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Published on: 6/28/2007
Last Visited: 6/29/2007
Katie Falk shows why she's one of state's top amateur players
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That's the oldest cliche in the real estate business, but it's a tried and true formula used successfully by Katie Falk as owner of Prudential Lakeshore Realty in Milwaukee.
The 60-year old Falk has also used that same strategy to excel on the golf course.A 1993 Wisconsin Golf Hall of Fame inductee, Falk's short game is legendary.
Falk added to an already impressive golf resume with a rain-shortened victory Wednesday in the Wisconsin Women's Public Links Golf Association Senior Championship at Glen Erin Golf Club.
A true ambassador for the game, Falk downplays her legacy as one of the best female amateur golfers the state has ever produced.
"I've loved this game since my mother and father put me in the youth program when I was 10 years old," Falk said."Golf is the greatest game in the world to teach you about life, and I'm very blessed to be still playing."
Falk's mother, Kathleen, was the youngest of six McIntosh children who grew up in Edgerton.Her father, Don, was one of the founders of South Hills Golf and Country Club in Fond du Lac.
"I try to concentrate more on golf in the summer and probably only play about five months out of the year.I have a full-time business career and four wonderful children, so keeping busy is not a problem."
Falk's four children range in age from 24 to 31, and she has owned her own real estate business for 10 years.Realty Executives is a flourishing business that encompasses the North Shore and Lake Country area of Milwaukee.
There are many memorable highlights in Falk's storied career, but two rounds at the Women's Western Open in the 1970s top the list.
In 1973, Falk defeated LPGA Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez to win the Women's Western Open.
At the 1976 Women's Western Open in Colorado, Falk rallied to beat Debbie Massey.
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"I was down by five at the turn to Debbie and came back to beat her on the 19th hole," Falk said.
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Falk was the nation's 10th-ranked amateur by Golf Digest in 1973, and has won six Wisconsin State Amateur titles.She has played in three U.S. Opens, the U.S. Amateur Open and the Canadian Amateur Open.
When she's not playing golf, Falk stays active in the sport by volunteering.She was the only female on the Greater Milwaukee Open Board of Directors for 12 years and also played an integral part in the First Tee charity.First Tee is a charity that gives children an opportunity to play golf.
"A lot of those kids would never have the opportunity to golf without First Tee," Falk said.
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Falk believes the current state of women's golf is on the upswing.Huge endorsement deals, state-of-the-art equipment and increased television exposure have led to the surge, Falk said, and she believes the LPGA will continue to grow.
"The girls today are so lucky," Falk said."The opportunities presented to a young girl today willing to work hard are amazing.You can get a free ride to college.You can get a free education, and still play golf.
"I remember stopping at Nancy Lopez's to see her father in New Mexico when she turned pro in 1977 and got an endorsement for $250,000," Falk said."They were jumping for joy over that kind of money.
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But not nearly as mind-boggling as Katie Falk's successful love affair with the game of golf.
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