Episode 102 - Susan Buchanan

On this final day of Women's History Month, we’re excited to release a special episode of The Cannon Curve. Host Phil Buchanan sits down with Susan Buchanan, president of the Women's Western Golf Association (WWGA) and his wife of over 33 years, for a compelling conversation about the legacy of women’s golf. Susan explores the WWGA’s rich history, dating back to 1901, when a group of determined women golfers in Chicago founded the association. She highlights the pioneering efforts of Bessie Anthony and explains how a crucial alliance with the Western Golf Association helped elevate women’s golf. During their discussion, Susan also shares insights into the challenges and triumphs surrounding the organization’s inaugural tournament.

As we close out Women's History Month, let’s take a moment to honor the remarkable women who inspire us every day.

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Transcript 

Welcome to the Cannon Curve for March 2025. I'm Phil Buchanan. In 1900, a group of women in Chicago, Illinois, who were passionate about the game of golf, came together to form the Women's Western Golf Association early that next year in 1901, began the first of what has become 125 straight years of Women's Western Golf Association amateur events.

In celebration of Women's History Month, today, I've got the very unique opportunity to interview the current president of the Women's Western Golf Association. Now, in full disclosure, I have a bit of history and background with this president as she has been my wife for over 33 years. Susan Buchanan, welcome to the Cannon Curve.

Thank you. I'm very glad to be here. Well, this is a unique opportunity for both of us the first time with an official interview, but to keep it on the perspective of the Women's Western Golf Association and the, and the history you currently serve as, as president of this organization, and you do have this long history, what can you tell us about what was going on?

And I know. Course you weren't there, but what was going on back in, back in 1900 that motivated these women to come together to create an amateur tournament? Well, there was a group of women in Chicago, and Chicago was not on the map as being a strong golfing community for women, and there was a lady named Bessie Anthony, and she was a pioneer of women's golf, and she encouraged some wealthy Chicago women to start this organization to have an amateur tournament in her hometown so she could play in it.

I'll be darned. Alright, so for reference points, and I think this is, this is really important for, for folks to take into consideration. It was only in 1895, some, some five years earlier, that the United States Golf Association held their first. US open, their first US amateur, their first women's amateur, all of those held in Newport, Rhode Island.

So golf was in, in America at that point in time, somewhat nascent, correct? Correct. It was mostly in the New England area. Alright, so to give people context today, there is a pickleball craze that has, has struck America, you know, at most clubs, pickleball, and the championships that we play, you know, that's only only 10 years old.

And today we've got ESPN that's broadcasting everything else. But again, for context, back in 1900, ESPN was not broadcasting the US open. And so this really was a, a grassroots effort, right? It definitely was. So much so that the Western Gulf wanted to partner with us as soon as we started because they were a powerful organization at that time, and so they really helped us move it forward.

Well, you mentioned the Western Golf Association and they were formed only one year prior to the Women's Western Golf Association. And so again, we'll talk a little bit about that partnership in a moment. So, Susan, let's go back to that, that first tournament, 1901. I mean, obviously you weren't there, but I know you all did a tremendous amount of research on that tournament in anticipation first of, of having.

The tournament last year on we here, but also your 125th anniversary coming up. What was unique about that first tournament? Well, Betsy Anthony, who was a pioneer of women's golf in Chicago, was our champion. And imagine what she was playing in. She had a skirt down to her ankles, a shirt buttoned up to the top.

A wide brand hat. It was quite an outfit to try to swing a club in can. Can you imagine today's golfers being able to navigate the course with that? That that's something, okay. And not only swing the club, but walk 18 holes in that. Right, right. Now, who did what was it a, was it a tough competition? What were the results of that first term?

I know she won. Who came in second? In match play, she won the final match one up over Mrs. Charles Taylor, who happened to be the muse for a character in the Great Gatsby. She was friends with Es Scott Fitzgerald. I'll be darned. Okay. So any of us that love history and the story of the Great Gatsby and tuxedos and martinis, we can, we can certainly envision pretty heady times, uh, at that first tournament.

