Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) - Part 3 (Life After Golf)

In the final installment of our three-part conversation with 1985 U.S. Women’s Open champion Kathy Guadagnino (Baker), we explore life beyond the ropes as Kathy reflects on the transition from professional golf to a new season of purpose, faith, and service. With her signature warmth and humility, Kathy takes us on a journey through her years playing in Japan—including typhoon-tossed flights, memorable karaoke bus rides, and questionable culinary adventures with Laura Davies.

She candidly shares the internal shift that came with motherhood, faith, and recognizing that golf was no longer her top priority. From her final years on tour to her unexpected calling as a coach and mentor, Kathy’s story is one of rediscovering identity and purpose. A serendipitous moment after a painful golf injury even reshaped her swing—and her understanding of the game.

We also celebrate Kathy’s work beyond the course, including her and husband Joe’s founding of Solid Rock Christian Church, her time at the helm of collegiate golf programs, and the spiritual calling that has always guided her journey. As always, we close with our signature three questions—offering Kathy a chance to reflect on what she would do differently, her one career mulligan, and how she hopes to be remembered.

This heartfelt and inspiring conversation wraps up a truly special profile of one of golf’s quiet champions. Kathy Guadagnino’s story is a powerful reminder that life’s richest victories often come after the final putt drops.

Listen in as we celebrate a life well played—on and off the course.

🎙️ FORE the Good of the Game — Preserving the voices and stories of golf’s greatest generation.

Transcript

Mike Gonzalez 0:16

I'll take you back to something you mentioned earlier, and that was Japan. Did you travel multiple times over to Japan to play? And if you did, of course, which always has a question.

Bruce Devlin 0:29

Are we in the front bus or the second bus?

SPEAKER_04 0:35

We've heard some great Japan stories.

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 0:38

Yeah, no, they're oh gosh. I used to, I probably would go over there two to three times a year. And um we had um trying to think here, because we had the jowl. I play in that. We had an uh international event we had played one year there. Um, but I always loved this little tournament we would play down on Takamatsu. Um I'll tell a funny story. I was uh uh Vicky Getz and I and her mom, we were going to the airport because we were leaving the Jow event and then uh going to uh this tournament down at Takamatsu, which was one of the Southern Islands in Japan, the Eli Air tournament, I believe it was. So anyway, if you're in one of those little cab cars, these guys are crazy the way they drive around over there. And um, because there were three of us, I got the privilege of being in the front seat, which right next to the driver. And those cars don't seem to have any fronts on them at all. And this guy is, and I'm like, holy mackerel! I said, you know, and I remember even in the back, Vicky was getting a little nervous, said, you know, we do want to get there in one piece, okay? And um, so we get to the airport, that's all good. Um, we have time, uh, we get on the plane. Well, what we didn't know, apparently there was a typhoon south of the island. And our flight was quite uh crazy. I'll just and you know, when you fly over there, they have as you're coming into the to the airport, they put those front cameras on on the front of the nose of the plane, you know, and and you're looking, trying to find where the the runway is and stuff. So we're flying in and it's at night, okay, and we're bouncing all over the place. And all of a sudden the camera's going on, and I said, I don't see a runway. Where is this runway? And we're come, we're coming in, and all of a sudden, so there had to be horrendous winds. The runway is all the way over here. We're here, and I'm like, How are we getting there? And it was just a crazy, crazy ride, and we ended up um thankfully landing pretty hard. And I remember Vicky looked at me, she said, Well, that was just a continuation of the cab ride right there. It's like very true. So you had to deal with some of those different things, but just like uh Bruce was saying, you know, you had the the bus. One time we had to take a bus to the cab, to the train station, to a cab, to another bus to get, and we were getting up at uh ungodly hours, three o'clock in the morning, four o'clock in the morning, to get to where the golf course was, and that's all you did there. I mean, it was like you went, and then by the time you got home, you had to just uh, you know, forget about it.

Mike Gonzalez 3:36

Yeah, we've heard some great stories about Japan. I mean, I I can remember some of the stories Julie Ingster, Patty Sheehan, Amy Alcott talking about uh, you know, the karaoke singing on the bus in Japan. And uh that's why Bruce always likes to know are you on the party bus or are you on the quiet bus?

