As her 91st birthday beckons May 14, Shirley Spork doesn’t know the words, slow down.
The Palm Desert resident still golfs (nine holes at a time) around a schedule that this spring included her own annual charity golf tournament, the Shirley Spork LPGA Masters Pro-Am; a trip to Phoenix for the LPGA’s Bank of Hope Founder’s Cup tournament where she was honored as one of 13 women who in 1950 created the Ladies Professional Golf Association, and attendance at the ANA Inspiration at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage.
Her full and dedicated life to the game of golf, which includes her book, From Green to Tee, which published last year, reveals her love of a game she fell for many decades ago. She can be seen in the 2016 documentary, The Founders, which memorably chronicles the against-all-odds story of the LPGA’s origins (see the website, thefoundersfilm.com).
But she is more than just a walking, talking historian of the game. She’s also a collector of antique golf clubs that she shares with Palm Springs Life contributor Thomas Meagher in this video.