April 3, 2022 • 48 mins
Susan Strange, Mandy Snedeker, Ellie Day, Jan Jacobsen -- these are just some of the women that author Janet Thompson interviews for her new book -- The Golfer's Wife.
In this episode, we discuss Janet's new book, her experience with interviewing the women married to professional players, and Golf's impact on their lives. Janet also shares her experience as the wife of a recreational golfer, her love-hate relationship with the sport, and how it became such an important part of her life.
In her book, she weaves through these topics with the goal of sharing a tale of personal experience with the enlightenment of insight into what it means to share a spouse with life as a professional golfer.
You won/t want to miss this episode with Janet Thompson.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Douglas Maida (00:29):
Good afternoon and welcome to our show. We're
talking golf. My name is DouglasMaida, and I'm your host. Now,
how many times have you watcheda PGA tournament, and come
Sunday afternoon, the playerwho's holding the trophy aloft
is often flanked by his wife andchildren. In their remarks, they
thank their spouses and themembers of their team, whether
(00:50):
it be caddies, coaches,trainers, or parents. It happens
so frequently that we havegotten to know the names of many
of these people.
In today's episode, we will bejoined by Janet Thompson. Janet
has authored a book that looksat the Golfer's Wife, sharing
her experiences as the wife ofan avid recreational player. But
(01:11):
it is not just a book about herexperiences. She interviews
women who are married toprofessional players, players
that you will know from watchinggolf on a regular basis. Players
like Jason Day, Peter Jacobsen,Curtis Strange, D.A. Weibring
Mark Lye, Charley Hoffman andBrandt Snedeker. While the
(01:34):
golfing public is far morefamiliar with the stories of the
husbands, Janet's bookintroduces us to the other half
of the partnership. The womenthat coordinate much of their
husband's lives, coordinatingthe family life, and sharing in
both the emotional highs andlows. In many cases, these very
same women are activelyparticipating, if not leading
(01:55):
the charitable foundation set upin their names or in support of
their causes. But before we getto our guest, we will take a
very short break, so please staywith us.
(03:06):
Welcome back to the show. Thanksfor staying with us. Our guest
(03:55):
today is Janet Thompson. She'sthe author of The Golfer's Wife,
Janet lives in Florida with herhusband, Steve, where they enjoy
golfing, hiking, biking, andspending time with their
grandchildren. Janet is joiningus via zoom from her home in
Florida. Welcome to the show,Janet.
Janet Thompson (04:12):
Thank you, Douglas.
Douglas Maida (04:13):
We're very pleased to have you and glad you
could be here with us. Let's getright into this. I want to ask
you what motivated you to writea book on golf?
Janet Thompson (04:27):
Well, I knew a lot of wives or other
significant others would relateto being with a person in golf.
And it was my hope that bysharing my story that I could
help other people navigatethrough the course. And it's
(04:49):
definitely very challenging.
Maybe take some tips that I havethat I've learned along the way
and important lessons to enhancetheir lives. and make it easier
and stead of going the hard waythat I went.
Douglas Maida (05:05):
Yeah. Okay, you mentioned that being a hard way,
how did you? What are some ofthose hard experiences or
experiences that you referred toas being hard and difficult?
Janet Thompson (05:16):
Well, I think, um, the experience difficulties,
I learned firsthand when myhusband played golf on our
honeymoon. And I realized, youknow, he was really good at the
sport. But at the time, when hetook the first swing, I thought,
Oh, this looks like fun, Ishould play. And then I didn't
(05:36):
realize that it was really agame that required a lot of
skill, not only physically, butmentally itwas huge mentally.
Douglas Maida (05:47):
Did you have a sense then, that golf was going
to become a really big part ofyour life?
Janet Thompson (05:54):
In our I was still newly married? I had no
idea. Big Surprise. You know,very, very challenging. Yeah.
Douglas Maida (06:03):
Yeah, I can appreciate that. I can
appreciate that. So Janet, atwhat point did you decide that
you wanted to write a themeabout women's golf? I mean,
being the golfers wife andsharing your experiences? I
mean, was there any sort ofevent or a point in time or in
(06:24):
life that you thought, you know,what, I've experienced a lot? I
should I should write a bookabout this? Well,
Janet Thompson (06:28):
Actually, yes.
I, you know, it probably, it'sprobably been in the works for
over 13 years. And it was mystory that I started like, 10
years ago, and then I, I wouldjust get up in the morning,
because it was frustrating. Ididn't know exactly the
discipline to turn into a book.
(06:52):
I felt like, there wasn'tanything like it on the market
to help me. And I thought, well,you know, if I'm going through
the same thing, and I talked toso many other golfers wives, and
I'm thinking like this should bewritten. And then just it
progressed, you know, into thiskey idea. And finally, I just
(07:14):
did it. And then we added on theprofessional golfers wives.
Douglas Maida (07:19):
How did that come about that you decided to
approach the wives of some ofthe professional players?
Janet Thompson (07:26):
You know, after I kind of wrote my story, I felt
like, there should be somethingmore. And since watching golf on
TV, I realized that wonder whatwent on in their lives. And so I
talked, presented my idea to afriend of mine. And she loved
(07:47):
it. Her name was Sue Ray. Andshe set me up with my first
professional golfers bikeinterview. And then from there,
the others just came into thebook.
Douglas Maida (07:58):
Well, that's a neat story there. Thank you. You
mentioned your honeymoon. Andyour husband, Steve picking up a
golf club and playing golf onyour honeymoon. That might sound
strange to others. But anybodywho's married to a golfer has
(08:18):
golfer in their life would notbe surprised at that at all.
Janet Thompson (08:21):
Yeah, no. Well, he's he had told me that he
said, Oh, it's a beautiful day,you could ride in the cart. And
I thought, oh, okay, chance tosee the, you know, the beauty,
the nature, you know, and thenI, you know, I saw him and he
just like, bam, and the caddywas really impressed. We were in
Cancun, Mexico, and it was justlike, you know, one thing after
(08:42):
another, and I was like, Oh,this looks like easy. I can I
could do this. You know,
Douglas Maida (08:48):
Prior to meeting your husband, did you ever have
cause to pick up a golf club? Orwas that kind of your
introduction to it?
Janet Thompson (08:55):
Well, actually, my brother John, he was a caddy.
And we lived across the streetfrom the Hinsdale golf course in
near, you know, Chicago,Illinois, and he would come home
with boatloads of money and alot of funny stories. And being
I was I'm one of seven children.
So, you know, money was alwaystight. And we didn't belong to
(09:18):
the country club, but he caddiedthere. So we just come home with
these stories. And I think theidea never came across my mind.
I mean, we could pick up atennis racket but not a golf
club. I mean, you needed tobelong to a club or, or, you
know, have some parent influenceand my dad was not a golfer.
Douglas Maida (09:39):
So your experience with Golf was your
brother?
Janet Thompson (09:42):
Well, brother just but caddy, but then I had
no idea. And I think my brotherplayed a little bit then as a
caddy, but nothing, you know,was brought home does, you know
teach us
Douglas Maida (09:54):
right, right. I grew up on a golf course as a
kid too. So that was our summeractivity. And I'm sure your
brother would have had littlestories and things he could
share even more so about life asa caddy and
Janet Thompson (10:06):
Oh, yeah, some you can tell and some you can't.
Douglas Maida (10:10):
Exactly.
Janet Thompson (10:12):
Yeah, yeah.
Douglas Maida (10:15):
Is it a fair assessment, Janet to say that
you decided to pick up the sportbecause it was a way of being
able to share an activity withSteve?
Janet Thompson (10:25):
Oh, abs?
Absolutely, um, you know, asnewly married and you know,
wanted to do more activitiestogether and bond over? And I
said, Sure, I can try, you know,and he actually even built me my
first set of clubs, because thatwas kind of became a little
hobby of his. And, you know, Iwould try, he was very good
(10:47):
teacher, usually, husbands andwives have this little battle
going on whether or not youshould take lessons from your
husband. But Steve is verypatient. And I think the problem
came once we joined a club thatwe saw other people and he'd
like, say to me, you know,enough about another friend of
(11:10):
mine would like, oh, so and sothe swing is natural. And I'm
like, what's mine? You know,like, it was like, in my, you
know, so unusual. And so Ireally tried to really, really
tried hard. And, and I stillyesterday, we played, in fact,
you know, so it's a continual,you know, one day you love it
(11:30):
next day, not so much.
Douglas Maida (11:34):
What's your most memorable experience of playing
golf with your husband?
Janet Thompson (11:38):
Oh, always, always the time that I beat him
on a hole straight up. That'svery memorable.
Douglas Maida (11:47):
Great. So that's kind of like, local bragging
rights in the family
Janet Thompson (11:51):
effort. Yeah.
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
Douglas Maida (11:55):
Do you play a little games with your husband
about that in terms of okay, ifI, for every holy beat you? Oh,
Janet Thompson (12:02):
that's a Bakradze backgrounds? Yes. Yes.
We do that all the time. Yeah,you got to rub my back tonight.
And, yeah. But no big wagesevery once in a while, we'll
throw out some money. And he youknow, it's kind of like a joke
about the money issue. But youknow, nobody bets big, you know,
we're retired, we're retired forthe most part.
