Questions with Bob Sansevere: Martha Nause, Macalester golf coach and U.S. Open participant
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 06/16/2008 10:08:38 PM CDT
At 53, Nause is Open-minded Martha Nause used to be a regular on the LPGA Tour. Nowadays, the men's and women's golf coach at Macalester College plays an occasional LPGA Legends Tour event. Last week, she qualified for the U.S. Women's Open. So, next week, she will be with the best women's golfers in the world taking part in the U.S. Women's Open at Interlachen Country Club. At 53, Nause will be the oldest player in the field. I talked to her about playing in the Open and about a few other things, too.
BS: Did you want to qualify because the U.S. Women's Open is in Minnesota, or are you on top of your game and you felt you could compete for the championship?
MN: I don't know exactly the state of my game, but I wanted to do something to keep me motivated. I have a Legends Tour event in August (in Boston), and I knew it would be hard for me to stay motivated to work on my game until August. I wanted something to give me the motivation to work on my game. If the Open had been somewhere else, I wouldn't have tried to qualify.
BS: You're 40 years older than 13-year-old Alexis Thompson, who also qualified for the Open. Are you amazed that a kid that age will be playing in an event as prestigious as the U.S. Women's Open?
MN: Yes, I am. Golf is a really demanding game mentally. I find it so hard to fathom somebody that age being able to mentally compete. But I think at that age, also, you're much more apt not to think about what it means. In some respects, that's probably going on with most of the youngsters. I talked to Kimberly Kim, who's 16 and on the Curtis Cup team. I really don't think she had any clue what she was doing. The day I talked to her she got named to the Curtis Cup team and got invited to the Nabisco Tournament. She was saying, "I'm doing this and this." In some ways, that's the way to approach it. That's kind of how I got on the LPGA Tour, joining a few months after I got out of college. So, I can't knock it. I didn't know what I was getting into.
BS: I notice in your biography you've had eight holes in one. After the sixth or seventh hole in one, did it get to be old hat?
MN: They're all amazing. And I can tell you stories about each one of them.
BS: Tell me the most memorable story about a hole in one.
MN: Probably the one when I won the BMW 735i. It was when I was on the Tour in 1987. It was in San Jose, on about the 12th hole. I sold the car. The money I got for the car was more than the tournament winner made.
BS: Does coaching the men's and women's teams at Macalester keep your game sharp?
MN: It doesn't in the respect that I don't play very much anymore. In some respects, it helps. When you're teaching something I think it helps you be a better performer at that thing. Also, when I'm watching players in competition and see shots, I think, maybe subconsciously, about how I would do it. And that's always helpful. When I play and practice, I'm thinking more about my team. I think, "I should have my team do this." I'm much more aware of what I'm doing when I'm practicing, and it's made my game a lot better. When I compete, I feel I manage myself mentally better because I spend a lot of time talking to my team, saying, "When you're nervous. you have to do this. and you have to use this strategy."
BS: If you handicapped the field, is there a prohibitive favorite — Lorena Ochoa, perhaps — and what are the chances of you winning?
MN: Certainly Lorena and Annika (Sorenstam) would be the two that would pop out because of their record. There are so many good players. You just never know with golf what's going to happen from one week to the next. As far as my own chances, you never know from week to week, and I feel like if I can keep myself mentally sharp. ... Watching the men's Open, I've seen them miss some shots. So, just hang in there. I think my game is in decent shape. I've been out of competition for almost 10 years. I don't know what's going to happen. If I can make some putts, I think I can be as competitive as anyone out of competition for 10 years.
BS: You haven't really been out of competition for a decade. You've been playing on the Legends Tour (for women 45 and older).
MN: I play in one to three Legends Tour events a year. I can use (the lack of playing) as a positive. I don't have the weekly grind that may be beating down others on the Tour. I can focus on this one tournament coming up. I also know it's not the end of the world if things don't go great. I can take some pressure off myself that way: "Hey, this is not what I do anymore." I can go and enjoy every moment.
BS: What's the future of the LPGA Tour? Can it ever challenge the PGA in fan appeal?
MN: That's the age-old question. People have been asking that since I joined the tour 30 years ago. There's just a giant population of people who love watching the guys hit 380-yard drives. The women's game is so much closer than it's ever been to having that appeal. It may take another generation of fans to realize the women's game can be as exciting.
BS: How have you done in Opens in the past?
MN: I think I finished in the top 10 once in the Open. I'm not somebody who keeps track of all those records. (Her best finish was eighth in 1987.)
BS: What's the best part of your game?
MN: It depends on the day. My driving is pretty good. My putting is coming around pretty well. I would say the best part of my game is my consistent play. The weakest part of my game is my mental part because I'm not doing it all the time.
BS: Has your game evolved a great deal since you first joined the LPGA Tour in 1978?
MN: When I first joined the Tour in '78, I had no clue what I was doing other than being an instinctive golfer. My putting, at that point, was by far the strongest part of my game. My short game was pretty poor back then. Every part of my game has caught up. My swing is better. My distance is better with new equipment. My mental game I've tried improving. I've always felt that was my weakest link. I can get pretty emotional on the course and get pretty hard on myself. I always had a tendency to get so frustrated and get in my own way. I'm hoping being the oldest woman in the Open will give me automatic maturity.
BS: You've made nearly a quarter of a million dollars on the LPGA Legends Tour. How much longer do you plan to play on that tour?
MN: As long as I can get into tournaments, I'll keep playing. I'm still loving the competition. I love the competition more than I did when I was competing full time.
