Happily Married: Two Couples Who Call the Shots as NCGA Rules Officials
By Tony L. Starks
How does the saying go? The couple that officiates together stays together. Well, that’s certainly true for these two married couples: Joan and Jim Caldwell, and Sandy and Mike Westall. Their shared passion for golf and its intricacies led them to an extraordinary role: serving together as Rules Officials for the NCGA.
These dynamic duos bring a blend of teamwork, expertise and knowledge to every tournament they officiate. Along the way, they discovered a shared hobby that keeps their marriages fresh. Talk about relationship goals!
Let’s dive into each of their stories and explore what makes these couples tick.
Rules of Engagement: The Story of Joan & Jim Caldwell
When Joan and Jim Caldwell first crossed paths in 1988 on a whitewater rafting trip in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, little did they know their shared adventures would one day extend to the golf course as Rules officials. Married since 2001, the couple now resides in San Francisco, where their home operates under a handful of “Local Rules” that Joan likes to call pop-ups.
“They’re strictly for situations as they occur,” she quipped as Jim joined in on the laughter.
The more experienced Rules official of the two, Joan began her golfing journey after retiring from a successful career at Levi Strauss in 1999. She became a member of the Executive Women’s Golf Association, now known as the LPGA Amateur Golf Association.
“I attended a Rules seminar as part of it,” Joan, 72, recalls. “I remember asking the speaker how she got into learning the Rules, and she told me it’s really difficult and it takes a long time. So, I said, ‘Hot damn, I’m going to do it, and I’m going to earn my credentials quickly.’”
That was 2002, and by 2003 she was already volunteering on Rules committees for NCGA tournaments. By 2008, in just five years, she had ascended to officiating USGA events, NCAA tournaments and major amateur championships, earning a reputation for precision and professionalism that often gets her appointed Rules chairperson at any tournament she works.
Jim, 69 and a longtime golfer, joined his wife as a Rules official 20 years after she started. Just like Joan, he takes pride in how quickly he passed the exam and earned his credentials.
“They say lawyers are the only ones who pass the Rules test on the first try. Well, this carpenter got it done on his first attempt,” he says, smiling.
Another source of pride for Jim? He takes credit for introducing Joan to the game.
“I moved up here from L.A. and introduced Joan to golf in the early ’90s. It started with me teaching her how to cheat for fun – like placing the ball on a tee in the fairway,” they laughed in unison again, signaling the kind of joy and love people strive for after 24 years of marriage. “But she quickly got serious about the game and the Rules. She’s really built an outstanding career and is very sought after.”
While the couple frequently works tournaments together, Joan focuses on championship events and Jim often handles local tournaments. Despite their shared passion, the Caldwells’ approach to officiating and Rules discussions is refreshingly pragmatic.
Joan is direct: “I’m not one of those people who sits around talking about hypothetical rulings. It’s very situational, and to me, it’s a waste of time to overanalyze.” Jim, however, humorously recalls moments of studying for rules exams with Joan’s guidance. “I’d ask her a question, and she’d say, ‘Let’s look it up.’ I wasn’t looking for that – I just wanted the answer!”
Their experiences have yielded countless memorable rulings, including one particularly tricky situation involving a college player in Silverado. After hitting her ball into the penalty area, the player lifted it and replaced it before being told she was not permitted to take an “unplayable lie” in the penalty area. She hacked it out after several swings, and finally reached the green. At that point, she noticed it was not her ball.
“First, we had to determine what she did wrong,” Joan explained. “Did she hit the wrong ball, or did she hit from the wrong place? Technically, because she lifted the ball and then replaced it, the player ultimately substituted it in the wrong place. We made that determination on the course, but the discussion went on for days among us rules officials. It was a challenging decision, because there are grey areas and interpretation within the Rules. At the end of the day, it’s our job to protect the field, the player and the integrity of the competition.”
For the Caldwells, their roles as officials extend beyond enforcing the Rules – they are ambassadors for respect, fairness and enjoying life, whether that’s on the course or at home with their pop-up rules.
From Tennis Courts to the Golf Course: Teamwork Defines the Journey of Sandy & Mike Westall
When Sandy and Mike Westall talk about their lives, golf isn’t the first thing that comes up. Instead, it’s tennis, their mutual alma mater – the University of California, Berkeley – and the lifelong partnership they’ve built.
