Coach Honored by LPGA

Patty Post, head coach of the Georgetown women’s golf team, was named the Northeast winner of the annual coach of the year award by the Ladies Professional Golf Association’s Teaching and Club Professional Membership this past summer. This award is presented to a head coach at an accredited educational institution who has shown exceptional leadership and dedication to the game of golf. Post, who is in her fourth season at Georgetown, certainly embodies these values.

Her commitment to the continual improvement of her team is something that creates a mutual bond between coach and players — although she is currently seven months pregnant, she is adamant about coaching through the entire fall season.

“My passion for golf is what drives me,” Post said. “But making the girls the best they can be and motivating them is mainly what keeps me going.”

Prior to coaching at Georgetown, Post spent her time as a assistant coach and as a professional player. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, she regularly played on the Futures Golf Tour, where she had a successful career and eventually earned an exempt status on the tour known as “the Gateway to the LPGA.” In 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2007 she was named the PGA Middle Atlantic Region’s women’s player of the year. In 2007, she was also named LPGA Northeast Section’s Teaching and Club Professional Membership’s player of the year.

When Post took the head coach position at Georgetown four years ago, she received a warm welcome from the program.

“I was very lucky,” she said. “It was a much older team, so we were both able to teach each other something.”

Post has had a very successful career leading the Hoyas so far. Although she no longer plays the sport professionally, the same focus and fervor that fueled her on the links helps her instruct her golfers.
“My passion for golf makes my job a lot easier,” Post said. “I learn something from everyone. For example, I use my coach at the University of Wisconsin’s system, but not his day-to-day approach. I provide a very structured environment to make the most out of the short fall and spring seasons. We ask a lot of the girls, but they find reward in it as well.”

The Hoyas’ hard work has certainly paid off. Last season, Georgetown won the NIU Snowbird Intercollegiate in Tampa, Fla. The team finished third in the Hoya Women’s Invitational at its home course, Four Streams Golf Course in Bethesda, Md. The Hoyas also had several top-10 finishes from individual players throughout the season, including then-seniors Chelsea Curtis (NHS ’09) and Carly Hunt (COL ’09). Last weekend, the team finished seventh at the Princeton Invitational at Princeton University.

The Hoyas are faced with the challenge of inexperience this season, as they are a relatively young team. Even after Georgetown graduated its top two players, Post remains very optimistic about the future of her team.

“We have a very young team this year: five freshmen, two sophomores and one senior,” she said. “Our team has a lot of talent, but I definitely have to lead more with a younger group and show them the ropes in terms of academics, tournaments, travel, et cetera. I’m excited to watch the team mature, improve and reach their full potential.”

Under the guidance of Post, the Hoyas can hope to reach this potential. Sophomore Joan Dulieu describes the team as having an enormous amount of respect for one another, for its coach and for the task at hand.

“Coach is a constant support system for all the players, both on and off the course,” Dulieu said. “She is great at uniting the team towards a common goal and is constantly pushing our game to the next level. She’s more than our coach, she’s our mentor.”