Susanita de Diego is a modern female Robin Hood. Driven, fair, loyal and strong. Check. Fed up with the status quo in women’s golf. Check. Trying to make things better for women. Check. The only difference is that she’s doing it legally.
A Canadian of Latin descent, Susanita fell in love with golf in her thirties after having played softball competitively. What she didn’t like though was how women were treated in golf. “Our club only allowed women to play on Saturdays after the men were done,” she said.
Already a highly successful Realtor and entrepreneur, she and her husband Michael decided to make a difference for women in the golf industry by creating a new branch of their marketing company, the Golf Belles. The company and its foundation help “empower women golfers at every level of the game…and of life,” says Susanita.
They do this at two levels: one for casual golfers; the other for competing or professional female golfers. Casual golfers can join their virtual community, the Global Golfing Sisterhood, on Facebook and their new forum, to meet and share their adventures. So far there are several hundred members and they expect to have a few thousand by the end of the year. Their foundation will eventually run mentoring programs for younger golfers to connect with more experienced women, including pros.
For pro golfers, called Pro Golf Belles, the company acts as an agent by helping ladies find sponsors and helping them earn money at Pro-Ams, demo days and fashion events. They also help connect players so they have someone to call or hang out with while on the road. Currently they have 20 Pro Golf Belles and are aiming for 200 by May 2011. Not bad for having just started this venture last summer.
As you can tell, Susanita is a firm believer in helping others and loves people. “That’s one of the reasons I love golf. Of all of the sports I have been involved with golf is the most charitable. Not only as an industry but golf etiquette requires golfers to be polite and supportive of one another.”
In gathering all these golfing women together, we were left wondering if Susanita had any sisters in her family. One, who works with her in real estate in Calgary. She doesn’t golf though and “share the sublime joy of hitting a great shot, however rare they may be.”
To learn more about the Golf Belles, find them on Facebook here.
Image courtesy of Golf Belles.
Sweet Spot Golf proudly supports Susanita, the Golf Belles and all they do for helping to grow the game of women’s golf. Good luck to the Golf Belles and thanks to ShiShi Putter for your coverage to this new and important women’s golf group. Keep up the great work Elizabeth and we’ll keep reading it…