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Legend of the Game

Linda Vollstedt Coaching Facts Opens in a new window The Linda Vollstedt Coach of the Year Award, a way to honor an ASU legend Opens in a new window LPGA Press Release Opens in a new window LPGA Professionals Hall of Fame Opens in a new window
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Everyone knows about the NCAA record six National Championships at Arizona State. But what they don't realize is the extent of the impact Coach Linda Vollstedt has had on the entire women’s golf community. Head down memory lane with Coach V, an icon of Sun Devil Athletics.

This October, legendary Arizona State Women’s Golf head coach Linda Vollstedt was inducted into the LPGA Professionals Hall of Fame. A Sun Devil for life, Vollstedt was officially recognized for her contributions to the sport which ranges from coaching, to being a pivotal member in the start-up of the LPGA junior girls spell program.

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A native of Portland, Oregon, Vollstedt came to ASU in 1964. Vollstedt knew she was destined for greatness because of her work ethic. She stayed on the path and kept working hard.

"I pushed myself always to be the best I could be no matter what. It doesn't surprise me that I've been successful in life because I know I was kind of destined to do that." 
Linda Vollstedt

During her time as a player, she noticed a lot of differences; one, it was always sunny in Tempe compared to the rainy weather of Portland.

"[In Oregon] We played in the rain. If you didn’t play in the rain, you didn’t play golf. We all had rain gear like rain golf shoes that were made of rubber and had spikes on them. When I got here I'll never forget when I was here on campus it rained one day, and I went to class and there was hardly anybody there and I said, ‘where is everyone?’ They said, ‘it's raining,’ I'm like yeah what does that mean well nobody comes out in the rain here. In Oregon, it's beautiful there are lots of trees and mountains and when I started looking at the golf course here there were all these cacti, it was very different." Linda Vollstedt

The other big difference Vollstedt saw was the inequality between men’s and women’s athletics. Title IX didn’t exist when Vollstedt played, meaning there weren’t equal opportunities for women student-athletes. Equal opportunities such as athletic scholarships, competitions, facilities, and training staff weren’t available for Vollstedt. 

"I got an academic scholarship to attend ASU. They didn't have any athletic scholarships for women, Title IX didn’t exist yet but I got an academic scholarship to come here and play golf and get an education. When I was a student here our practice area was over at the east gym area and we would hit off of dirt. I was able to play and practice at different courses here so that was good. I didn't really travel very much since there wasn't a lot of competition but it was an opportunity and allowed me to get that feeling of being on a team and to be able to grow as a student-athlete and a person." Linda Vollstedt
"When I started talking to them about admitting that golf is an individual sport and you want to become the best that you can be. When you're the best that you can be, we can be the best team. If one of your teammates shoots a 68, you shoot 70, and they beat you, you want to thank them. When I first said that they looked at me like I was nuts, but they began to understand that you thank them because they're going to make you better. Now they have to go back and look at what they need to work on." Linda Vollstedt

Once that clicked for the team, dominance began. In the 1995 season, the ah-ha moment happened when the golf team did something that was unheard of.

"In 1995 I had the best team I've ever had. They won every single tournament that they played in and that's just unheard of. 25 years later and no one had done it (men or women) and that team got inducted into the ASU Hall of Fame in 2019. That's when all of a sudden you know it kind of kicked in that we want each other to play really well so we could play better too." Linda Vollstedt
 
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After her dominant coaching career where she won six national championships, Vollstedt retired and moved into a part-time role with ASU athletics. She is currently a Development Director for Sun Devil Club, the fundraising branch of Sun Devil Athletics. 

 

"We were able to start the Wings of Gold program which raises funds just for our women's sports. I didn't feel that the women were getting their justice, I could see all the emphasis on football, baseball and basketball which of course it has to be because those are revenue producing sports, but our poor female student-athletes were being left behind." 
Linda Vollstedt

Even though she hasn’t coached in some time, Vollstedt still keeps in touch with her former players. Missy Farr-Kaye, the current head coach of the women’s golf program, still talks to Vollstedt for guidance.

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"I learned so much from her on how to be a coach and how to manage relationships with your players. She was always a calming presence, but knew exactly when to fire you up. I still love to pick her brain and gain as much knowledge as I can." Linda Vollstedt

During her Hall of Fame career, Vollstedt did more than just coaching. She was a major contributor to launching the LPGA Junior Girls Spells Program, which helped introduce golf to young girls across the country.

It all started with a conversation with Carrie Graham, her teammate at ASU, and an LPGA Hall of Famer, at a golf summit.

"Carrie Graham and I were at a golf summit and we just happened to be sitting next to someone who had been involved with the Olympics in LA and they had all these extra funds that they wanted to use for junior golf. Evidently they had gone to the PGA and they were not interested. I'm going, ‘I'm meeting with this guy’. We got that going and then eventually we got the funds to start the Junior Girls Golf Program. I felt like I had a bit of a part in that and that's nationwide now." Linda Vollstedt
 
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Vollstedt started this journey after noticing how bare girls golf was in Arizona, despite the fact that Arizona was a perfect place for golf.

"There really weren't a lot of good junior girl golfers in the state. I was really surprised because in Oregon, we had this most incredible Junior Golf program. I mean this was in the 60s, each high school had their own girl’s golf team in Portland, which is unheard of. We had a good Junior Golf program in the state of Oregon, so they fed the junior golfers into the high school. There were girls playing golf all the time. When I came here I was shocked to find out there were very few girls in high school programs." Linda Vollstedt

Michelle Estill, a former player of Vollstedt and now an assistant coach under Farr-Kaye, is excited to see her former coach be recognized for her contributions to the game of golf.

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"It was exciting news to receive, she was an important part of so many LPGA careers, including mine. Coach is a Hall of Famer in every sense of the word, she makes everyone around her better and I am proud to have had the chance to play for her." Linda Vollstedt

As her enshrinement into the LPGA Professionals Hall of Fame became official, Vollstedt is excited to see her work isn’t going unnoticed.

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It means a lot to me to think that the professional organization is recognizing my achievements, not just as a coach but as a part of their organization. I served as an officer of the organization, I helped put on seminars, and I started the urban youth program. All the things that I did to be recognized for all those achievements are huge. The most fun thing about it is I'm going in with two of my best friends Kathy Murphy and Debbie Crews.

Written by Marco Salas, Media Relations Intern and redshirt sophomore on the Sun Devil Football team