Douglas Maida (12:24):
So I was gonna say perhaps the most extravagant
would be who's buying lunch?
Janet Thompson (12:27):
Oh, yeah. No, no, no.
Douglas Maida (12:31):
Do you ever play with your husband in terms of
keeping score with strokes,handicaps and things like that?
We
Janet Thompson (12:37):
do. But usually, if I'm playing, like, good on a
hole, obviously, I know what I'mgetting. But if let's say I've
dropped the ball, because I knewI could hit it better. And I
kind of, you know, fudged alittle bit, and I'm not counting
the strokes, and we're notplaying with anybody, then
(12:57):
he'll, he'll kind of tell me thescore, because he's so good at
playing competitively, that healready knows my score before I
before I can even go back tobeginning stroke and count it.
He knows, you know, and I mightsay, Oh, I got a seven on that
hole. It goes, well, you kind ofgot an eight or an eight, you
(13:18):
know, or you got a nine. Andit's like, well, I was in
counting those two that I hid inthe woods. You know,
Douglas Maida (13:24):
you mentioned in your book, Janet about playing
for fun. It's obviously not acompetitive sport. It's it's
intended your participation wasSteve is intended to be spending
time together, enjoying eachother's company being outside
enjoying your surroundings and alittle bit of the the couple
camaraderie that goes on. Howimportant was it to you and
(13:47):
still is to you in terms ofhaving the ability just to relax
the rules, that you're here forfun, that it's not about, you
know, you didn't mark your ballproperly, you know, that's a
stroke penalty or things of thatnature?
Janet Thompson (14:00):
Well, I know I can always do with my husband,
it's when you start to play withother people. And then it's kind
of like, oh, I guess I reallyshould keep score, like, and,
and so it depends who you'replaying with. And obviously, I
was in a nine hole League, I wasbriefly in 18 hole lake. So
(14:23):
keeping score, and you want tobe honest, because Golf is a
game of integrity. And it's, butwhen you're so frustrated, that
you want to focus in on, okay,this is how I'm hitting, I have
to stand correctly to get theswing path is so correct, you
(14:43):
know, correctly and it's it'snot a natural motion. You know,
walking is natural, the golfswing, you know, it's not
natural. So you're focused onother things other than keeping
that that number in your head.
And so I think If you bend therules a little bit, you can make
it more fun. But then you haveto tell everybody like, hey, you
(15:04):
know, I might keep my score Imight not. And they'll be okay
with it.
Douglas Maida (15:12):
Did you find playing in your nine hole leak
now was that a exclusively forwomen or was that just for
people that were newer to golf,or
Janet Thompson (15:22):
while the nine hole league is if somebody wants
to play golf, and they want tojust see what it's like, joining
a nine hole League is a greatway because they're usually the
club would have some rules thatare more flexible for the nine
haulers versus the 18. haulers,those are more Howard cards, you
know, and somebody would startthe nine hole and move up to the
(15:44):
18. But when you're in the ninehole League, in, they do count
the strokes, but the good newsabout that is usually they have
a limit. So other than onchampionship day, so the maximum
strokes per hole anyone couldtake would be like 10 or 11. So
that you can stop as I call itbleeding, and move on to the
(16:08):
next hole. No, because youwouldn't want to write down 15
an hour. And that's possible.
That's totally possible if youhit kept hitting him in the
pond, and but on championshipday, everything counts. So you
could get that horrible,horrible, horrible score and
just, you know, let it psychyourself out and take away all
your fun.
Douglas Maida (16:29):
How was your experience with your playing
partners? I read in your book alittle bit that you talk about
those first tee anxieties, whichEvery golfer has, when they walk
up to the tee with a group theyhaven't really met before, even
with a group they even with agroup they played with before
just knowing that there's otherpeople watching? How did you?
Why don't you explain yourexperience with that and the
(16:50):
group you play with? And
Janet Thompson (16:52):
yeah, the group that I I mean, the nine hollers
that I played with, it reallygot to be fun. Because we were
just, you know, we knew eachother's game. And, you know,
it's like, we wanted the bestfor each other. We weren't
competing against each other.
We're just, it was us in thecourse. So we're trying to like
slay the dragon, so to speak,and everybody were cheering each
(17:15):
other on if you hit over thattime, you know, and if you got
in the pond, it was kind oflike, Okay, let's try this
again. But what I found to in inthe 18 hole League, the time
that I was on, I was assigned agroup that, you know, she was
the Club Championship championthat year, and they had never
(17:38):
played with me. And this was thefirst time going out with them.
And they said, well, Janet, canyou play a little faster? And
I'm thinking to myself, Oh, mygosh, I so would if the ball
would advance farther, I couldplay really fast, you know. And
so I was torn between throwingmy club at her or saying
(17:58):
something bad, or just tryingto, you know, put on that happy
face, you know. And, um, but youknow what, it was fine. I got
through the round. And, youknow, ended up having surgery on
my elbow two days later, becauseI like trudge through a little
bit of pain. And I've justfinished so that I didn't feel
(18:20):
bad. So, so I think it depends,you got to find a group that
gets you and can bend the rulestill you feel really confident
in your skills. That's what Ithink.
Douglas Maida (18:34):
Yeah, I understand. Most people that we
begin golf, that's where we allstart. Mm hmm. Absolutely.
Janet, I want to ask you acouple more questions about
this. Did you ever find yourselfat a point in your life where
you started to enjoy the sporton your own terms? I mean, in
reading your book, it wassomething that Steve's golf,
(18:56):
initially defined yourrelationship with golf. And that
was the lens you started to seeit through. Did you ever at a
point arrive at it where it wasjust you and your passion for
golf?
Janet Thompson (19:07):
Oh, absolutely, I did. Because I wanted to get
better just for my own personalbenefit. So you have to have
that drive from within. But, um,I found when I could play the
course in the summer, it'llFlorida by myself. I just felt
like I was enjoying the natureand everything else about it.
(19:31):
And if I didn't hit a good shot,let's say one hole, but I knew I
could do better. I would justdrop another ball down and hit
the ball. So all of a sudden, Iwas playing, you know, Nike
against Pinnacle against titlelist. And the most challenging
thing was to keep track of wherethe balls meant. Because, you
(19:54):
know, I had a course I had anendless supply in my bag. And
but that was really Fun andprobably the course of you know,
playing 18 holes. I'm actuallyplaying like 72 holes of golf
because I'm playing with freeballs, you know, or something.
So that was when I felt like,you know, I really, really,
(20:15):
really honed my game better. Notthat I'm anti social, but it is
it is a fun way to play if youcan.
Douglas Maida (20:23):
I'm I agree with you completely, you know, in
your book, in one section youwrote about the Gulf becoming a
cult like membership. What Iwanted to ask you was, were you
ever at a point in time whereyou felt like you were starting
to flirt with the idea ofbecoming a cult member in golf?
Janet Thompson (20:45):
Well, when I when I decided to stay in the
nine hole League, join the 18hole League, and then play one
or two days a week with myhusband four days a week, oh my
gosh, that was a lot of golf.
And, you know, I stayed in the18 hole league really just like
one day, and I realized, I'm notat that level, and I didn't want
(21:05):
that, you know, that hangingover my head or feeling
nervousness. So, um, you know, Iso then I got out of it. And I
just realized, for mepersonally, I just really enjoy,
you know, playing more with thenine holders and making it more
fun. You know, in couples, golfto me is the best if you can do
(21:27):
that couples golf, and they,they make all these different
tournaments. That's really,really fun.
Douglas Maida (21:34):
So a lot of the social aspects of it as well.
Janet Thompson (21:36):
Yeah, and the handicap system, but the
handicap system with the dots, Imean, you're on an even playing
level, I, you know, give me allthe dots on my card, because I
need all that extra help I canget and that's why I think that
makes golfing more fun.
Douglas Maida (21:52):
Well, I think golf is one of the only sports
where you can handicap where youcan handicap so players of
different skill levels can playtogether on a fairly level
playing field and can have a funtime.
Janet Thompson (22:04):
Now I have to tell you a little story right
now by the hand the wordhandicap on a golf scorecard.
Okay, so I'm walking to thisbookstore in the media store to
pick up some media poster, and agirl comes running it to me. She
goes, you're the author of thisbook? And I said, Yes. She goes,
I have to tell you, you justwrote my whole life story. I'm
(22:25):
getting married in a couplemonths to a pro golfer. And I
was like, what? And she saidyes. And she said, I didn't know
anything about golf. She's got alot to learn.
Douglas Maida (22:38):
Well, I'm sure she'll learn quickly.
Janet Thompson (22:40):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Douglas Maida (22:42):
Janet, we're gonna take a short break for a
couple of messages. And when wecome back, let's talk a little
bit more about the book itselfand the women of the PGA some of
the women you spoke with, andsome of the things that you take
away from from that experience.
Janet Thompson (22:58):
Okay, great, thank you.
Douglas Maida (24:00):
Alright, we're back. Thank you for staying with
us. We're with author JanetThompson, who's written a book
called the golfers wife. Now,Janet, you feature quite a few
professional players wives arethe wisest and professional
players, a very impressive listof women. How was it that you
came to include I mean, youbriefly touched about it with
(24:21):
your friends Sue, but was therea certain thought process that
went in mind and and in helpingyou formulate the ideas of
correlating or or sharing theexperiences of the professional
wives and the experiences ofgolfer his wife,
Janet Thompson (24:36):
and I want them to get a diverse group of
golfers wives, professionalgolfers wives to be in the book.
