Q & A with Melissa Luellen, Head Coach of the Women's Golf Program at Auburn University

Interview conducted and edited by Sabrina Xiaorui Wu

Portrait of Coach Melissa Luellen. (Photo courtesy of Melissa Luellen)

Whether it was winning championship titles and earning recognition as the 1983 AJGA Player of the Year during her high school and collegiate career, or qualifying for the LPGA Tour after graduation, golf has always been a prominent part of Coach Melissa Luellen's life. After leaving the LPGA, she transitioned to coaching collegiate golf, first at her alma mater at Tulsa University, then at Arizona State University, before arriving at Auburn University. There, Coach Luellen helped rebuild a struggling program into one of the country’s most successful women’s collegiate golf teams. At all three schools, Coach Luellen has consistently led her teams to claim tournament and championship titles, and her players have received countless honors, such as being recognized as Pac-12 Golfers of the Year and being named to the SEC All-Freshman team. In the process, Coach Luellen has also become a highly decorated coach. Among her numerous accolades, she was named in 2009 as the SkyCaddie NGCA National Coach of the Year, was inducted into the University of Tulsa Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000, and was inducted into the WGCA (Women's Golf Coaches Association) Coaches Hall of Fame in 2014. I had the privilege of speaking with Coach Luellen about her personal journey as a professional golfer and collegiate coach along with her perspective on the experiences of women golfers.

WU: I understand that you started playing golf from an early age. What about this sport first attracted you? And what inspired you to continue to pursue this sport in college and later turn it into your career?

LUELLEN: Both my parents were very good golfers, and when I was young, just getting to ride in the golf cart was my main interest. Then as I got older, my parents would bring some clubs out and let me and my sister hit some shots. It was just something that we did for fun as a family. We had summer camp, and we did swimming and tennis and golf, and I just kept gravitating toward golf. Then my mom became a college golf coach at Tulsa. So now all these college golfers were around in our house, and I think that's what piqued my interest. Nancy Lopez was on my mom's team the second year of her coaching, and people gravitated toward her. She had such great charisma and kind of took me under her wing a little bit. I think those college girls inspired me to want to play golf at a high level.

WU: In high school, you often played on the boys’ team. What did you enjoy the most about this experience and what did you find most difficult?

LUELLEN: Most of them accepted me because I think they respected that I could play at a pretty good level. I had to play from the longer tees, and I was never really a long hitter. So it was really great for my short game. I remember there was one kind of confrontation I had with a boy about rules. I knew the rule and he didn't, and he couldn't accept that I could beat him. I always kind of just laughed about it. It was a great competition for me, and any time you get great competition, I just love it.

WU: You had the unique opportunity to have your mom as your coach in college, so did working with her inspire you in any way to become a coach yourself?

LUELLEN: I would probably say no, because I was so locked in on what I was doing with my golf at the time. She coached for 26 years -- ironically, I'm in my 26th year of coaching -- and I was playing on the LPGA and realized that it was time for me to be done playing competitive golf. I had my degree in marketing, and I thought I would go into pharmaceutical sales or something like that. I was 34 years old and like, "what am I going to do?". All I had done was play competitive golf. My mom was still coaching, and she said, “I think you’d be a great coach”. I honestly didn't even think about it, but I said, “Well, maybe I'll try”. So she invited me to be her volunteer assistant at the National Championship her last year and let me coach all four days. Her team was ranked number three in the country, and I was like, this is amazing. That was my entry into it [coaching]. I had a lot to learn and it's certainly way more than just the technical side. I decided that I would apply for the job, and after my mom retired, I took her job as head coach at Tulsa, so I never was an assistant coach. I didn't have that learning curve. I just kind of threw myself into it. And here I am, 26 years later, still learning.

WU: Wow, that's really impressive, because looking at your track record, no one would ever have thought that you didn't have any prior assistant coach experience.

LUELLEN: I wish I had, because I made a lot of mistakes early on with those teams that I inherited and I was just so unprepared. With my mom being such a great coach, I had to really figure out what my philosophy and style was. When I went into it, I just didn't have a clue what I was doing. I didn't know about culture and all that stuff. So I really had to learn along the way, and I had a lot of great mentors.

WU: Looking back, with all the experience you now have, is there anything you would have done differently in your golfing career? Or is there any advice you would give your younger self regarding this sport?

LUELLEN: Just be inquisitive and have that drive to try to figure it out. There's no better teacher than experience. Someone can tell you what to do and what path to take. But for me, it always seemed like I had to experience it myself and learn by making mistakes. You learn a lot more from your defeats than you do your victories and those early years were pretty tough. Would I change anything? Probably. I would ask my mom more questions. I was a little too stubborn to ask for a lot of help from her.

WU: Given the previous difficult circumstances surrounding the women’s golf program at Auburn, when you first became the Head Coach here, how did you think this program was going to work out? And then did the reality align with your expectations? 

LUELLEN: The program was kind of broken. Coach Evans was just a legendary coach and still lives here in Auburn, thankfully. She had stage four Ovarian cancer, and you have to have a lot of energy to do this job. People were wondering, was she going to keep coaching? Was she going to retire? The recruiting was pretty tough for a couple years there and it doesn't take long to drop if you don't have good recruits come in.

