Never too late

Susan West found golf much later than most.

A natural athlete who picked up a tennis racket at the request of her high school tennis coach, West earned a scholarship at the University of Alabama. Later, when West was in the midst of a successful business career — working in strategic planning and commercial insurance before eventually becoming the assistant dean and director for the business school at her alma mater — she had an epiphany that it was time to put down her racket in favor of a golf club.

She had enjoyed golf as a kid, picking up balls on her local driving range to make money for “fudgesicle and french fries.” But with so many other sports, especially tennis, earning her focus, it was hard to spend time on golf until later in life.

“I was in the business world and, quite frankly, it was pretty hard to conduct business on a tennis court but so easy to conduct it on the golf course,” West said. “After I tore my ACL on a skiing trip, I thought, ‘You know what? Golf will serve me better in business...