And I felt like gettingdifferent age groups, different
levels of the golfers themselvesthat played and I was really
excited. I mean, that was a longprocess because I only got
(24:58):
introduced to the first one Andprocuring the others really was
a course of three years ofbetween interviews and getting
them some took like, six, sevenmonths to get. Because you had
to go through their, theirmanager, their publicist, etc,
(25:18):
and then you finally get tothem. And then they kind of talk
to you over the phone, and theydecide, you know, Hey, I like
this project, and, and then gowith it. And when I interviewed,
le de, Jason de was the numberone golfer in the world. So I
was really excited to get hertake on it. And she's, you know,
one of the younger women and,you know, full of energy. And
(25:42):
she really had a great story.
And I was so thrilled to haveher in the book and along with
the others, because you justdon't know what goes on behind
the scenes.
Douglas Maida (25:54):
Yeah, terrific.
And you do have quite animpressive list of, of women,
you know, le de jan Jacobson,Mandy Snedeker, and quite a few
others. So why don't you sharewith us what your experience was
like, when you're interviewingthese women? I mean, how did you
find that process? Was it kindof like interviewing some
celebrities in your mind interms of Oh, wow, I'm excited
(26:17):
and, and things of that nature?
Janet Thompson (26:22):
Well, at first, I was really nervous about it,
because I didn't know howwilling they would be to share
their life stories. And, youknow, a lot of those very, very
personal and so I promised themthat I would not publish
anything that they didn'tapprove of, you know, or if they
(26:45):
said, Hey, Jana, can this be offthe record? 100%. So I wanted
them to totally trust me, andfeel they could be candid. But
if they said something that theydidn't want published, then I
was okay with it, too.
Douglas Maida (27:01):
What was your experience? Like when you're
sitting down with them? I thinkit was most of these interviews
over the phone, or did you havethe occasion to meet any of them
in person? Well,
Janet Thompson (27:10):
actually, I had the pleasure of interviewing
several of them in person. Andactually interviewing right in
my Naples home here. JanJacobson, was one of the first
and she came right over to myhouse. And then, and it was, you
know, an honor, I was a littlenervous. I'm, I'm on the sixth
floor, and I'm looking down inthe parking lot. And I'm like,
(27:31):
Oh, my gosh, that's JanJacobson. She's walking to see
me. So I'm just kind ofthrilled. And just, but they
were also so gracious and sosincere. And they all like the
concept. So I think, just kindof flowed. And then I actually
conducted Christie librariesinterview at the Jacobson's
(27:54):
home. P there, Peter answeredthe door. And, and, you know, I
said, Hi, I'm Janet Thompson. Hesays, Hi, I'm Peter Jacobsen. I
go well, Hi, Peter, nice to meetyou. So it just really, really
was a really good experience allthe way around.
Douglas Maida (28:11):
Wow. That's, that's a wonderful thing to
hear. Let me ask you, then, whatwere some of the things that
impressed you most about thesewomen? I mean, you've got a
pretty broad demographic groupthere in terms of age groups.
And you know, as you mentioned,players who've different you
know, like you have Curtisstrange, who's a two time US
Women's, US, US Open champion,you know, two players like Jason
(28:37):
de who's currently still playingon the PGA, Charley Hoffman, and
players like that. So what didyou find? I mean, what impressed
you the most about some of thesewomen?
Janet Thompson (28:48):
Um, you know, I think it was, they're really
down to earth, you know, I mean,they have their feet firmly
planted on the ground, asChristy had said back to her
husband in a quote in the book,and they opened up and shared so
much stuff about their lives andinteresting, interesting things
(29:10):
and funny things, you just, Imean, I was almost, I mean, I
was brought to laughter severaltimes during the interviews
because they told me like, youknow, hey, I don't like to wear
my name badge because peopletalk around me and then they
think I know everything aboutgolf, and they're gonna ask me,
you know, or, or differentstories like, you know, that you
(29:37):
think you know, one thing butthen somebody else has another
idea. So, I think that's reallythe key, and so much back and
forth phone calls during theprocess. And they became my
friends were emailing back andforth and sharing some personal
pictures and I'm telling aboutmy grandkids and they're sharing
(29:59):
their grandkids or their kidspictures. It's just been a
really positive experience allthe way around. And plus, now
we're raising funds for othercharities. Yeah, that's
Douglas Maida (30:11):
a great story.
I'd like to ask you, I'll throwthe names of the women out. Can
you maybe share a little nuggetof your experience or lesson or
what impressed you most aboutthe individual in your
interview?
Unknown (30:23):
Absolutely.
Douglas Maida (30:25):
Let's start with LED.
Janet Thompson (30:27):
She's just she's, she's her happiest places
when she's country dancing, linedancing, and just such a good
mom. You know, I just see herwith her kids and gentle soul,
but fun and energetic.
Douglas Maida (30:48):
Okay, how about Jen Jacobson?
Janet Thompson (30:51):
Oh, Jan. She went, I would say she's the one
person that was actually playinggolf when she first when she met
Peter. And actually, that's kindof how they met. And she has the
skill level. You know, at thattime when she was first playing.
(31:11):
That one time Peter actually hadto let her go in a she was
playing competitive golf. AndPeter, she couldn't go to
Peter's dance. And so she's justthat giving person also in the
sense that she's a grandma, butshe worked super hard at what
(31:32):
she does, and manages householdsand family so beautifully.
Douglas Maida (31:37):
Okay, Lisa Lai.
Janet Thompson (31:39):
Lee says, she was my first interview. And she
has also she was interviewed inher Her story is so great with
trying to support juvenilediabetes type one. And not only
(31:59):
does her husband habit that herson has it too, and I see her
working so diligently to try tohelp raise money for that cause
and that's what impresses meabout her.
Douglas Maida (32:12):
Christy, we why bring Oh, Christine.
Janet Thompson (32:15):
She, um, she's very fun. And I interviewed her
at at Jan's house. And she alsohad been experience with
childhood cancer. Her daughterhad gotten cancer, but now is in
remission, thank goodness. Andthey started this charity nama
(32:35):
Kayla's Foundation, give backand it's a group of dancers
actually, even that helped raisemore funds for that charity. And
just really, really, really anice person.
Douglas Maida (32:50):
Stacy Hoffman,
Janet Thompson (32:51):
oh, Stacy. She's a probably again, on the
younger, younger side andtotally fun. I think one of the
funniest stories, she said herchild got known, because she was
known as Claire Hoffman's mom,not, you know, not, you know,
man, you know, Stacy Hawkman.
And it was funny, because she'sthe one that doesn't like to
(33:17):
wear the name badge, and shewould hear comments on the golf
course. You know, like,initially, Charlie had long
hair, and she'd heard thesecomments of like, oh, he, he's a
surfer guy, and he probablysmokes a lot of weed and does
all these things. And it and sheturns around and looks at the
person is like, Hey, I'm hiswife. You know, it's like, you
(33:40):
just get that that on the golfgolf press, because you never
know who you're standing next towhen you're watching at a
tournament. So I tell people, becareful. Be careful what you
say. Because you don't knowwho's next to you.
Douglas Maida (33:58):
And Charlie's.
Charlie's well known for wearinghis trucker style hats, you
know, the beat. They even have.
Yeah, I was gonna say they evenhave a style called the Charlie
Hoffman style of golf cap.
Janet Thompson (34:12):
At one event, they actually went to one of his
biggest fans dressed up justlike him and actually asked to
take a picture with Charlie. Soit was kind of a really nice, a
nice treat for them to meetsomebody that was really big
fan.
Douglas Maida (34:28):
Mandy Snedeker
Janet Thompson (34:30):
Mandy oh, gosh, she She's really nice. They have
such a good charity inNashville. And, you know, she's
a country girl at heart, you cantell and even the story of how
brand her net it's just really,really heartwarming. She kind of
(34:52):
gave up her career to supporthim. But you know what, it was
the like the loving thing to doand A lot of funny stories with
those two lot of funny stories.
Douglas Maida (35:04):
And last but definitely not least, Sarah
strange,
Janet Thompson (35:09):
Sara strange.
She was also an in personinterview. And I probably got to
know Sarah, the best, I think,because we did so much editing
to her stories back and forth toget it really correct. And
she definitely touched my heartin a lot of ways. You know, she
(35:33):
worked so hard to get thecrystal host Hospice House,
in to be part of the, one of thecharities, they actually built
it from nothing. And to me, thatwas so so impressive. And, and
then we kind of bonded overbreast cancer and a couple of
(35:53):
things. And she's right in theNaples area. So um, so when I
dropped off her book, herhusband was home, and I handed
it to Curtis. And I think he'sso proud of his wife, too, you
know, so really great family.
Douglas Maida (36:08):
It sounds like there's lots of opportunity, on
the lighter side to maybe,perhaps sit back, crack open a
bottle of wine and enjoy somegood conversation and
discussion. I'm not, that's nota stretch, is it?
Janet Thompson (36:21):
Oh, not at all?
Not at all. No, no, it's really,really a fun way to go. You
know,
Douglas Maida (36:29):
Janet, your book is a blend of your experiences
as the golfers wife, and theprofessional women. Owing to the
fact that there's a bit of adifference between, say, Steven
yourself playing recreationally.