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 3:54

Yeah, yeah. No, well, I'm trying to think. I I do remember one particular bus ride that we had with Laura Davies, and my husband was on this bus. And we had about a two-hour ride, and um somebody had to, you know, use the restroom, and some of us were hungry, Laura being one of them. And so she went into uh it was like this little just this little building, and she you know, is pretty uh kind of a risk taker, if you will. So she decided to to get a hamburger. And she's eating this hamburger, and she's going, just kind of tastes a little funny. And my husband goes, Laura, you ever notice there there aren't a lot of dogs around? And she goes, What do you mean? He goes, Wolf, wolf. She goes, Oh, you're bloody right. It was crazy. We we laughed so much, she kind of wrapped it up. She said, I don't think I'm gonna eat anymore. Yeah, those are those are funny things too, because you got to try some interesting foods when you were over there as well. Oh my word, some of the stuff was, and I'm I'm not a real good risk taker that way. Um, and so I had to try some things because we you would be at a dinner or something, and you didn't want to offend your host or anything like that. So, yeah, you're in a different country. It's it's a little bit different.

Mike Gonzalez 5:27

Yeah. Well, taking you back to kind of winding down uh your playing days then, Kathy, was it a fairly easy decision having you had a point you were married, you had three children. Kind of easy to say, okay, this is uh like you said, you saw the writing on the wall with Annika 61. All these young kids are coming in, they're bombing it way past me and shooting these ridiculous scores.

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 5:50

It's you know, it was a that would like I say, that was probably the defining moment for me because I shot 72. I was um, and I I remember saying to myself, you know, I I had a couple more out there. I probably could have gotten it to, you know, two or three under. But um the reality of it for me was I was not a particularly long player in terms of a long hitter, and the the yardage was getting much longer. Like for me, when we played baltashole, I think the yardage was 6200 total, where now they're playing 64, 6500. Well, it's very difficult to compete with somebody when you are um coming in with say a uh a free wood where they're coming in with an with like an eight-iron or something like that.

Mike Gonzalez 6:44

So fairly easy decision to hang it up then when all was said and done.

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 6:50

Yeah, I think because I felt like golf was part of my life, but it wasn't everything. There were other things that that were um more important. It was um, and it's funny because I I do remember watching uh an event, and somebody had told me he had said this. Uh Johnny Miller was um uh overseeing one of our events one time, and he just basically said, you know, because they were asking the question, you know, well, Kathy's not playing. He just said, Kathy has a very full life right now. And that's that that really is it. You know, we uh I wanted the family, I wanted the kids. Um, and you know, thankfully I had the opportunity to have both for a period of time, and yet there were other things that were calling me, if I can say it that way. And um my last, I mean, we my husband and I celebrated our um 35th anniversary of marriage a couple years ago, and it was the same time, the 25th anniversary of our church. So it's we've just been involved in so many fronts, and even doing the coaching was interesting because uh D1 got, you know, uh playing over at uh Florida Atlantic University, which was a things have changed since I was in school, and and I had to learn a lot of that, and it was uh that was quite an experience for me too. But it's God has always had my heart, so that's where my main focus has always been. And you know, I felt like he's had me on some assignments, and I don't like to look at golf as being an assignment, but it was very much a part of the ultimate picture of I think of what he was doing in my life, and I'm grateful now, more so than I was during the time, like I said, because I didn't really understand at the time what was going on. Uh, but uh it's been a quite an amazing ride for me thus far, and I know there's more to come. So, so I'm pretty excited about all that, and I'm I'm excited to see a lot of these kids getting the opportunities that they are. I mean, heck now, I when I was doing the coaching, these kids have more of a schedule, golf schedule than I did when I was on tour. Holy mackerel, they they've got these tournaments all the time, and I'm like, I I I'm cautious with that because I get nervous about them getting burned out too soon. I mean, that the getting used to competition and all that is important too, but let them be kids, you know. I hate to say it, but uh, you know, it's funny when my husband and I talk a lot about our high school years, he loved his high school. To me, it was a blur because it was golf. Everything was golf. So, you know, you just gotta kind of, it's just the way life works sometime, but you know, you just gotta decide what you're really after in life and go for it.

Mike Gonzalez 9:47

Yep, yeah. Well, shortly after you uh uh uh decided not to play regularly on the on the LPGA tour, you were inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame, this uh golf Hall of Fame, this was in 2002. I I guess you attended the the um seminary that uh Joe's parents founded. Is that right?