Right? That's exactly right. Walk us through a little bit to, to present day. I, I love to tell people that you are a, an accidental historian because now you are the caretaker of all of this history. I don't recall back in, in early days that you ever set your sights on being president of a golf association.

How did, how did you ultimately wind up in that chair? What was the, what was the catalyst that got you involved? Well, both of our daughters played a lot of junior golf and I was caddying for our younger daughter, and there was a gentleman that was challenging me on quite a few things. And after that tournament I told you I was gonna go to rural school and know the rules backwards and forwards.

And to make a long story short, I was supposed to go in Atlanta, but my younger sister had a, a a baby later in life and she was being baptized. So we went to rural school in Denver. Everyone in the room stood up and introduced themselves, and I stood up and said, I'm Susan Bucha from Athens, Georgia. I have two junior girl golfers and I wanna learn the rules.

That kind of blew away all the PGA rules officials and the A JGA rules officials and everybody was kind of clapping like, we need more people like this. But lucky for me, there were two women Western directors sitting behind us and at the first break we formed a relationship and the rest is history. I do want our listeners to pick up on Susan's comment that she decided she was going to rural school, but then she used the plural.

We went to Denver, Colorado and we, she and I both did because as, as you are liked to do in a relationship over time, you support the passions and interest of others. But it was a fantastic experience. I learned a, uh, a heck of a lot about the complexity of, of the rules of golf. If those of you out there that are passionate golf.

If you've never taken the opportunity, you don't, you don't have to go to the three and a half day USGA slash PGA experience. Take the opportunity to do a short course in your, your local area. Most of those can be done in a half day or, or day long sessions, and it's really amazing what one can learn. So you got involved with the Women's Western and the women's Western, again, supporting both amateur golf and, and girls junior golf.

Describe for us the kind of the mission and, and and purpose behind the association and, and what's going on with your tournaments. Well, our mission statement is to provide the best competition in golf for women and juniors, and also to support education. We have a foundation that gives scholarships to girls as well.

And the interesting history about our foundation is there were some of our directors after a tournament in the late seventies that were sitting around with some money left over and they said, what are we gonna do with this money? We can invest it in the tournaments. Well, we don't need any improvements.

So they decided to start a foundation. Alice Die was among one of those that started that Pete Dye's wife. And now our foundation has grown to over 7 million and we're supporting girls all over the country. Well, that's fantastic. So we. If I understand it right, you've got a, a junior tournament that's open to women under the age of 18, and then you've got an amateur tournament that takes place a month or so later.

I know just having listened and listened to you on calls and, you know, our, our conversations, the field, the quality of the field has really taken off in the last several years. Talk to us a little bit about some of the juniors that that participate. Some of the women that participate in the amateur.

Well, the junior this year is going to be Atua in Cincinnati. That is a historical course as well. They're celebrating their a hundred years this year, but it is going to be the top 78 juniors from all over the world. Last year we had 19 different countries represented, so we expect the same this year and it is a top ranked junior tournament.

The winner gets full exemption on the A JGA. It's a great, great experience. Okay, going be at Red Run in. Hundred 25th year and it last year our average handicap out of 128 women was plus two. So that tells you how good these women are. All right, so for folks that don't follow golf, a handicap of plus two means that your average score, the way that they, they, they machinate it is often too under par.

Do do I understand that correctly? That is correct. And. Out of an average of 128. That's pretty impressive. That that's incredibly impressive. Alright, so it's fun events, it supports great things. It's got a tremendous history in it. From your, your chair is, is president. What have been some of your bigger takeaways when it comes to.

Is establishing leadership qualities and establishing confidence in women, propelling them to go further. Do you have some, some examples of where women have not necessarily taken their game to the professional level, but because of the game, because of the competition it has, has propelled them to, to other great avenues in life.