And then these women and theirhusbands playing professionally?
How much of their experiences doyou see in your own life and in
your own situations? And isthere a fair bit of crossover or
(36:52):
shared similarity of sharedexperiences or sentiment,
Janet Thompson (36:58):
oh, that's, that's what I kind of found,
through doing this wholeprocess. I didn't realize how
many similarities there actuallyare. But it's just on a
different scale. Because let'ssay for example, I go out and
watch my husband playing a golftournament. And usually it's on
the back nine, because, youknow, I don't want to, you know,
(37:20):
make it be so distracting orwhatever. But he'll, you know,
allow me to come on the last dayback nine. And there might be
10, spectators tops watching.
And then for the professionals,oh my gosh, there's hundreds in
the, you know, in the stands,and then there's all this all
the people watching on TV. Sothey have a lot more, you know,
there's the difference rightthere. But then, if you look at
(37:42):
the feelings that I have, whenI'm watching Steve, of course, I
want him to win. Even Even if Idon't want to polish all those
trophies, I want him to win.
And, of course, the professionalgolfers wives, you know, they
want their husbands to win to,but it's their job. It's his
(38:05):
income. And so if my husbandloses the tournament, it's not
gonna affect our rank. But itdoes affect theirs. And so
that's the difference rightthere on a grander scale. And
then they also have to, youknow, keep up image. So they're
constantly being bombarded. AndI recall when Jason was a number
(38:28):
one golfer in the world, andEllie love that time, but she
said he was being pulled in somany directions. So if my
husband wins the tournament, youknow, he's not pulled in any
direction. I just get braggingrights for a year, you know,
but, but Jason here, he wins sobig. And he's being pulled by
all this media. And they expecthim to play every tournament,
(38:52):
they expect him to make allthese appearances. So I don't
have to share my husband when hewins, but they do. You know,
there's the difference. Justgrand scale. Makes sense?
Douglas Maida (39:04):
In your book, you wrote the following. Had she
read a book like this before shestarted playing the game, it
would have made a difference inher love hate relationship with
golf? How would you? How wouldthings have been different? Had
you read your book before? Orhad you known those things
before?
Janet Thompson (39:23):
I probably wouldn't have been so hard on
myself in the beginning, becauseI really, like felt frustrated.
And I know, it seems like attimes, you know, when I was not
playing bad, I'm looking for thebeer card girl or to have a
drink or something on thecourse. And it's true. I mean, I
(39:45):
I wanted to just relax and feelcalm about it because I knew if
I played more relaxed, my shotswould probably go you know
farther and be more crisp. But Ithink I had to give myself
permission to just like, acceptmy game. And as soon as I
accepted the level of my skill,it just made it so much better.
(40:10):
You know, and, and knowing, youknow what groups to play with?
And, you know, you have gooddays and bad days, some days you
should, you can be hitting thedriver so well, and other days
not so well. And you should getthe croquet mallet out. I mean,
seriously, you know, what do youdo? You know, but like I said,
(40:32):
once in a while, everything isaligned, you're putting good,
you're driving good, and you getthat great score. And then you
end up in the bar adding up thescores like I do. And I told
myself one day, if I if I, youknow, broke 100 I could have
that Margarita at the end of theround. You know, and, and thank
(40:53):
goodness, I did you know, doublecheck by scoring because of golf
is a game of integrity.
Douglas Maida (41:02):
And did you? Did you set a goal for say breaking
90?
Janet Thompson (41:06):
Oh, I don't think that's going to happen.
Unless, unless by unless by somemiracle that I'm playing a
miniature golf course.
Douglas Maida (41:16):
Well, I was gonna say we have a, there's a bit of
a common joke in golf about agolfer shooting 69 The only
difference is they do that onnine holes versus
Janet Thompson (41:26):
Ah, yes, that's that is true. That is true,
right? Yeah, sometimes my nineyear old score is my husband's
18 hole score, which is a littlesad, but it's okay.
Douglas Maida (41:40):
But it's good fun.
Janet Thompson (41:41):
Absolutely.
Douglas Maida (41:43):
Jim, let me ask you, are there any sort of last
thoughts that you would like toshare before we start to wrap
up,
Janet Thompson (41:50):
um, you know, I would really like to thank my
friend, Sue Rhea, because sheliked my idea, and just kind of
was my cheerleader along theway. And also, I'd like to thank
my editor, Laura Matthews, shewas almost like talking to Ellen
DeGeneres, because she just mademe laugh all the time. And her
(42:14):
actually voice sounds like her.
So when I first met her, I waslike, you know, I was like,
talking to, so she just made itfun. And she made got the
writing to make sure my writingcould be really read by even a
non golfer, and I think thatperson would understand golf.
Douglas Maida (42:34):
Great. Anyone else you might want to? Or any
other thoughts?
Janet Thompson (42:38):
You know, I think, um, I like, I'm really
glad that I was able to give anopportunity for all the
professional golfers five tochoose charities, and that they
really felt close to theirheart. And I'm really, really
happy to say that, you know, alot of these charities I like a
(43:01):
lot that really, really areamazing that you hadn't heard
that hadn't heard about before.
And they're all so worthwhilecauses that I'm so pleased that
anyone that buys the book isactually giving back to these
charities.
Douglas Maida (43:18):
Right? You mentioned that some of the
proceeds are going to thecharities. Are you just dividing
that up by equal percentage oran equal amount? Yeah,
Janet Thompson (43:27):
I am. I did.
Book, my release date is April5. But right now you can get it
from the publisher directlyamplify. And, of course,
obviously, more goes toproceeds. But then I just took a
chance on myself, and had 512copies mailed to me. And I tell
(43:49):
myself, if I sell these books,the 100% will go to all these
charities. So yeah, so I have anaccountant, we're keeping track.
And then we'll just make thatall go to the seven charities.
Douglas Maida (44:06):
You mentioned April 5. So that's when the
print copy is going to beavailable and in stores,
bookstores and places
Janet Thompson (44:15):
in bookstores on Amazon, and Barnes and Nobles.
All the major chains will haveit. And I hope it does really
well.
Douglas Maida (44:25):
Great. Are you planning any sorts of book tours
or any other additional speakingengagements, things like that?
Janet Thompson (44:32):
Now, it's up to my marketing manager -- Skye.
She's working really hard to getme Get me some jobs lined up and
I'm excited to do it all.
Douglas Maida (44:41):
Oh, wonderful.
One other thing I'd like to askabout that. April 5, that's the
week of the masters. Was it aconscious choice to look at that
as release date? Or was thatjust something that coincidental
Janet Thompson (44:58):
and thank you I think the luck but a little
coincidence, I think, too,because originally I was trying
to get this book published byChristmas because it makes a
really great gift book. But um,we had, you know, all sorts of
supply chains issues with papershortages and workers and, you
(45:21):
know, this COVID thing on top ofeverything. So I, you know, I'm
really glad that it's finallyout and people see it and just
just lucky and I hope themasters will be a great
tournament as it always is.
Douglas Maida (45:35):
And a wonderful opportunity to, to get it out
there. Well, interesting. Golfseems to be at its highest every
year.
Janet Thompson (45:43):
Oh, yeah. Yeah, I think I think my, my color of
my book covers the same as thegreen jacket.
Douglas Maida (45:52):
Oh, that's terrific. Wonderful. So what's
next for you, Janet? Just any,you're going to do, perhaps some
public engagements, PRengagements, things like that.
But any plans for ideas foranother book or anything of that
nature?
Janet Thompson (46:10):
I will stop is always rattling around in my
head. I'm just going to surpriseyou.
Douglas Maida (46:15):
Okay, and what's your next playing in any mix
social events with Steve.
Janet Thompson (46:21):
And well, we don't have anything lined up
right now. We're going to headback in May back to the I'm
going to be doing a lot of myother volunteer job in
Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Soit's the gondola company is a
great place if you ever get tothe New England states in
Portsmouth. And that's anonprofit, and I'm a deckhand
(46:44):
there. So totally opposite mygolfing. And I'm doing ropes and
swabbing the deck and teachingschool aged children about the
environment and the action andtheir impact on the environment.
Douglas Maida (46:57):
Oh, terrific.
Terrific. So a never ending listof activities for you.
Janet Thompson (47:02):
Never ending.
Absolutely. But I do want tothank you. Go ahead.
Douglas Maida (47:08):
Well, thank you for joining us. We appreciate
you taking the time, Janet. It'slooking like it's a really good
read. And we hope that it lookslike you're gonna have a really
great launch as well. So thanksfor joining us. That's
wonderful. Hopefully, you'll getto play some more rounds of
golf. And if we're ever donethat way, we'll definitely send
you a message and say, Hey,let's get out there.
Janet Thompson (47:30):
Absolutely.
You're always welcome on myboat. Thank you.
Douglas Maida (47:34):
Thank you so much. Thanks, Janet. Okay, take
care.
Janet Thompson (47:39):
Thank you. Bye.
Douglas Maida (47:41):
And that ladies and gentlemen wraps up our show
for today. Thank you very muchfor joining us, and we will see
you again shortly. And remember,if you are out there playing
golf, try to keep your golf ballon the short grass.
