Patty Schremmer and her daughters provide stark proof that golf is not a genetically transferred talent, although competitive genes could be.
Mom has been golfing since she was 9, experiencing exceptional highs, her share of lows and pretty much everything in between.
Scarlett, Lola and Morgan, who range in age from 10-16, have also experienced exceptional highs and lows and lots in between … while surfing.
If there is such a thing as a mother-daughter biathlon in both sports, the Schremmers might sweep every age division.
Patty, 51, will defend her title at the second Hawaii State Women’s Golf Association members-only Stroke Play Championship next week. The former LPGA player is coming off a memorable summer where she reached the semifinals at her first U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur (25-older) and finished top 10 at U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur stroke-play qualifying.
“The events were back-to-back weeks in September so I played more golf those two weeks than I have in two years,” Schremmer says. “I try to squeeze in a couple hours of practice here and there and have a focused, purposeful practice.”
Her daughters have definitely received her focused and purposeful gene, and the one that provides a passion for sports. They just took their gifts into the ocean since falling in love with surfing six years ago — soon after moving to Hawaii from Florida.
Mason, 16, is the reigning Hawaii State Girls Longboard Champion and won the National Scholastic Surfing Association Longboard and SUP Girls Championships the past two years.
Lola, 15, is Australia Open Girls Longboard Champion and finished third in NSSA Longboard at Huntington Beach, Calif., this summer.
Scarlett, 10, was 2015 Menehune Girls Shortboard champion in her age group and qualified for the Surfing America National Championships in California last summer, in Shortboard and SUP.
This summer, she served as mom’s support group at the USGA championships. All three attend school online at International Connections Academy, when they aren’t in the ocean.
“I am constantly learning from my girls,” Schremmer says. “I admire their discipline and resilience. I have learned to be patient with the ocean from them. Surfing requires mental, physical, and strategical strength. Then it requires the ocean to provide, that is the tough part for me, to be patient and watch heats go by with only a few waves sometimes. My girls handle that well as athletes, they accept what is there. They are appreciative and grateful, I am blessed.”
She was blessed early in golf, finding her “comfort zone” in a game that can make you crazy, but also serve as a safe haven when you are a caregiver for your mother, dealing with the daily joys and complications of bringing up three kids and simply dealing with life.
Schremmer has been there. She has also been a college golfer (South Florida), played mini-tours in the U.S., Europe and Asia and led the money list one year on the LPGA’s Futures (now Symetra) Tour.
She sank a 20-foot birdie putt on the final hole to qualify for the 1998 LPGA Tour, at 33, and played in that year’s LPGA Cup Noodles Hawaiian Ladies Open and U.S. Women’s Open.
Her pro career officially ended eight years later. She was reinstated as an amateur in 2014, a year before she turned 50 and about the time she discovered how rewarding USGA events could be.
“The game has challenged me and kept me interested and humbled for 42 years …,” Schremmer says. “Playing amateur golf as a senior (over 50) has been fantastic. The USGA hosts amazing events at spectacular venues. The camaraderie amongst the competitors is enjoyable and the competition is impressive.
“Qualifying for both the Mid-Am and Senior Am this year was satisfying. The highlight of playing now for me is receiving moral support and encouragement from my three daughters.”
Her kids also tell her they surf by mom’s “golden rule — never give up and always try our best, to set a goal, and to laugh at ourselves because it is better than crying.”
She opens defense of her HSWGA Stroke Play title Tuesday at Mid-Pacific Country Club. Golfers tee off just after 8 a.m. both days.
“I appreciate golf more now because I can see the lessons the game has given me through all the years,” she says. “I appreciate the journey I was able to enjoy playing the game, all the great golf courses, kind people, countries, lasting friendships, many losses, a few wins, cherished memories, and endless stories.”