I definitely do. I, I'm always the starter on the first tee, and during the covid year of our tournament, we had a girl walk up. They were standing six feet apart and she was crying. Her name was Danielle Ballos, and she played at Purdue, and I said, Daniella? I said, are you okay? First of all, I'm a mom. I just wanna make sure you're okay.

And she said, it's Covid. I can't go home to Lima, Peru. And I miss my mom seeing all these women run this tournament. And I said, all right, well, here's the deal. When my kids had to learn all the countries of South America, we made up a song and we always ended it with Lima, Peru. So when I introduce you, it's going to be Danielle Ballos from Lima, Peru.

So I did that. She started laughing. Up making the cut and still to this day, emails me and wants me to come and visit her in Lima and it propelled her to great things at Purdue. Well, you know, it's, it's stories like that that, that often get lost because, you know. All of our listeners recognize that there have been those small and at the time seemingly insignificant events or seemingly insignificant moments that really were a turning point that were, again, that catalyst that, that, that propel somebody to go.

Go do something. Sometimes it's, it's the result of a, of a disappointment, of a heartache of, of something that's gone wrong. And, and sometimes, you know, you're, that, that emotional low and somebody picks you up and it, it, it changes the entire attitude. And I've seen not only you do that, but I've seen your other co-directors of the association be.

Not, not prolific cheerleaders, but supporters of these women, of their, their pursuits of golf, but really their pursuits of life. And when I look at the impact that, that associations like the Women's Western Golf Association, the true impact that they have on the confidence level to pursue things to, to, to go to great heights, I'm reminded of a conversation that I was.

In with an individual. Years ago, he was talking about Title ix, and for our listeners that don't follow Title ix, it was a, it was an act that took place back in the seventies that mandated equity in college sports. As far as funding goes, she pinpointed that, that Title IX and the growth of women in sports, she was suggesting a line could be drawn to.

Further success that many women were having in the late seventies, eighties, nineties, and, and obviously until today in corporate America. Uh, and it's not that that athletics is necessary for leadership. We all, we all know that, but you and I have, have both watched both of our daughters have to stand on the first tee in front of two or 300 people and walk up and, you know, swing the golf club, send the ball down the fairway, and you know, those kind of moments create.

You know, neural pathways that that people can draw upon when they get in tougher situations in life, right? That is exactly right. I have another great example of how impactful our tournaments can be. I met Stacy Lewis at the PGA Merchandise show last year, and I introduced myself as the president of the Women's Western Golf Association, and she just stopped and she said, you guys changed my life.

She said I was a freshman at Arkansas. I just didn't really know what I was doing and I was trying to play golf and there were a lot of things I had to handle as a freshman in college and I didn't have the most successful year. And that summer I signed up for the Western Golf Amateur, and I won. She said the confidence it gave me when I got back to school, I won most of my tournaments after that, and the rest is history.

Went on to the Curtis Cup, went on to the LPGA, to being a superstar. Yep. It is those moments that we look back on and we're like, I didn't even realize it was happening at that moment in time. You and I both talk that we are very fortunate parents to have two strong young women that, you know, maintain a, a high level of confidence.

I think of a very healthy self-esteem. You know, when people ask me, you know, how, how'd that happen? I, I take zero credit, direct it all to you and to golf. Because I think that the participation of, of both our daughters in, in junior tournaments and, and you know, again, the competition, the, the need to, to stand on the tee or stand over the put and know that, you know, even though they both played on, on teams in, in high school and, and college.

Golf can, it is a very individualistic sport. As you think back on, on watching our daughters, Anna and Ally compete in golf and, and, and play golf, and as you've watched some of these young ladies then in your junior tournaments at the Western and, and the amateur tournaments, what are, what are two or three life lessons that you think that, that, you know, many of these individuals have taken away from the sport?

Number one is perseverance. You are standing by yourself out there. You have to push yourself. You have to overcome obstacles. But number two, confidence. When our daughters were seven and eight years old and they won a tournament, a microphone was handed to them and in a room of people, they had to stand there and thank everybody.