Amy (Studio) (47:53):
You have been listening to our podcast show.
We're talking golf produced bythe world of golf. This episode
was recorded on Friday, March25 2022. If you have an idea for
a future show, please send us anemail to info at World of
golf.org Please include podcastshow in the subject line. This
(48:15):
show is the copyright of theworld of golf. Thank you for
joining us
Good afternoon and welcome to our show. We're
talking golf. My name is DouglasMaida, and I'm your host. Now,
how many times have you watcheda PGA tournament, and come
Sunday afternoon, the playerwho's holding the trophy aloft
is often flanked by his wife andchildren. In their remarks, they
thank their spouses and themembers of their team, whether
(00:50):
it be caddies, coaches,trainers, or parents. It happens
so frequently that we havegotten to know the names of many
of these people.
In today's episode, we will bejoined by Janet Thompson. Janet
has authored a book that looksat the Golfer's Wife, sharing
her experiences as the wife ofan avid recreational player. But
(01:11):
it is not just a book about herexperiences. She interviews
women who are married toprofessional players, players
that you will know from watchinggolf on a regular basis. Players
like Jason Day, Peter Jacobsen,Curtis Strange, D.A. Weibring
Mark Lye, Charley Hoffman andBrandt Snedeker. While the
(01:34):
golfing public is far morefamiliar with the stories of the
husbands, Janet's bookintroduces us to the other half
of the partnership. The womenthat coordinate much of their
husband's lives, coordinatingthe family life, and sharing in
both the emotional highs andlows. In many cases, these very
same women are activelyparticipating, if not leading
(01:55):
the charitable foundation set upin their names or in support of
their causes. But before we getto our guest, we will take a
very short break, so please staywith us.
(03:06):
Welcome back to the show. Thanksfor staying with us. Our guest
(03:55):
today is Janet Thompson. She'sthe author of The Golfer's Wife,
Janet lives in Florida with herhusband, Steve, where they enjoy
golfing, hiking, biking, andspending time with their
grandchildren. Janet is joiningus via zoom from her home in
Florida. Welcome to the show,Janet.
Janet Thompson (04:12):
Thank you, Douglas.
Douglas Maida (04:13):
We're very pleased to have you and glad you
could be here with us. Let's getright into this. I want to ask
you what motivated you to writea book on golf?
Janet Thompson (04:27):
Well, I knew a lot of wives or other
significant others would relateto being with a person in golf.
And it was my hope that bysharing my story that I could
help other people navigatethrough the course. And it's
(04:49):
definitely very challenging.
Maybe take some tips that I havethat I've learned along the way
and important lessons to enhancetheir lives. and make it easier
and stead of going the hard waythat I went.
Douglas Maida (05:05):
Yeah. Okay, you mentioned that being a hard way,
how did you? What are some ofthose hard experiences or
experiences that you referred toas being hard and difficult?
Janet Thompson (05:16):
Well, I think, um, the experience difficulties,
I learned firsthand when myhusband played golf on our
honeymoon. And I realized, youknow, he was really good at the
sport. But at the time, when hetook the first swing, I thought,
Oh, this looks like fun, Ishould play. And then I didn't
(05:36):
realize that it was really agame that required a lot of
skill, not only physically, butmentally itwas huge mentally.
Douglas Maida (05:47):
Did you have a sense then, that golf was going
to become a really big part ofyour life?
Janet Thompson (05:54):
In our I was still newly married? I had no
idea. Big Surprise. You know,very, very challenging. Yeah.
Douglas Maida (06:03):
Yeah, I can appreciate that. I can
appreciate that. So Janet, atwhat point did you decide that
you wanted to write a themeabout women's golf? I mean,
being the golfers wife andsharing your experiences? I
mean, was there any sort ofevent or a point in time or in
(06:24):
life that you thought, you know,what, I've experienced a lot? I
should I should write a bookabout this? Well,
Janet Thompson (06:28):
Actually, yes.
I, you know, it probably, it'sprobably been in the works for
over 13 years. And it was mystory that I started like, 10
years ago, and then I, I wouldjust get up in the morning,
because it was frustrating. Ididn't know exactly the
discipline to turn into a book.
(06:52):
I felt like, there wasn'tanything like it on the market
to help me. And I thought, well,you know, if I'm going through
the same thing, and I talked toso many other golfers wives, and
I'm thinking like this should bewritten. And then just it
progressed, you know, into thiskey idea. And finally, I just
(07:14):
did it. And then we added on theprofessional golfers wives.
Douglas Maida (07:19):
How did that come about that you decided to
approach the wives of some ofthe professional players?
Janet Thompson (07:26):
You know, after I kind of wrote my story, I felt
like, there should be somethingmore. And since watching golf on
TV, I realized that wonder whatwent on in their lives. And so I
talked, presented my idea to afriend of mine. And she loved
(07:47):
it. Her name was Sue Ray. Andshe set me up with my first
professional golfers bikeinterview. And then from there,
the others just came into thebook.
Douglas Maida (07:58):
Well, that's a neat story there. Thank you. You
mentioned your honeymoon. Andyour husband, Steve picking up a
golf club and playing golf onyour honeymoon. That might sound
strange to others. But anybodywho's married to a golfer has
(08:18):
golfer in their life would notbe surprised at that at all.
Janet Thompson (08:21):
Yeah, no. Well, he's he had told me that he
said, Oh, it's a beautiful day,you could ride in the cart. And
I thought, oh, okay, chance tosee the, you know, the beauty,
the nature, you know, and thenI, you know, I saw him and he
just like, bam, and the caddywas really impressed. We were in
Cancun, Mexico, and it was justlike, you know, one thing after
(08:42):
another, and I was like, Oh,this looks like easy. I can I
could do this. You know,
Douglas Maida (08:48):
Prior to meeting your husband, did you ever have
cause to pick up a golf club? Orwas that kind of your
introduction to it?
Janet Thompson (08:55):
Well, actually, my brother John, he was a caddy.
And we lived across the streetfrom the Hinsdale golf course in
near, you know, Chicago,Illinois, and he would come home
with boatloads of money and alot of funny stories. And being
I was I'm one of seven children.
So, you know, money was alwaystight. And we didn't belong to
(09:18):
the country club, but he caddiedthere. So we just come home with
these stories. And I think theidea never came across my mind.
I mean, we could pick up atennis racket but not a golf
club. I mean, you needed tobelong to a club or, or, you
know, have some parent influenceand my dad was not a golfer.
Douglas Maida (09:39):
So your experience with Golf was your
brother?
Janet Thompson (09:42):
Well, brother just but caddy, but then I had
no idea. And I think my brotherplayed a little bit then as a
caddy, but nothing, you know,was brought home does, you know
teach us
Douglas Maida (09:54):
right, right. I grew up on a golf course as a
kid too. So that was our summeractivity. And I'm sure your
brother would have had littlestories and things he could
share even more so about life asa caddy and
Janet Thompson (10:06):
Oh, yeah, some you can tell and some you can't.
Douglas Maida (10:10):
Exactly.
Janet Thompson (10:12):
Yeah, yeah.
Douglas Maida (10:15):
Is it a fair assessment, Janet to say that
you decided to pick up the sportbecause it was a way of being
able to share an activity withSteve?
Janet Thompson (10:25):
Oh, abs?
Absolutely, um, you know, asnewly married and you know,
wanted to do more activitiestogether and bond over? And I
said, Sure, I can try, you know,and he actually even built me my
first set of clubs, because thatwas kind of became a little
hobby of his. And, you know, Iwould try, he was very good
(10:47):
teacher, usually, husbands andwives have this little battle
going on whether or not youshould take lessons from your
husband. But Steve is verypatient. And I think the problem
came once we joined a club thatwe saw other people and he'd
like, say to me, you know,enough about another friend of
(11:10):
mine would like, oh, so and sothe swing is natural. And I'm
like, what's mine? You know,like, it was like, in my, you
know, so unusual. And so Ireally tried to really, really
tried hard. And, and I stillyesterday, we played, in fact,
you know, so it's a continual,you know, one day you love it
(11:30):
next day, not so much.
Douglas Maida (11:34):
What's your most memorable experience of playing
golf with your husband?
Janet Thompson (11:38):
Oh, always, always the time that I beat him
on a hole straight up. That'svery memorable.
Douglas Maida (11:47):
Great. So that's kind of like, local bragging
rights in the family
Janet Thompson (11:51):
effort. Yeah.
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
Douglas Maida (11:55):
Do you play a little games with your husband
about that in terms of okay, ifI, for every holy beat you? Oh,
Janet Thompson (12:02):
that's a Bakradze backgrounds? Yes. Yes.
We do that all the time. Yeah,you got to rub my back tonight.
And, yeah. But no big wagesevery once in a while, we'll
throw out some money. And he youknow, it's kind of like a joke
about the money issue. But youknow, nobody bets big, you know,
we're retired, we're retired forthe most part.
Douglas Maida (12:24):
So I was gonna say perhaps the most extravagant
would be who's buying lunch?
Janet Thompson (12:27):
Oh, yeah. No, no, no.
Douglas Maida (12:31):
Do you ever play with your husband in terms of
keeping score with strokes,handicaps and things like that?