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 10:05

That's right. What ended up happening after about three, four years on tour, I was like, I I really did want to get back and and get my degree. Yeah. So we contacted Tulsa University. Unfortunately, they had become a liberal arts school, and now all the requirements would have required me to go back for a year and a half, which wasn't gonna happen. Right. Then I asked, is there any way we could do this uh correspondence, which they didn't have that uh capability at that time? So as I was looking at it, um, my father-in-law started uh South Florida Bible College and Theological Seminary. Um, I was able to transfer all my credits there, and I got a bachelor's and master's in biblical studies. And that's kind of how I so it was funny because we went to um, I think I was playing an outing in at Furman, and they were listing where we got our degrees from. And I remember they said from uh South Florida Bible College and Theological Every So they said, You're a Tulsa girl. What are you saying from and so I had to explain the whole situation? But I did go back, like I said, to finish that, and um which just kind of set me up for what I do now.

Mike Gonzalez 11:22

So it's yeah, you and Joe formed a Solid Rock Christian Church in Boca. Uh you know, for probably I guess a 20-year period, you talked about some of your coaching experiences. Uh I think first at Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale and then uh and then at North Brow Broward Prep uh before uh your university stint.

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 11:44

I'll I'll tell you a funny story about that. So I'm coming off the tour, I've kind of made that decision, and all of a sudden we're starting a church. So there's no income coming in, and I'm trying to figure out. I was so happy from one standpoint, I got the green light in my heart that okay, now's the time we're gonna do this. But then I mean, it we got bills to pay and everything else. And I'm like, okay, how are we gonna do this? And I remember for about three weeks, I'm like trying, well, well, you know what? I'm gonna have to schedule some outings and do some proams and do all this to just try to make ends meet until we get to a place, get the church built up to a place where you know he can maybe take a salary and all that. And um, so I'm worrying about this. And I after about three weeks, I just went, you know what, God, I gotta put this in your hands. I said, either you're in this move or you're not, but I I release this to you. I I just I don't and can I tell you within a week I had two jobs here. I the Westminster, I got a you know, random call from someone about would I be interested in coaching at Westminster. And I went to Boca Point where I had played golf all, I mean, when I was, you know, practicing stuff and talked to Buck Divel, who was the head pro at the time. And I just said, you know, hey, is there um is there a um, you know, something that I like, you know, even the back room or something that my husband can do. Um, you know, he was a Christian as well, and I was like, you know, we're starting up this church and just something a little to just get a little bit of extra coming in. And he goes, you know, Kath, he goes, um, we don't have anything like that. He said, but we are looking for a teaching professional and we would prefer a woman. And I was like, okay.

Bruce Devlin 13:37

Sounds like me.

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 13:39

And well, here was the difference. I made a point not to watch people's swings my whole life.

Mike Gonzalez 13:46

Yeah, I know you better watch them.

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 13:48

When you watch somebody swing, unless it's a good one, unless it's Al Guybergers, you know, where you just keep watching, watching. Uh, it's not maybe you because you can pick up those things in your swings. So I remember I came home and I talked to my husband a little bit about it, um, because I was nervous about it. And he goes, you know, he said, What do you do in the church? And I go, I teach. And he goes, What makes you think you can't teach golf? And I'm like, Okay, but I wasn't really a student of the game, I knew my game. But and it lit literally it was it, it was something of prayer. And I I went to God and I said, Okay, God, you need to show me what I need to see here and what you know, because you got a half hour you're working with somebody, give them a lesson or whatever, and you need to figure it out quick. And all I can tell you is he put it together in my mind of what to look for, what were keys in the golf swing. Um, and it was amazing. It was like my classroom was out there, and I was like, man, I wish I knew some of this back then because it, and you know, a lot for me, I was very much an upper body player. So because of that, it was all about timing with me. I played my best when my timing was good. When it wasn't, that's when things got a little squirrely. And I was pretty much I didn't have a lot of lessons. I worked for a period of time with David Ledbetter, a little bit with Mike Adams. But the key thing for me, another little secret, I was doing a golf outing for uh, it was scramble, thankfully, for my daughter's high school. And I'd had to hit this shot, it was uh in between a couple of roots on the um where the ball was, and there was a root in front of it and a root behind it. And I was like, oh, you know, I can get this out. So long story short, make a big and I hit that forward root so hard, and I felt something in my right hand, two places, and I'm like, oh, that's not good. And didn't want to get it checked because I'm going up to the greenbriar in about six weeks for a uh a really cool outing that we did up there, and so I just nursed it, didn't go to the doctor, nursed it, nursed it, nursed it. Long story short, I go up to the first time I'm hitting a uh golf ball up at the greenbrier, and I realize I have no right hand. And I'm like, okay, think, think, think, think. What do I really need to use in the game? And honestly, to me, it was like the hand is my right side is there just for decoration. I just need to get it up to the top in the right position, and the rest is all left side, hips, everything else. Can I tell you out of that situation, it allowed me to see how important the hips were in pulling the rest of the swing through. Can I tell you, I hit the ball longer and straighter that day than I ever had. And I'm like, interesting, okay, I've just stumbled onto something here. And that changed my whole approach to golf after that. Unfortunately, I was off the tour pretty much at this time. But you know, hey, better late than never.