That helps you grow up a lot. It absolutely does, and that does bring back fun memories. So tell me what's next for the next 125 years for the Women's Western Golf Association? Well, right now we are trying to pursue a sponsor for the Women's Western Open, which was held from 1937 to 1961, and we stopped having it when the LPGA started.

There's a ton of history in this tournament, babe. Zach Harris won it. Betsy Rawls won it. We're trying to bring it back. So we're trying to secure a sponsor with the help of the Western Golf Association and the LPGA to have that brought back as a major. But also we're trying to create a legacy of, for this organization to encourage new directors.

One things we've started with that is we have an ambassador's council. Of players that have won our tournament, college coaches, and we have zooms with them once a quarter and we had one yesterday and we're gonna make an impact for college golfers that are trying to make it to the LPGA tour, it's still kind of uneven on the men versus women's side.

And men can stay in college, get their degree and move straight to the PGA. The women are having a hard time moving, staying in college, and moving straight to the LPGA. So we're trying to create avenues to make that a little bit easier for women. Well, you know, I think take this, this last point that you raised, I, those are the important works, the truly important works that often don't get the notoriety that happen with, with groups and associations to the casual observer who.

Might look at the Women's Western Golf Association, who might look at the Western Golf Association or anything else. It's like, okay, it's a bunch of people who, who love the game of golf. But really what we're talking about right there is, is creating pathways for people to pursue dreams and ambitions.

And yes, it. It, it's directly tied to golf, but you know, the lessons that we take away from, from those experiences and from the stories that we hear, from the relationships that we develop, it, it's just incredible. And one of the things that I would suggest to, to, to all of our listeners, and it's not. It's not about the game of golf, right?

It, it, it is about being involved in your community, being involved in the passions and pursuits of others and, and making a difference for people to be engaged and being in involved in things. What you and your directions of the Women's Western Golf Association are doing to. You know, not only help advance the, the game of golf, but to help advance careers, to help give people the opportunity to go and, and pursue business dreams after golf.

It's, it's just fantastic. And I, I know how passionate you are about it. I, I live with it and I just want others to celebrate in what you and your association are doing. Well, thank you for that. We are very passionate about providing opportunities for women. That is our goal. Well, women's History Month comes to a close today, but it shouldn't be relegated to one month a year.

It shouldn't be celebrated as, as an event. It should be something that is pursued and celebrated 365 days a year. And it's because of associations like the Women's Western Golf Association that that can happen. And it does happen because I know that you and your other directors live it. Eat it, breathe it, 365 days a year.

So on behalf of our daughters and all other junior and amateur women that pursue the game of golf, you know, thank you for what you're doing and again, I just want to encourage others to get engaged and get involved. Great. I agree. So Susan, one of the things that we ask all of our guests on the cannon curve, we ask 'em a final, final question.

And I am guessing that maybe you have listened to one or two of my curves through the years. So maybe you know, this question's coming, but I don't want anybody to think I'm playing favorites by not asking you this question. And it is a leadership question and it is this, if you had the opportunity.

Given the, the events of your life since then, the experiences that you had in your life, et cetera, and you could go back and provide some coaching, some mentoring, some advice to the 22-year-old version of Susan Buchanan, other than telling her to stay away from me, what piece of advice, what counsel would you give that young lady?

I would say, Susan, you've got this, you've gotta stay involved in sports, you've gotta be kind. You've gotta help lead people to their dreams. Well, you, you actually have accomplished on all three of those. So that, that is good advice. And I think that we should all be mindful of each of those, especially being kind to others, because when you're kind to others, you've, you earned the proxy to be able to, to help people in all other areas, so.

Fantastic. Susan Buchanan, president of the Women's Western Golf Association, thank you for being with us on the Cannon Curve. It was my pleasure. The Cannon Curve is a production of Cannon Financial Institute. Executive producer of the Cannon Curve is Sarah Jones. Editing and mixing is done by Danny Brunner.

Until next month, I'm Phil Buchanan. Thanking each of you for staying ahead of the curve.