We
Janet Thompson (12:37):
do. But usually, if I'm playing, like, good on a
hole, obviously, I know what I'mgetting. But if let's say I've
dropped the ball, because I knewI could hit it better. And I
kind of, you know, fudged alittle bit, and I'm not counting
the strokes, and we're notplaying with anybody, then
(12:57):
he'll, he'll kind of tell me thescore, because he's so good at
playing competitively, that healready knows my score before I
before I can even go back tobeginning stroke and count it.
He knows, you know, and I mightsay, Oh, I got a seven on that
hole. It goes, well, you kind ofgot an eight or an eight, you
(13:18):
know, or you got a nine. Andit's like, well, I was in
counting those two that I hid inthe woods. You know,
Douglas Maida (13:24):
you mentioned in your book, Janet about playing
for fun. It's obviously not acompetitive sport. It's it's
intended your participation wasSteve is intended to be spending
time together, enjoying eachother's company being outside
enjoying your surroundings and alittle bit of the the couple
camaraderie that goes on. Howimportant was it to you and
(13:47):
still is to you in terms ofhaving the ability just to relax
the rules, that you're here forfun, that it's not about, you
know, you didn't mark your ballproperly, you know, that's a
stroke penalty or things of thatnature?
Janet Thompson (14:00):
Well, I know I can always do with my husband,
it's when you start to play withother people. And then it's kind
of like, oh, I guess I reallyshould keep score, like, and,
and so it depends who you'replaying with. And obviously, I
was in a nine hole League, I wasbriefly in 18 hole lake. So
(14:23):
keeping score, and you want tobe honest, because Golf is a
game of integrity. And it's, butwhen you're so frustrated, that
you want to focus in on, okay,this is how I'm hitting, I have
to stand correctly to get theswing path is so correct, you
(14:43):
know, correctly and it's it'snot a natural motion. You know,
walking is natural, the golfswing, you know, it's not
natural. So you're focused onother things other than keeping
that that number in your head.
And so I think If you bend therules a little bit, you can make
it more fun. But then you haveto tell everybody like, hey, you
(15:04):
know, I might keep my score Imight not. And they'll be okay
with it.
Douglas Maida (15:12):
Did you find playing in your nine hole leak
now was that a exclusively forwomen or was that just for
people that were newer to golf,or
Janet Thompson (15:22):
while the nine hole league is if somebody wants
to play golf, and they want tojust see what it's like, joining
a nine hole League is a greatway because they're usually the
club would have some rules thatare more flexible for the nine
haulers versus the 18. haulers,those are more Howard cards, you
know, and somebody would startthe nine hole and move up to the
(15:44):
18. But when you're in the ninehole League, in, they do count
the strokes, but the good newsabout that is usually they have
a limit. So other than onchampionship day, so the maximum
strokes per hole anyone couldtake would be like 10 or 11. So
that you can stop as I call itbleeding, and move on to the
(16:08):
next hole. No, because youwouldn't want to write down 15
an hour. And that's possible.
That's totally possible if youhit kept hitting him in the
pond, and but on championshipday, everything counts. So you
could get that horrible,horrible, horrible score and
just, you know, let it psychyourself out and take away all
your fun.
Douglas Maida (16:29):
How was your experience with your playing
partners? I read in your book alittle bit that you talk about
those first tee anxieties, whichEvery golfer has, when they walk
up to the tee with a group theyhaven't really met before, even
with a group they even with agroup they played with before
just knowing that there's otherpeople watching? How did you?
Why don't you explain yourexperience with that and the
(16:50):
group you play with? And
Janet Thompson (16:52):
yeah, the group that I I mean, the nine hollers
that I played with, it reallygot to be fun. Because we were
just, you know, we knew eachother's game. And, you know,
it's like, we wanted the bestfor each other. We weren't
competing against each other.
We're just, it was us in thecourse. So we're trying to like
slay the dragon, so to speak,and everybody were cheering each
(17:15):
other on if you hit over thattime, you know, and if you got
in the pond, it was kind oflike, Okay, let's try this
again. But what I found to in inthe 18 hole League, the time
that I was on, I was assigned agroup that, you know, she was
the Club Championship championthat year, and they had never
(17:38):
played with me. And this was thefirst time going out with them.
And they said, well, Janet, canyou play a little faster? And
I'm thinking to myself, Oh, mygosh, I so would if the ball
would advance farther, I couldplay really fast, you know. And
so I was torn between throwingmy club at her or saying
(17:58):
something bad, or just tryingto, you know, put on that happy
face, you know. And, um, but youknow what, it was fine. I got
through the round. And, youknow, ended up having surgery on
my elbow two days later, becauseI like trudge through a little
bit of pain. And I've justfinished so that I didn't feel
(18:20):
bad. So, so I think it depends,you got to find a group that
gets you and can bend the rulestill you feel really confident
in your skills. That's what Ithink.
Douglas Maida (18:34):
Yeah, I understand. Most people that we
begin golf, that's where we allstart. Mm hmm. Absolutely.
Janet, I want to ask you acouple more questions about
this. Did you ever find yourselfat a point in your life where
you started to enjoy the sporton your own terms? I mean, in
reading your book, it wassomething that Steve's golf,
(18:56):
initially defined yourrelationship with golf. And that
was the lens you started to seeit through. Did you ever at a
point arrive at it where it wasjust you and your passion for
golf?
Janet Thompson (19:07):
Oh, absolutely, I did. Because I wanted to get
better just for my own personalbenefit. So you have to have
that drive from within. But, um,I found when I could play the
course in the summer, it'llFlorida by myself. I just felt
like I was enjoying the natureand everything else about it.
(19:31):
And if I didn't hit a good shot,let's say one hole, but I knew I
could do better. I would justdrop another ball down and hit
the ball. So all of a sudden, Iwas playing, you know, Nike
against Pinnacle against titlelist. And the most challenging
thing was to keep track of wherethe balls meant. Because, you
(19:54):
know, I had a course I had anendless supply in my bag. And
but that was really Fun andprobably the course of you know,
playing 18 holes. I'm actuallyplaying like 72 holes of golf
because I'm playing with freeballs, you know, or something.
So that was when I felt like,you know, I really, really,
(20:15):
really honed my game better. Notthat I'm anti social, but it is
it is a fun way to play if youcan.
Douglas Maida (20:23):
I'm I agree with you completely, you know, in
your book, in one section youwrote about the Gulf becoming a
cult like membership. What Iwanted to ask you was, were you
ever at a point in time whereyou felt like you were starting
to flirt with the idea ofbecoming a cult member in golf?
Janet Thompson (20:45):
Well, when I when I decided to stay in the
nine hole League, join the 18hole League, and then play one
or two days a week with myhusband four days a week, oh my
gosh, that was a lot of golf.
And, you know, I stayed in the18 hole league really just like
one day, and I realized, I'm notat that level, and I didn't want
(21:05):
that, you know, that hangingover my head or feeling
nervousness. So, um, you know, Iso then I got out of it. And I
just realized, for mepersonally, I just really enjoy,
you know, playing more with thenine holders and making it more
fun. You know, in couples, golfto me is the best if you can do
(21:27):
that couples golf, and they,they make all these different
tournaments. That's really,really fun.
Douglas Maida (21:34):
So a lot of the social aspects of it as well.
Janet Thompson (21:36):
Yeah, and the handicap system, but the
handicap system with the dots, Imean, you're on an even playing
level, I, you know, give me allthe dots on my card, because I
need all that extra help I canget and that's why I think that
makes golfing more fun.
Douglas Maida (21:52):
Well, I think golf is one of the only sports
where you can handicap where youcan handicap so players of
different skill levels can playtogether on a fairly level
playing field and can have a funtime.
Janet Thompson (22:04):
Now I have to tell you a little story right
now by the hand the wordhandicap on a golf scorecard.
Okay, so I'm walking to thisbookstore in the media store to
pick up some media poster, and agirl comes running it to me. She
goes, you're the author of thisbook? And I said, Yes. She goes,
I have to tell you, you justwrote my whole life story. I'm
(22:25):
getting married in a couplemonths to a pro golfer. And I
was like, what? And she saidyes. And she said, I didn't know
anything about golf. She's got alot to learn.
Douglas Maida (22:38):
Well, I'm sure she'll learn quickly.
Janet Thompson (22:40):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Douglas Maida (22:42):
Janet, we're gonna take a short break for a
couple of messages. And when wecome back, let's talk a little
bit more about the book itselfand the women of the PGA some of
the women you spoke with, andsome of the things that you take
away from from that experience.
Janet Thompson (22:58):
Okay, great, thank you.
Douglas Maida (24:00):
Alright, we're back. Thank you for staying with
us. We're with author JanetThompson, who's written a book
called the golfers wife. Now,Janet, you feature quite a few
professional players wives arethe wisest and professional
players, a very impressive listof women. How was it that you
came to include I mean, youbriefly touched about it with
(24:21):
your friends Sue, but was therea certain thought process that
went in mind and and in helpingyou formulate the ideas of
correlating or or sharing theexperiences of the professional
wives and the experiences ofgolfer his wife,
Janet Thompson (24:36):
and I want them to get a diverse group of
golfers wives, professionalgolfers wives to be in the book.
