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A Perfect Fit: Dailey's decision to become women's golf coach at Wake Forest has paid off
Photo Courtesy of Wake Forest University
Coach Dianne Dailey of Wake Forest talks to sophomore Natalie Sheary.
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Published: May 19, 2009
Dianne Dailey might never have become a golf coach if not for Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch.
The two met about 22 years ago, during a pro-am at an LPGA Tournament. Dailey was an LPGA Tour golfer nearing the end of an eight-year career because of a bad back. Hirsch -- who died in 2004 -- was the athletics director at Wisconsin after a Hall of Fame career as an NFL receiver.
They started talking about what Dailey might do after retiring as a player.
"And he mentioned athletic administration and coaching, and I just thought ‘That's a good idea,' " said Dailey, now 59 and in her 21st season as the women's golf coach at Wake Forest.
"When I got back here to Winston-Salem after the tour, there was a vacancy for the women's athletics director because Dot Casey was going to retire. So that was perfect, and I applied for the job. But after I applied, they changed the job description to include golf coach.
"That's how I got into coaching golf. It was completely unplanned."
Starting today, Dailey will lead her fifth-ranked Deacons at the NCAA Women's Championships at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md. Wake Forest qualified for the fourth straight year, and a good blend of veterans and young players gives Dailey her best team since the mid-1990s.
"What's been interesting and exciting about this team is they have all took turns stepping up," Dailey said. "They have all carried the team on their shoulders from time to time, and it hasn't just been one or two players."
Even though Natalie Sheary, the ACC co-player of the year and ACC Tournament medalist, struggled in the final round at the Central Regional, teammates Nannette Hill, Jean Chua, Allie Bodemann and Cheyenne Woods stepped up to help the Deacons to third place.
Good chemistry has been a key all season, Dailey said, adding that she didn't quite understand how important it was when she started coaching. She didn't play on a college golf team, so she learned on the fly.
"It took me a few years to get used to it," Dailey said. "My first couple of teams kind of taught me how to be a coach because I had never been on a team with a coach."
Through the years, Dailey has built a consistent program -- she said she learned early that the success of the men's program (three national titles) would help with her recruiting. Her golfers also have succeeded in the classroom, with all but one scholarship player (who transferred and graduated elsewhere) receiving their degrees from Wake Forest, according to Dailey.
"The students stay and get their degrees here," Dailey said. "And that's a big deal to me."
Athletics Director Ron Wellman, who came to Wake Forest in 1992, jokes that he stays away from Dailey to let her do her thing.
"She's established exactly what we've set out to do," Wellman said. "She understands the competitive side of the game and all the other areas it takes to have a successful program."
Wellman said that Dailey -- who was elected to the National Golf Coaches Hall of Fame in 2001 -- is humble, almost to a fault. The team's media guide lists the accomplishments of players that Dailey has coached but has little mention of Dailey's accomplishments.
"Dianne doesn't talk too much about Dianne," Wellman said.
Dailey said: "I really appreciate the trust that Ron has in me to run the program."
Sheary said that attention to detail is one thing that makes Dailey such a good coach. Dailey was at Augusta National during Masters week, watching the second round and how the world's best golfers chipped and putted around the greens. She brought back detailed information for her team.
"She's been really good for us," Sheary said. "She has so much experience, and having all those years here really pays off. Just knowing all our courses we play is a big help, and her knowledge is something that's a big thing."
Like many coaches, Dailey has her superstitious nature. She's taking it as a good sign that one of the golfers on her first Wake Forest team -- Kiernan Prechtl, who lives in the Baltimore area --will be working at one of the scoreboards this week.
"She was coaching high-school golf out in California, and she wrote me to ask me about some drills and things to do," Dailey said. "Then she just wrote me and said she's moved back to the East Coast and will actually be working one of the scoreboards at the tournament. I haven't seen her since she graduated (1989), so it will be nice to catch up with her."
Dailey admits that in recent years, she was somewhat frustrated by Duke's dominance (four NCAA titles since 2002), but that she thought in the fall that her team had a chance to break through. Now, she'll try to coach the Deacons to their first NCAA title in women's golf.
"It would be just huge," Dailey said of winning a national championship. "It's something that just doesn't come over night. It's a process, and you have to have strong building blocks and good chemistry, and that's what we have now.
"Who knows if we can bring home a national championship, but it would be fantastic."
■ John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or at jdell@wsjournal.com.
NCAA Women's Golf Championships
• Days: Tuesday-Friday
• Site: Caves Valley Golf Club, Owings Mills, Md. (6,443 yards, par 72)
• Field of 24: Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Denver, Duke, Georgia, LSU, Michigan State, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, Purdue, Southern California, Texas Christian, Tennessee, Chattanooga, Texas, Tulane, UC Irvine, UCLA, Virginia, Wake Forest.
• Notes: Duke, one of four ACC teams in the field, is in the championships for the 12th straight year and will be trying for its sixth title under Coach Dan Brooks after winning in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2007…. This will be the final college tournament for Duke seniors Amanda Blumenherst and Jennie Lee. Blumenherst, who shares the school record for career wins with 12, has past NCAA finishes of 2nd (2006), 7th (2007) and a tie for 15th (2008)…. Wake Forest's best finish was third in 1995 with a team that included Laura Philo Diaz, now an LPGA Tour veteran; UNC's best was eighth in 1995…. UNC will make its 12th appearance overall and its sixth under Coach Sally Austin, who will retire after the tournament. Sydney Crane, a Ragsdale High graduate, has been a four-year starter for UNC and is No. 3 on the team this season with a stroke average at 74.6.
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