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Patty Brimley Earns 2017 UWGA Lady Award
By Megan Huntsman, Programs Administrator
The Utah Golf Association presents the 2017 UWGA Lady Award to one of Utah’s most influential female golfers, Patty Brimley. Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Patty grew up in a golf-loving home on the 6th hole at Bonneville Golf Course. Her parents and three siblings played golf, and she started playing competitively at age 12.
Brimley played in Utah Junior Golf Association tournaments every season, then directed by the Salt Lake City Parks and Recreation Department, winning the junior “Golfer of the Year” award in her age division in ‘76, ‘78 and ‘79. Brimley credits Hugh Hogle, father of her childhood best friend, Holly DeSantis, for her notable abilities at such a young age.
“Hugh would drop us off at different courses on his way to work all summer long,” explained Patty. “We’d play and practice all day, sometimes playing 36 holes a day.”
Her freshman year at Judge Memorial Catholic High School, Patty was the first female to make the boys’ golf team. She played all four years as the only girl, competing with the boys at their own game, from the blue tees. Brimley graduated in 1979 and began her college education at The University of Utah, earning a bachelor’s degree in commercial recreation in 1983.
After high school, Patty completed an internship with the Utah Golf Association, which later led to a full-time, 10-year position with the Salt Lake City Parks and Recreation Department as an assistant recreation manager. During her tenure, Brimley helped run the Utah Junior Golf Association tournaments, including the annual Rocky Mountain Junior, which included teams from the Western U.S.
Throughout her college career, Patty continued playing golf competitively. She won the UGA State Women’s Amateur Championship in ’82 and ’84 and was low medalist at the Utah Women’s State Amateur Championship in ’82, ’84 and ’88. She played as a professional on the Futures Mini Tour in Florida in 1984, but she realized the hard knock life of a professional was not for her and regained amateur status two years later.
Her greatest achievement was winning the Women’s State Am in 1990 at Bountiful City Golf Course, now Bountiful Ridge Golf Course, by one stroke over Terry Hansen and Lachell Simmons. Patty had been two strokes off the lead, but she steadily climbed to the top of the leaderboard with a final-round 74 and total of 224 to defeat her rivals and earn the come-from-behind victory.
Patty has been a member of The Country Club since 1982 and has played on the Ladies A-Team every year since. She is the reigning TCC Women’s Club Champion, winning the title 18 times and making history in the process.
Over the years, Brimley has worked to promote golf at many levels. She was on the board of directors at The Country Club from 2003-2006, joined the UGA Course Rating Team in 2013 and acted as The Country Club’s Ladies Golf Association chair in 2014. One of her proudest moments was serving as co-chair of the 100th Utah Women’s State Amateur in 2006. She and co-chair Margaret Nay wrote the 116-page book, “100 Years of History: The Utah Women’s State Amateur,” providing the state of Utah with the rich history and traditions of the prestigious event.
In addition to her impressive list of accomplishments, Patty and her husband, SLC Golf Head Professional Mike Brimley, were granted the opportunity to coach the Judge Memorial Bulldogs boys’ and girls’ golf teams from 2008-2013. In doing so, they were awarded the Richard Schubach Champion of Youth Award for their outstanding contributions to the youth of Judge Memorial.
“Golf is a gift,” stated Patty. “It’s something you can do your whole life. The friends you meet and the experiences you have because of golf cannot be beat.”
Together, Patty and Mike have two sons, Tyler (26) and Justin (24). When not on the golf course racking up holes-in-one (Patty has nine), she enjoys pickleball, skiing, traveling, bike riding and volunteering for organizations such as Huntsman Cancer Institute and The Children’s Center.