Hall of Fame: Natalie King (Mesa Verde CC)
Richard Dunn
For years, Natalie King would play golf with her friends at Mesa
Verde Country Club, and, at each hole it seemed, would get a glimpse of
her playing partners’ grandchildren.
“I’ve played golf a long time and with a lot of older women, and they
would always show me pictures,” she said. “I would just think, ‘Give me a
break. I don’t want to see those pictures.’ But, now, I’m just as bad as
all of them. It’s so neat to have a grandchild.”
King, a doting grandmother for the first time since 7-month-old Phoebe
was born to her daughter, Jennifer, and husband Nick Radisay, didn’t take
up golf until age 35, when she and her husband, Dr. Don King, joined Mesa
Verde in 1974.
“We just started playing,” said King, a six-time women’s club champion
at Mesa Verde and the venerable Costa Mesa club’s all-time leader until
Denise Woodard tied the mark this year.
King, whose backyard is adjacent to the 17th tee at Mesa Verde, won
club titles in 1982, ‘86, ‘88, ‘90, ’94 and ’95. “After 1994, I didn’t
expect to win again, especially back-to-back,” said King, who surpassed
five-time champion Shirley Kinder as Mesa Verde’s all-time leader in
women’s titles.
King, who said her first title is her favorite, once rolled up her
pants and removed her golf shoes and socks to hit a ball wedged inches
from a lake on the 27th and last playoff hole against longtime friend
Marg Hayes.
The ball, on the par-4 No. 9, wasn’t in the water on the left, but
King, a right-handed player, had no choice but to take a dip.
Executing the shot perfectly while standing in the lake, King dried
off, put her shoes and socks back on, and followed it with a downhill
15-foot putt for par to win the championship.
“That was the only way I could hit the ball, otherwise I would’ve
dropped and taken a penalty,” she said. “But I was able to knock it onto
the green without a penalty.”
In eight years, King went from golf beginner to club champion.
“We built our house on the golf course in 1967, and we could look out
the window and see (golfers), and it looked like so much fun, I decided
I’d better get in on some of that fun ... I love playing the game and I’m
going to keep playing as long as I can physically and mentally. I love
the game.”
Some could argue that King is the unofficial Mrs. Mesa Verde.
“The golf course is unbelievable right now,” she said. “It has never
been in this good of condition. The greens are rolling so well and true.
It’s a nice place to be.
“Our superintendent (Eric Lover) is a gem, and so is (head pro) Tom
Sargent, and, boy, our clubhouse staff is awesome, and so is our general
manager (Kim Porter). When the clubhouse is rebuilt (following a Nov. 1
tear-down date of the existing facility), it’s going to be an absolutely
primo place to be. It’s already a primo place, but with the new clubhouse
it should be really great.”
King, a past women’s club chair at Mesa Verde who said she’s done with
“all that political stuff,” has taken up fly fishing with her husband and
loves it.
“My husband has been fly fishing for several years,” said King, who
started five years ago. “I decided to have some of that fun, too. I used
to just read books (on vacations to the far reaches of Western U.S.),
then I decided to be a good sport and try it, and now I love it.”
King, the latest honoree in the Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Fame, has
two grown children: A 38-year-old son, Jeff, and 33-year-old daughter.
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