It’s certainly been a memorable last seven weeks for Christie Austin.
Last month at the Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in Scotland, the Cherry Hills Village resident became the first woman ever to referee a Walker Cup match held in Europe.
She attended a rules committee meeting there with 40 or 50 other rules officials — all men — and the opening words were “Lady and Gentlemen”.
Then last week, Austin and U.S. Solheim Cup captain Rosie Jones were the amateur and professional recipients, respectively, of legends of women’s golf honors at the SEC/Pac-12 Challenge women’s college golf tournament in Knoxville, Tenn.
And also last week, the USGA announced that Austin, a member of the prestigious 15-member USGA Executive Committee since 2007, has been nominated to become an Executive Committee officer for the first time. She’ll officially take over as USGA treasurer on Feb. 4 at the organization’s annual meeting in Houston.
Considering that the USGA and the R&A govern the game of golf worldwide, all this reinforces Austin’s position as one of the most powerful people in golf administration — a fact evident by the honor she received at the SEC/Pac-12 Challenge. There, Austin addressed all the women’s college players and coaches.
“It was a great evening,” Austin recounted this week en route to USGA meetings in New Jersey. “It’s nice to be able to inspire players in other ways than turning professional.”
It’s certainly not out of the question that Austin might one day be regarded highly enough that she would be considered for USGA president — Colorado Springs resident Judy Bell (1996-97) is the only female president in USGA history — but that certainly isn’t the goal. (Austin is pictured above, at right, with Bell and USGA executive director Mike Davis.)
“The main thing is to give back to the game (of golf) and to the USGA,” said Austin, who was just the fifth female ever to join the USGA Executive Committee. “It’s such a privilege and an honor to serve, and I’ll serve as long as they want me to serve. It’s an amazing experience.”
And for now, becoming treasurer of the USGA seems to be a very good fit given Austin’s professional resume. With an accounting background, the University of Colorado graduate has been an auditor and a controller, has owned a mortgage company along with her husband, Bob, and served as the chief financial officer and an executive vice-president for Marsico Capital Management before retiring in 2007.
“(The USGA’s) financial side is steady and strong, and we do well, but the financial picture is largely dependent on where the U.S. Open is held year to year,” Austin said. “Some years it’s a home run (financially) and other years you know you’re going to lose money. The goal is to break even over a five- or six-year period. But you want great tests of golf for the U.S. Open and it’s nice to diversify (the tournament) geographically. That’s the way it should be.
“I’d love for the USGA to do more than break even because that way you can give more back to the game, but you live with what you have (schedule-wise).”
Austin volunteers many hours to golf both in Colorado and nationally. In the state, she has served on the CWGA Board of Directors since 2007. Nationally, as a member of the Executive Committee, she was on seven committees this year, and chaired three — the Amateur Public Links Championship, the Amateur Status, and the Audit Committees.
But at this point in the year, Austin is looking forward to a little break. After this week’s USGA meetings, things slow down for a couple of months, and the 2007 CWGA Senior Player of the Year is hoping to play a little more golf.
“It’s been crazy,” she said of a hectic 2011.
