down now. Nancy doesn't like to
travel around the state as much. And I had some foot surgery, and
that slowed me down. Plus, I just can't handle those golf courses
over 6,000 yards anymore. "
Last fall, Lindsay was inducted into the Manitoba Sports
Hall of Fame. She has qualified several times for the U.S. Senior
Amateur, finishing fourth once, reaching the
quarterfinals once and shooting a 64 in a
qualifying round another time.
" Going into the Hall of Fame in
Manitoba was pretty special for me, "
Lindsay says. " When I look back over
the years now, the chance to travel
and see a lot of places around the
country means a lot to me. The
U.S. Golf Association always
picks such great courses for us
to play, and you meet a lot of
really nice people, too. "
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Spring 2011 MINNESOTAGOLFER
13
PHOTOS BY MARK BRETTINGEN

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