Kathleen Glavin Returns to 'Community' a Champion

By Bucky Albers

Five years ago a 15-year-old Kathleen Glavin sat in the pro shop at Community Golf Course waiting for her tee time in the Janet Beardsley Junior Girls Golf Tournament, which was still 90 minutes away.

“Need any help with anything?” she asked golf professional Jim Awsumb.
 
“No, I don’t think so,” Awsumb replied. Then he had a second thought. “I do have something you could do,” he said.

Handing her a pliers, he asked her if she’d mind pulling all of the staples out of the scoreboard outside the clubhouse.

A few minutes later, the job completed, she was back, asking if there was anything else she could do.

Awsumb directed her to a vacuum cleaner. He said she could vacuum the pro shop floor, and she did.

Impressed with the enthusiasm and work ethic of the bubbly Alter High School student, Awsumb asked her how old she was and learned that she was 15.

“When you’re 16,” he said, “I’ll have a job for you.”

Glavin didn’t forget the offer, and she has been working at Community ever since she turned 16 in April of 2006.

Awsumb told the story during the 2010 version of the Beardsley tournament Thursday, July 8, as Glavin reported to duty at the pro shop after escorting three of the young girls around the golf course.

I wondered if those girls realized that they were being assisted by the current Dayton Women’s Amateur Match Play Champion. Glavin certainly wasn’t going to mention it. She’s too humble.

On June 26, the pint-sized Kathleen scored a convincing 9 and 8 victory over Amanda Dixon of Hillsboro in a championship match scheduled for 36 holes at Beavercreek Golf Club. The highlight of the match came on the 10th hole in the first round.

Her brother, Nick, a place-kicker for the University of Dayton football team, had just shown up to watch when Kathleen holed a 160-yard shot from the rough with a 4 hybrid.

Glavin said her father, Bob Glavin, taught her how to play. It was Bob, who put together a video of Kathleen’s swing with the help of Yankee Trace instructor Brad Smith. The video was sent to several college coaches, and the Memphis University coach was impressed enough to attend a couple of tournaments in which Kathleen played.

Glavin, who will be a junior at Memphis this fall, has been on the school’s golf team for two years. She had a 79 average during the past season.

Glavin says she concentrates on making pars and avoiding big numbers.

“I hit fairways,” she said. “That helps a lot. I’m not the longest hitter. My short game is solid. That’s where the game is. You’ve got to get the ball in the hole.”

Glavin likes to practice putting by using a circle drill favored by pro golfer Phil Mickelson. “You put 10 balls in a circle around the hole,” she said.

“You putt from three feet, then four, five and six. When you make all 10, you move the balls farther away. When I’m playing, I imagine myself making the putt in practice.”

When she graduates, Glavin expects to attend graduate school somewhere in Ohio to obtain a doctorate in physical therapy.

“I’ve loved every minute at Memphis,” she said. “It will be hard to leave. But I will enjoy being closer to home.”