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.