And I felt like gettingdifferent age groups, different
levels of the golfers themselvesthat played and I was really
excited. I mean, that was a longprocess because I only got
(24:58):
introduced to the first one Andprocuring the others really was
a course of three years ofbetween interviews and getting
them some took like, six, sevenmonths to get. Because you had
to go through their, theirmanager, their publicist, etc,
(25:18):
and then you finally get tothem. And then they kind of talk
to you over the phone, and theydecide, you know, Hey, I like
this project, and, and then gowith it. And when I interviewed,
le de, Jason de was the numberone golfer in the world. So I
was really excited to get hertake on it. And she's, you know,
one of the younger women and,you know, full of energy. And
(25:42):
she really had a great story.
And I was so thrilled to haveher in the book and along with
the others, because you justdon't know what goes on behind
the scenes.
Douglas Maida (25:54):
Yeah, terrific.
And you do have quite animpressive list of, of women,
you know, le de jan Jacobson,Mandy Snedeker, and quite a few
others. So why don't you sharewith us what your experience was
like, when you're interviewingthese women? I mean, how did you
find that process? Was it kindof like interviewing some
celebrities in your mind interms of Oh, wow, I'm excited
(26:17):
and, and things of that nature?
Janet Thompson (26:22):
Well, at first, I was really nervous about it,
because I didn't know howwilling they would be to share
their life stories. And, youknow, a lot of those very, very
personal and so I promised themthat I would not publish
anything that they didn'tapprove of, you know, or if they
(26:45):
said, Hey, Jana, can this be offthe record? 100%. So I wanted
them to totally trust me, andfeel they could be candid. But
if they said something that theydidn't want published, then I
was okay with it, too.
Douglas Maida (27:01):
What was your experience? Like when you're
sitting down with them? I thinkit was most of these interviews
over the phone, or did you havethe occasion to meet any of them
in person? Well,
Janet Thompson (27:10):
actually, I had the pleasure of interviewing
several of them in person. Andactually interviewing right in
my Naples home here. JanJacobson, was one of the first
and she came right over to myhouse. And then, and it was, you
know, an honor, I was a littlenervous. I'm, I'm on the sixth
floor, and I'm looking down inthe parking lot. And I'm like,
(27:31):
Oh, my gosh, that's JanJacobson. She's walking to see
me. So I'm just kind ofthrilled. And just, but they
were also so gracious and sosincere. And they all like the
concept. So I think, just kindof flowed. And then I actually
conducted Christie librariesinterview at the Jacobson's
(27:54):
home. P there, Peter answeredthe door. And, and, you know, I
said, Hi, I'm Janet Thompson. Hesays, Hi, I'm Peter Jacobsen. I
go well, Hi, Peter, nice to meetyou. So it just really, really
was a really good experience allthe way around.
Douglas Maida (28:11):
Wow. That's, that's a wonderful thing to
hear. Let me ask you, then, whatwere some of the things that
impressed you most about thesewomen? I mean, you've got a
pretty broad demographic groupthere in terms of age groups.
And you know, as you mentioned,players who've different you
know, like you have Curtisstrange, who's a two time US
Women's, US, US Open champion,you know, two players like Jason
(28:37):
de who's currently still playingon the PGA, Charley Hoffman, and
players like that. So what didyou find? I mean, what impressed
you the most about some of thesewomen?
Janet Thompson (28:48):
Um, you know, I think it was, they're really
down to earth, you know, I mean,they have their feet firmly
planted on the ground, asChristy had said back to her
husband in a quote in the book,and they opened up and shared so
much stuff about their lives andinteresting, interesting things
(29:10):
and funny things, you just, Imean, I was almost, I mean, I
was brought to laughter severaltimes during the interviews
because they told me like, youknow, hey, I don't like to wear
my name badge because peopletalk around me and then they
think I know everything aboutgolf, and they're gonna ask me,
you know, or, or differentstories like, you know, that you
(29:37):
think you know, one thing butthen somebody else has another
idea. So, I think that's reallythe key, and so much back and
forth phone calls during theprocess. And they became my
friends were emailing back andforth and sharing some personal
pictures and I'm telling aboutmy grandkids and they're sharing
(29:59):
their grandkids or their kidspictures. It's just been a
really positive experience allthe way around. And plus, now
we're raising funds for othercharities. Yeah, that's
Douglas Maida (30:11):
a great story.
I'd like to ask you, I'll throwthe names of the women out. Can
you maybe share a little nuggetof your experience or lesson or
what impressed you most aboutthe individual in your
interview?
Unknown (30:23):
Absolutely.
Douglas Maida (30:25):
Let's start with LED.
Janet Thompson (30:27):
She's just she's, she's her happiest places
when she's country dancing, linedancing, and just such a good
mom. You know, I just see herwith her kids and gentle soul,
but fun and energetic.
Douglas Maida (30:48):
Okay, how about Jen Jacobson?
Janet Thompson (30:51):
Oh, Jan. She went, I would say she's the one
person that was actually playinggolf when she first when she met
Peter. And actually, that's kindof how they met. And she has the
skill level. You know, at thattime when she was first playing.
(31:11):
That one time Peter actually hadto let her go in a she was
playing competitive golf. AndPeter, she couldn't go to
Peter's dance. And so she's justthat giving person also in the
sense that she's a grandma, butshe worked super hard at what
(31:32):
she does, and manages householdsand family so beautifully.
Douglas Maida (31:37):
Okay, Lisa Lai.
Janet Thompson (31:39):
Lee says, she was my first interview. And she
has also she was interviewed inher Her story is so great with
trying to support juvenilediabetes type one. And not only
(31:59):
does her husband habit that herson has it too, and I see her
working so diligently to try tohelp raise money for that cause
and that's what impresses meabout her.
Douglas Maida (32:12):
Christy, we why bring Oh, Christine.
Janet Thompson (32:15):
She, um, she's very fun. And I interviewed her
at at Jan's house. And she alsohad been experience with
childhood cancer. Her daughterhad gotten cancer, but now is in
remission, thank goodness. Andthey started this charity nama
(32:35):
Kayla's Foundation, give backand it's a group of dancers
actually, even that helped raisemore funds for that charity. And
just really, really, really anice person.
Douglas Maida (32:50):
Stacy Hoffman,
Janet Thompson (32:51):
oh, Stacy. She's a probably again, on the
younger, younger side andtotally fun. I think one of the
funniest stories, she said herchild got known, because she was
known as Claire Hoffman's mom,not, you know, not, you know,
man, you know, Stacy Hawkman.
And it was funny, because she'sthe one that doesn't like to
(33:17):
wear the name badge, and shewould hear comments on the golf
course. You know, like,initially, Charlie had long
hair, and she'd heard thesecomments of like, oh, he, he's a
surfer guy, and he probablysmokes a lot of weed and does
all these things. And it and sheturns around and looks at the
person is like, Hey, I'm hiswife. You know, it's like, you
(33:40):
just get that that on the golfgolf press, because you never
know who you're standing next towhen you're watching at a
tournament. So I tell people, becareful. Be careful what you
say. Because you don't knowwho's next to you.
Douglas Maida (33:58):
And Charlie's.
Charlie's well known for wearinghis trucker style hats, you
know, the beat. They even have.
Yeah, I was gonna say they evenhave a style called the Charlie
Hoffman style of golf cap.
Janet Thompson (34:12):
At one event, they actually went to one of his
biggest fans dressed up justlike him and actually asked to
take a picture with Charlie. Soit was kind of a really nice, a
nice treat for them to meetsomebody that was really big
fan.
Douglas Maida (34:28):
Mandy Snedeker
Janet Thompson (34:30):
Mandy oh, gosh, she She's really nice. They have
such a good charity inNashville. And, you know, she's
a country girl at heart, you cantell and even the story of how
brand her net it's just really,really heartwarming. She kind of
(34:52):
gave up her career to supporthim. But you know what, it was
the like the loving thing to doand A lot of funny stories with
those two lot of funny stories.
Douglas Maida (35:04):
And last but definitely not least, Sarah
strange,
Janet Thompson (35:09):
Sara strange.
She was also an in personinterview. And I probably got to
know Sarah, the best, I think,because we did so much editing
to her stories back and forth toget it really correct. And
she definitely touched my heartin a lot of ways. You know, she
(35:33):
worked so hard to get thecrystal host Hospice House,
in to be part of the, one of thecharities, they actually built
it from nothing. And to me, thatwas so so impressive. And, and
then we kind of bonded overbreast cancer and a couple of
(35:53):
things. And she's right in theNaples area. So um, so when I
dropped off her book, herhusband was home, and I handed
it to Curtis. And I think he'sso proud of his wife, too, you
know, so really great family.
Douglas Maida (36:08):
It sounds like there's lots of opportunity, on
the lighter side to maybe,perhaps sit back, crack open a
bottle of wine and enjoy somegood conversation and
discussion. I'm not, that's nota stretch, is it?
Janet Thompson (36:21):
Oh, not at all?
Not at all. No, no, it's really,really a fun way to go. You
know,
Douglas Maida (36:29):
Janet, your book is a blend of your experiences
as the golfers wife, and theprofessional women. Owing to the
fact that there's a bit of adifference between, say, Steven
yourself playing recreationally.
And then these women and theirhusbands playing professionally?