Mike Gonzalez 17:04

Oh, that's right. Yeah, that's interesting. That's interesting. Well, I'll tell you, before we wrap up, just ask you um anything else you want to mention, talk about before we kind of wrap this thing up?

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 17:16

Well, it's it's just been kind of amazing all the different fingers we went to. That, you know, there's no way you can really prepare for something like this. You just sit down and you start talking.

Bruce Devlin 17:25

So you did a great job.

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 17:27

Uh it's amazing. There are a lot of things that that go on, but you know, hopefully this has been an encouragement to, like you say, for people who will start the game after that. That even if it's not something that uh has your heart, like I I mean, and I always felt bad that it I wasn't living, breathing, eating, you know, golf. Yet I always like to say I had the best job in the world. And I there's just so many opportunities that um I had that um I really thank God for, and so many different things that I was able to experience. The travel, everything else just gives you much broader worldview of what's going on around us, and uh just we'll be forever for great grateful for that.

Mike Gonzalez 18:13

Yeah. Well, if you've listened to any of our stories uh of the other 104 that we've done to date, uh you'll know that we always finish up with three very specific questions. So it's always interesting to compare the responses across all those folks. And uh I always defer to the more senior member of our team. I give him the honor for the first of our three questions.

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 18:37

All right, Kathy, you ready? Yep.

Bruce Devlin 18:41

So if when you first started on the tour, if you knew then what you know now, what would you have done differently?

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 18:59

What would I have done differently?

Bruce Devlin 19:03

We always get this silence too.

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 19:06

I know, well it's it's an interesting question, you know. They you're talking about like 20 years. I think there's always a thing. Um I think the one thing I probably would have done differently, aside from the game, is I would have spent more time to enjoy the places where I was at. We traveled so much that you know you're you're you were kind of like, okay, Monday is travel day, Tuesday is pro am, you know, or practice, Wednesday's pro am, Thursday, Friday. Uh, if you miss the cut, okay, when Saturday's laundry, Sunday you're flying out, Monday, you know, and it became this routine. And I would say, if anything, I would have maybe taken an opportunity to see some sites, if you will. I I I remember all the golf courses for the most part, but I would have taken advantage of that part. You know, we can always say we could practice more, do this more, but again, I would say maybe live more in the moment and you know take in, take in the moment, you know, because we were just so structured and moving forward that I think I missed out on some of that.

Mike Gonzalez 20:25

Yeah, and here I thought you were gonna say, I'm gonna take my right hand out of the equation.

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 20:32

Yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 20:33

Uh okay. Question number two. We're gonna give you one career mulligan, one shot to do over. Where would it be?

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 20:42

Hmm. There's one that comes to mind.

unknown 20:49

Okay.

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 20:50

But it it wasn't it wasn't of any particular consequence other than it was highly embarrassing.

Mike Gonzalez 20:55

That's okay.

