Golf in Northern California lost a friend with the recent passing of Pebble Beach Golf Resorts icon Sally Dodge.
A fixture at Pebble Beach Golf Links for five decades, Dodge was the first female assistant professional ever at Pebble Beach.
After graduating from Northern Arizona University in 1969, she returned to California — and was bit by the golf bug. After playing in a few California Women’s Amateurs (then played at Pebble Beach), she decided to turn pro. In 1975, she was accepted into the LPGA program and qualified and played in that year”s U.S. Women”s Open.
In September 1975, Dodge was approached by her instructor, then-Pebble Beach head pro Art Bell. Bell had an opening for an assistant in the pro shop and offered Dodge the position. She was a fixture there ever since.
The late R.J. Harper, Pebble’s legendary head pro, once summed up Dodge’s omnipresence, saying, “The golf course could fall into the ocean and the next day Sally would still be here behind the counter.”
Dodge once told veteran golf scribe and NCGA Golf Magazine contributor Alan Shipnuck that her favorite memories of her tenure at Pebble Beach were personal: being invited to a champagne toast in The Lodge for Tom Watson after he won the 1982 U.S. Open, and beating one of her heroes, Patty Sheehan, in a casual match at Pebble Beach.
Dodge also was praised for sharing her love of the game.
In 2001, she was named to Golf for Women magazine”s list of the 50 Top Teachers. In addition to her role at Pebble Beach, Dodge served as a member of the California Women’s Amateur Championship Committee.
As Dodge told Shipnuck in an interview for NCGA Golf Magazine prior to her passing, “I’ve met so many folks I otherwise never would have: actors and singers and politicians. And I’ve met people from all around the world. What they all have in common is they love Pebble Beach and can feel what a special place it is.”
The NCGA thanks Dodge for her service to the game. She will be missed.
