It was 1981, and Donna Hoffman was one of five newly minted female certified public accounts out of a class of 100 that joined a Boston-based public accounting firm. Not a golfer, she noticed that the other 95 male accountants played a lot of golf — and got choice assignments, promotions and raises.
She got out of the profession shortly after joining it.
That was a lesson learned for a lifetime and, in a circuitous manner, led to the formation of one of two national membership organizations in golf: Women On Course. Based in northern Virginia, Hoffman helms a 60,000-strong women’s golf community.
A community for women, designed by women. And she built it all by herself.
"They would teach you how to throw a line, drink beer and cuss. I said to myself, ‘How do we do this in golf?’ ” – Donna Hoffman
The seed of her idea came several years ago when a friend visiting from Florida described something called “Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing.” This was an effort by the fishing industry to develop more female anglers.
...