On Tuesday, May 2, 2023, Mark Gale, the retired San Jose State University women’s golf coach for 19-seasons, and coach of professional golfers Patty Sheehan and Juli Inkster, spoke at the Villages Men’s Fun Social Club.
Mark was the first coach in NCAA history to lead a program to three Division 1 women’s golf team championships. The Spartans were one of the sport’s dominant teams of the era. From 1987 through 1997, San Jose State was no lower than sixth at the NCAA Championships and he has seven members on the current LPGA tour.
His coaching benefitted from his earlier 26 years as an officer and pilot in the Air Force. He flew 61 missions during the Viet Nam war and after retiring from the Air Force, he became the women’s golf coach, applying his own military standards. His standards for player recruitment were strict. The scores of junior golfers play a part, but more important is how far a player can hit it. A women golfer’s drive must typically travel 200 yards, and a 5-iron must carry 160 yards. Gayle says we can teach them the short game and course management, but you can’t be a pro or top college player without being able to hit it a long way
When he started, San Jose State had just one and a half women’s golf scholarships. They now have six scholarships but his recruiting budget of $1000 still paled in comparison to other top women’s golfing colleges