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 20:57

So I am in playing in Tucson. It's this little par three that has the have these little pot bunkers all the way around the very front of it. It's three-quarters wrapped by water. All you have up is a little walkway up to the green, and there were these nasty little pot bunkers right in front. And we all knew that was one place you didn't want to be. So, of course, first day of the tournament, boom, I'm in there. And what made it so difficult was the lip was so high, but your you really only had an I would say it was maybe a six-foot circle, was the size of this little bunker. And the first four feet of it were sloped down, so you had very little room in here. So, of course, I put it in there. And I said, Okay, so I'm not gonna think about this much. And now from flying out of there, you've got water behind the green, water to the left of the green. There's just trouble everywhere you look. So the only safe patch is actually kind of, and there's water behind you. So you just have a little bit over to the right. So you're like, you know what? Just suck it up and do it. So I hit my first one. Of course, it hits the top. Now it rolls back to where I just hit it from. So what little bit of sand was there? There's no more sand. I'm like, okay. So listen to the crowd. The first noise the I hit the first one and they go, oh, I hit the second one. Ooh. Except now the ball has rolled to where my foot was. Oh, yeah. So now I have a mound of sand behind, and I'm like, so I look around and I'm like, okay, we're just gonna get this out. Do it again. Rolls back right into the same place. And at this point, I look at my caddy and I went, Scotty, keep track. I don't know when I'm getting out of here. And it took me four to get out, and I made an up and down for my six. So I was like all excited. So there's a one that's a good six. Yeah, so it's a good six. And you would have thought I would have won the tournament because I was like, Yeah, you know, because it was absolute silence after that third one. Nobody said a word, and I'm just, you know, it's like sand flying everywhere, and that's the one that comes back to me. It's not, it's not a good one. I mean, it's like oh, yeah, I yeah, that was the one to tell.

Mike Gonzalez 23:33

Yeah, and the redo, of course, would be the one that got you in there, not the one that right. Well, exactly. Exactly.

unknown 23:39

Yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 23:40

All right.

Bruce Devlin 23:40

Question number three, Bruce. So Kathy, um we get we get a lot of different answers for this too, but the question is how would Kathy like to be remembered?

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 23:59

Somebody who loves God and uses her life to tell of his goodness, to tell of his grace, to showcase how he can take someone, and I don't want to say who you just who in maybe in their own mind was not this person, and yet um take somebody who was very doubtful about themselves and and do wonderful things through them. And I think that I I think that's probably the message that God can take anybody. And you know, it just really just requires a surrendered heart, and He's got a great plan for all of us. I think most of our life we're just kind of trying to figure out what that is, and I'm grateful that I came to know him in college, and it's been an interesting journey. I haven't understood it all, but at the same token, in looking back, I can I can kind of say, okay, I see what you were doing there, I see what you were doing there, I see what we're doing there. And isn't it funny how things happen sometimes? There's a wonderful movie out there, and it's called Remember the Goal. And uh my husband found it somehow. It was kind of and he he showed it for us at the church, and it was about, and I believe it was based on a true story, and the sport wasn't golf, it was uh cross country, and it was amazing because he used that movie movie to really remember we were talking about the ups and downs of life and and of the golf game, and that was really something that was going on, and in these kids, they didn't understand this practice routine they're doing. This coach didn't know what she was talking about, and and I feel like a lot of times that's us with God. Why are you doing things this way? No, if it you need to do it this way, you know, and you have this internal dialogue going on, and yet her word was always remember the goal. We want to win states, right? Remember the goal, remember the goal. So they didn't win any events because she was working in them of what was going to allow them to win states. They didn't understand it at the time, but then after they won states, came out of nowhere to do it because she was working on these other parts. And so when I look at my life, that's I can honestly say that God has done what he has told me he's gonna do in my life. And and there's more yet to come, and I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful for the opportunity to give him the glory for it because he really is the one responsible. Yeah, I have to do it, but I was surrendered unto him, and I'm I'm just grateful for that opportunity, and I thank God for that.

Bruce Devlin 26:58

Well, we had a good plan for today, Kathy, when that was to learn about your life story. It's been a joy having you with us, and we thank you for your time and God bless.

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 27:11

Oh, you too. Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate what you guys are doing.

Mike Gonzalez 27:16

Well, yeah, thanks for sharing your story and and sharing your birthday with us. Yeah.

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 27:20

Yes, anytime, anytime. Yeah, I got my roses here. Perfect collar, too. I like you.

Mike Gonzalez 27:26

Good, good. Well, we appreciate the opportunity to add your story to uh the stories of so many golf greats here on For the Good of the Game.

Kathy Guadagnino (Baker) 27:34

Well, thank you so much.

Mike Gonzalez 27:37

Thank you for listening to another episode of For the Good of the Game. And please, wherever you listen to your podcast on Apple and Spotify, if you like what you hear, please subscribe, spread the word, tell your friends until we teat up again for the good of the game. So long, everybody.