At the age of 13, I was golfing with my dad and his good friend, and about halfway through the round I smashed a drive that stopped both of them in their tracks.
I have always been long off the tee, but that shot even surprised me. As we walked to my ball, my dad’s friend said jokingly, “Dorsey, I’ll tell you what. I’ll pay for your golf lessons, if when you turn pro I get half your winnings.” We all laughed and kept playing.
The idea of playing professional golf meant nothing to me at that age, but now looking back, that moment had a big impact on where I am today. It was the first time someone other than my parents thought I had talent.
Ten years later after graduating from Seattle University, I advanced to Stage 2 of the LPGA’s Q School and proudly became a professional golfer, and a 2018 Symetra Tour (now called the Epson Tour) rookie. And yes, I get to keep my winnings!
The joke around our house is that I was born southern, but raised western (by western parents). Although I was born in Atlanta and graduated from Woodward Academy, I now proudly call Big Sky, MT home, where I moved after graduating from high school. But my golf life has brought me back south. I now “seasonally” live and play golf out of St. Simons Island, GA, closer to my instructors.
From a competitive golf standpoint I am a true late bloomer.
My first exposure to golf came in elementary school, when every Friday after school I would take lessons with some of the boys from my school at the North Fulton Golf Course in the heart of Atlanta. From the very beginning, golf seemed natural to me. In middle school I played basketball and ran track, and casually played golf for fun during the summers. I came back to golf as a high school freshman, and it wasn’t until the summer before my junior year that I started playing serious competitive golf.
After four years of college golf at Seattle University, I left my mark in the record books upon leaving with one of best scoring averages for a Division I golfer at SU, while also being named Academic All-American my junior and senior years, and team captain.
Aside from golf, I enjoy all things outdoors.
I believe the outdoors has shaped who I am today. For five summers as a teenager I participated in outdoor leadership trips which took me deep into the wildernesses of Alaska, Washington, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Europe…all with a backpack on my back. Those trips allowed me to learn more about myself and what I’m capable of accomplishing, as well as teaching me self-determination and how to live simply. I’m also an avid snow skier, enjoy fly fishing with my dad, and ducking hunting.
Thank you for checking out my website, which my dad, a retired photojournalist, keeps updated for me.
Dorsey