How much of their experiences doyou see in your own life and in
your own situations? And isthere a fair bit of crossover or
(36:52):
shared similarity of sharedexperiences or sentiment,
Janet Thompson (36:58):
oh, that's, that's what I kind of found,
through doing this wholeprocess. I didn't realize how
many similarities there actuallyare. But it's just on a
different scale. Because let'ssay for example, I go out and
watch my husband playing a golftournament. And usually it's on
the back nine, because, youknow, I don't want to, you know,
(37:20):
make it be so distracting orwhatever. But he'll, you know,
allow me to come on the last dayback nine. And there might be
10, spectators tops watching.
And then for the professionals,oh my gosh, there's hundreds in
the, you know, in the stands,and then there's all this all
the people watching on TV. Sothey have a lot more, you know,
there's the difference rightthere. But then, if you look at
(37:42):
the feelings that I have, whenI'm watching Steve, of course, I
want him to win. Even Even if Idon't want to polish all those
trophies, I want him to win.
And, of course, the professionalgolfers wives, you know, they
want their husbands to win to,but it's their job. It's his
(38:05):
income. And so if my husbandloses the tournament, it's not
gonna affect our rank. But itdoes affect theirs. And so
that's the difference rightthere on a grander scale. And
then they also have to, youknow, keep up image. So they're
constantly being bombarded. AndI recall when Jason was a number
(38:28):
one golfer in the world, andEllie love that time, but she
said he was being pulled in somany directions. So if my
husband wins the tournament, youknow, he's not pulled in any
direction. I just get braggingrights for a year, you know,
but, but Jason here, he wins sobig. And he's being pulled by
all this media. And they expecthim to play every tournament,
(38:52):
they expect him to make allthese appearances. So I don't
have to share my husband when hewins, but they do. You know,
there's the difference. Justgrand scale. Makes sense?
Douglas Maida (39:04):
In your book, you wrote the following. Had she
read a book like this before shestarted playing the game, it
would have made a difference inher love hate relationship with
golf? How would you? How wouldthings have been different? Had
you read your book before? Orhad you known those things
before?
Janet Thompson (39:23):
I probably wouldn't have been so hard on
myself in the beginning, becauseI really, like felt frustrated.
And I know, it seems like attimes, you know, when I was not
playing bad, I'm looking for thebeer card girl or to have a
drink or something on thecourse. And it's true. I mean, I
(39:45):
I wanted to just relax and feelcalm about it because I knew if
I played more relaxed, my shotswould probably go you know
farther and be more crisp. But Ithink I had to give myself
permission to just like, acceptmy game. And as soon as I
accepted the level of my skill,it just made it so much better.
(40:10):
You know, and, and knowing, youknow what groups to play with?
And, you know, you have gooddays and bad days, some days you
should, you can be hitting thedriver so well, and other days
not so well. And you should getthe croquet mallet out. I mean,
seriously, you know, what do youdo? You know, but like I said,
(40:32):
once in a while, everything isaligned, you're putting good,
you're driving good, and you getthat great score. And then you
end up in the bar adding up thescores like I do. And I told
myself one day, if I if I, youknow, broke 100 I could have
that Margarita at the end of theround. You know, and, and thank
(40:53):
goodness, I did you know, doublecheck by scoring because of golf
is a game of integrity.
Douglas Maida (41:02):
And did you? Did you set a goal for say breaking
90?
Janet Thompson (41:06):
Oh, I don't think that's going to happen.
Unless, unless by unless by somemiracle that I'm playing a
miniature golf course.
Douglas Maida (41:16):
Well, I was gonna say we have a, there's a bit of
a common joke in golf about agolfer shooting 69 The only
difference is they do that onnine holes versus
Janet Thompson (41:26):
Ah, yes, that's that is true. That is true,
right? Yeah, sometimes my nineyear old score is my husband's
18 hole score, which is a littlesad, but it's okay.
Douglas Maida (41:40):
But it's good fun.
Janet Thompson (41:41):
Absolutely.
Douglas Maida (41:43):
Jim, let me ask you, are there any sort of last
thoughts that you would like toshare before we start to wrap
up,
Janet Thompson (41:50):
um, you know, I would really like to thank my
friend, Sue Rhea, because sheliked my idea, and just kind of
was my cheerleader along theway. And also, I'd like to thank
my editor, Laura Matthews, shewas almost like talking to Ellen
DeGeneres, because she just mademe laugh all the time. And her
(42:14):
actually voice sounds like her.
So when I first met her, I waslike, you know, I was like,
talking to, so she just made itfun. And she made got the
writing to make sure my writingcould be really read by even a
non golfer, and I think thatperson would understand golf.
Douglas Maida (42:34):
Great. Anyone else you might want to? Or any
other thoughts?
Janet Thompson (42:38):
You know, I think, um, I like, I'm really
glad that I was able to give anopportunity for all the
professional golfers five tochoose charities, and that they
really felt close to theirheart. And I'm really, really
happy to say that, you know, alot of these charities I like a
(43:01):
lot that really, really areamazing that you hadn't heard
that hadn't heard about before.
And they're all so worthwhilecauses that I'm so pleased that
anyone that buys the book isactually giving back to these
charities.
Douglas Maida (43:18):
Right? You mentioned that some of the
proceeds are going to thecharities. Are you just dividing
that up by equal percentage oran equal amount? Yeah,
Janet Thompson (43:27):
I am. I did.
Book, my release date is April5. But right now you can get it
from the publisher directlyamplify. And, of course,
obviously, more goes toproceeds. But then I just took a
chance on myself, and had 512copies mailed to me. And I tell
(43:49):
myself, if I sell these books,the 100% will go to all these
charities. So yeah, so I have anaccountant, we're keeping track.
And then we'll just make thatall go to the seven charities.
Douglas Maida (44:06):
You mentioned April 5. So that's when the
print copy is going to beavailable and in stores,
bookstores and places
Janet Thompson (44:15):
in bookstores on Amazon, and Barnes and Nobles.
All the major chains will haveit. And I hope it does really
well.
Douglas Maida (44:25):
Great. Are you planning any sorts of book tours
or any other additional speakingengagements, things like that?
Janet Thompson (44:32):
Now, it's up to my marketing manager -- Skye.
She's working really hard to getme Get me some jobs lined up and
I'm excited to do it all.
Douglas Maida (44:41):
Oh, wonderful.
One other thing I'd like to askabout that. April 5, that's the
week of the masters. Was it aconscious choice to look at that
as release date? Or was thatjust something that coincidental
Janet Thompson (44:58):
and thank you I think the luck but a little
coincidence, I think, too,because originally I was trying
to get this book published byChristmas because it makes a
really great gift book. But um,we had, you know, all sorts of
supply chains issues with papershortages and workers and, you
(45:21):
know, this COVID thing on top ofeverything. So I, you know, I'm
really glad that it's finallyout and people see it and just
just lucky and I hope themasters will be a great
tournament as it always is.
Douglas Maida (45:35):
And a wonderful opportunity to, to get it out
there. Well, interesting. Golfseems to be at its highest every
year.
Janet Thompson (45:43):
Oh, yeah. Yeah, I think I think my, my color of
my book covers the same as thegreen jacket.
Douglas Maida (45:52):
Oh, that's terrific. Wonderful. So what's
next for you, Janet? Just any,you're going to do, perhaps some
public engagements, PRengagements, things like that.
But any plans for ideas foranother book or anything of that
nature?
Janet Thompson (46:10):
I will stop is always rattling around in my
head. I'm just going to surpriseyou.
Douglas Maida (46:15):
Okay, and what's your next playing in any mix
social events with Steve.
Janet Thompson (46:21):
And well, we don't have anything lined up
right now. We're going to headback in May back to the I'm
going to be doing a lot of myother volunteer job in
Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Soit's the gondola company is a
great place if you ever get tothe New England states in
Portsmouth. And that's anonprofit, and I'm a deckhand
(46:44):
there. So totally opposite mygolfing. And I'm doing ropes and
swabbing the deck and teachingschool aged children about the
environment and the action andtheir impact on the environment.
Douglas Maida (46:57):
Oh, terrific.
Terrific. So a never ending listof activities for you.
Janet Thompson (47:02):
Never ending.
Absolutely. But I do want tothank you. Go ahead.
Douglas Maida (47:08):
Well, thank you for joining us. We appreciate
you taking the time, Janet. It'slooking like it's a really good
read. And we hope that it lookslike you're gonna have a really
great launch as well. So thanksfor joining us. That's
wonderful. Hopefully, you'll getto play some more rounds of
golf. And if we're ever donethat way, we'll definitely send
you a message and say, Hey,let's get out there.
Janet Thompson (47:30):
Absolutely.
You're always welcome on myboat. Thank you.
Douglas Maida (47:34):
Thank you so much. Thanks, Janet. Okay, take
care.
Janet Thompson (47:39):
Thank you. Bye.
Douglas Maida (47:41):
And that ladies and gentlemen wraps up our show
for today. Thank you very muchfor joining us, and we will see
you again shortly. And remember,if you are out there playing
golf, try to keep your golf ballon the short grass.
Amy (Studio) (47:53):
You have been listening to our podcast show.
We're talking golf produced bythe world of golf. This episode
was recorded on Friday, March25 2022. If you have an idea for
a future show, please send us anemail to info at World of
golf.org Please include podcastshow in the subject line. This
(48:15):
show is the copyright of theworld of golf. Thank you for
joining us
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