Like ships passing in the night, their paths crossed long before they formally met. Both attended UC Berkeley for their undergraduate studies and later returned to campus for graduate programs, unknowingly sharing space but not a connection. It wasn’t until their mid-40s, through an alumni association camp, that their journeys finally converged.
“We met over tennis,” Sandy recalls. “We ended up playing doubles together quite a bit as partners.” They dated for about a decade before marrying in 1993. Now both 78 years old, the Westalls reflect on their late start with humility and gratitude for the partnership they’ve built.
Oakland is home for the Westalls, where they’ve embraced retirement with the same energy that defined their careers. Sandy worked as the vice president of services for a tech company specializing in library systems, a role that took her around the globe. Mike was an engineer, a field that also shaped his early exposure to golf.
“We downsized about six years ago to a retirement community near Lake Merritt,” Sandy says. “People don’t always think of Oakland as beautiful, but this area is lovely. It’s urban, close to San Francisco and Berkeley, and keeps us connected to the activities we enjoy.”
The Westalls remain dedicated supporters of their alma mater, holding season tickets to Cal football and basketball and staying active in events hosted by the engineering department, the library and the faculty club. “We’re longtime supporters of Cal tennis,” Sandy adds. “It’s a big part of how we give back.”
For Mike, golf began as a way to connect with colleagues. “I started playing after college with other engineers in Southern California,” he explains. “But it wasn’t a constant in my life. I mostly played occasionally until Sandy brought it back into focus.” Sandy’s journey into golf was more practical.
“I had a bronchial condition during one of our alumni camp trips, so I couldn’t run around playing tennis at altitude,” she recalls. “That’s when I decided to try golf.” Her eventual knee replacements put an end to her tennis days, and golf became a shared pursuit for the couple.
“It’s a great way to vacation together,” Sandy says. “We’re playing the course, not each other. There’s less reason to get mad at each other that way.”
Retirement gave Sandy the opportunity to dive deeper into the game. Joining a women’s golf league, she quickly realized the importance of knowing the Rules. “There were times when not knowing the Rules really hurt me,” she admits. “So, I decided to learn more.”
Sandy began officiating through the Women’s Golf Association of Northern California, which merged with the NCGA in 2020. Shortly after, Mike followed her lead,
“We’re both detail-oriented people,” Sandy notes. “I’ve been an official for U.S. Figure Skating for 45 years, so transitioning to golf felt natural. Both roles require neutrality and a commitment to fairness.”
Though they often work tournaments together, the Westalls plan their schedules strategically. “We focus on events within driving distance, mostly in the Bay Area and sometimes in Monterey,” Sandy explains. “It’s a mix of practicality and making a mini-vacation out of it.” Their shared enthusiasm for playing it by the books extends beyond the course. “We’re Rules nerds,” she laughs. “After tournaments, we’ll spend hours discussing what we saw and how we handled different situations.”
One such situation, which occurred earlier in Mike’s career, still weighs heavy on his mind to this day. He was working as a spotter when he noticed something peculiar – what he believed to be a competitor was using an alignment stick on the tee box, a major Rules infraction. But before he could call it in, he was summoned to inspect an errant tee shot that landed in a penalty area littered with native debris.
“It turned out he was in fact using an alignment rod during competition, and this wasn’t discovered until five or six holes after I initially noticed it,” he explains. “The player was given the chance to withdraw, so he wouldn’t have to post the score. Instead, he opted to play on and incur something like 26 penalty strokes.”
You can tell by the tone of Mike’s voice that he takes responsibility, but a player has to own it when opting for such an egregious departure from the Rules.
“A lot of Rules officials wish players wouldn’t look at us like ogres who want to penalize them, but instead as people who want to help you do it right,” Sandy says. “We protect the field, but we also protect individual competitors. If they don’t know the rule, we want to give them that knowledge so they can use it to their benefit in future competitions.”
As they balance golf officiating with other interests, the Westalls remain a team both on and off the course. Sandy continues her figure skating officiating, albeit at a slower pace, while Mike is happy to support her in both endeavors.
“Officiating has become such a fulfilling part of our lives,” Sandy says. “When we go to tournaments, we treat it like a couples getaway of sorts. A lot of people don’t have those mutual interests with their spouse, especially at retirement age. The Rules of Golf keep us doing this together and continuing to strengthen our relationship.”