Late bloomer

Christie Austin and her husband Bob will work together on the USGA rules team at the 124th U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in June. Courtesy Christie Austin
The places golf can take you aren’t just the ones to be circled on a map. And often, the road taken is unexpected.
Christie Austin, 67, one of the game’s leading rules officials, inherently believes that.
Austin (née Hamrick) was a high school swimmer and basketball player in her home state of North Carolina, and competed in racquetball and softball after graduating from the University of Colorado. She didn’t take up golf until age 26 when she married Bob Austin. Two years later, she had won the first of her 14 club titles at Cherry Hills Country Club, near Denver. As a self-described “late bloomer,” she has added 12 more, scattered among Colorado Golf Club, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St. Andrews, Scotland, and Estancia Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
“It’s the hardest sport I’ve ever attempted,” said Austin, who plays right-handed but does everything else in life left-handed. “...