I came from an amazing program; I was lucky enough to lead the Arizona State Sun Devils and had a really strong team. I had worked to build that program back after the coach had been injured and retired, but I was approaching 50, kind of that age where you’re like, "What really matters to me?" And just to be able to really focus on recruiting and coaching was something that I really, really liked, and I liked the challenge of coming in and rebuilding a program. I knew that Auburn was such an amazing atmosphere for a young lady. When I came here, I felt it. I just believed that we could build a program back up again. A lot of people have helped along the way. The players that trusted in our vision and the assistant coaches and the community. It's a very special place, and I'm very proud of what all of us have built together.

WU: Based on your vast experiences, are there any common misconceptions people often have about coaching women’s golf?

LUELLEN: They think that it's a really easy job. You just go to the golf course every day. A lot of people look at golf as recreation, whereas we're competing at the highest level and we're trying to win national and conference championships, and we take it rather seriously. A lot of people ask me if this is a full-time job. A lot of people think that there's just unused scholarships in women's collegiate golf. I don't know where they get that, because I think it's tough to get on a roster and get a scholarship.

WU: What do you find most rewarding about working with female golfers?

LUELLEN: Initially, I was all about winning tournaments and rankings. It didn't take me long to figure out these are young women that are relying on me to help them follow their dreams or figure out what they want in life. Nothing makes me more proud than when somebody graduates from our program, whichever school that I coached at, and they say good things about our young ladies. That they're good people and they’re respected, good students. I know that they have all made a difference in me. They've all taught me probably more than I ever taught them.

WU: You have previously mentioned that many of the qualities you have observed in players who make it to the next level include a strong work ethic, a belief in themselves, and mental toughness. But what are some lesser-known traits that you have observed in successful female golfers?

LUELLEN: If someone just loves being at home, I think they're going to really struggle with the lifestyle of being on tour because you're basically a nomad. You have to have an unwavering belief in what got you to that point. It's very easy to start listening to what's so and so doing and start second guessing yourself. You have to know makes you tick and what works for you. Just keep working a little bit every day to get better and don’t try to find the magic solution because everyone is so vastly different. Use your college years to experiment a little bit and get clear on what does work for you, and then just stick with it.

WU: For anyone who may be lacking any of these traits, how would you recommend they best improve themselves? Are there any mental exercises or is it really just getting more experience?

LUELLEN: There's so much time between shots. The ball sits still and there's a lot that can go on in your head. If you can master the mental game and get yourself back to neutral as soon as possible then you can master the tour. It's the hardest thing, and it's something you really have to put time into. Golf is a high-level skill game.

Something that we're taking into these next two tournaments is just really working on our post-shot routine. I would say most players don't have a post-shot routine. It's like, what do you do when you hit a great shot? What do you do when you don't hit a great shot? And having a plan for that and kind of a couple of simple steps to be able to manage that.

I always say learn or celebrate. If you don't hit a great shot, you've got to learn from it and then put the club away and go on to the next one. At this level, our players expect themselves to hit good shots, so they don't do anything emotionally when they hit a good shot. You need to really give yourself credit and pat yourself on the back. We're so quick to judge ourselves and the things that we say to ourselves, it's not very nice. That starts to chip away, and then your confidence starts to go down. You want to go down that downward spiral while you're playing. You see a lot of miserable people on the golf course and my caddy used to tell me misery is optional.

WU: How would you like to be remembered as a golf coach? What lasting impact do you hope to have on the Auburn University’s women's golf program?

LUELLEN: Just that I'm proud of the young women who came through our program and represented Auburn with class and dignity. It can be a rather bumpy road, like they all want to go in this straight line to success. There’s a lot of ups and downs and there's so much learning going on. I want them to know that their coaches are here for them and to utilize us. We're not just about golf. I want to always be there for my players.

Coach Melissa Luellen smiles as she watches her players on the course. (Photo courtesy of Melissa Luellen)

WU: Women’s golf has grown significantly in recent years. From your perspective, what has driven that growth? And what still needs to happen to keep the momentum going?

LUELLEN: I think that when the NCAA tournament started to be televised and went to match play, the exposure that's given to women's college golf has been enormous. I also never thought in my lifetime we would see a women's amateur event played at Augusta National, and it really is a huge game changer. When people are out there and they're watching these women play, they're so impressed.

The people who have an influence are doing the right things to grow the game. It’s just continuing to get young girls interested in the game. Golf has to be fun. You have to have other little girl buddies to keep you in it. I think a lot of us in my era -- there weren't very many girls playing -- grew up playing a lot with boys. I still think it's great to play with boys and play with people who are better than you to learn what it feels like to be under pressure. And I think that being on TV, they see girls that are role models. Little girls are introduced to golf, like, “Wow, I could do that”.

WU: If there is one thing you could change about women’s golf today, what would it be?

LUELLEN: It’s gotten so good; I feel like we're continuing to be on an upward trajectory. You see on the LPGA the prize money is growing, but it's still a far cry from the men. If the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour were to ever merge and really help each other, like professional tennis where the men and the women get paid the same because they're the same organization, I think that would be amazing. So that's one thing that could change.

WU: Have you observed any prejudices in this sport, either personally or through your players, that place female golfers at a disadvantage? And if so, what are they?

LUELLEN: There are still some stigmas that women aren't that talented or they don't hit it far enough. That's just not true anymore. I think when people who don't really understand women's collegiate golf see it; it's just eye opening for them.

WU: What encouragement would you give to any female golfer who is facing gender discrimination in this sport, either from male opponents, coaches, or from the system in general? 

LUELLEN: You're there because you're great at your craft. And if people want to see good golf, it doesn't matter what the name is on the back. It's how they're performing.

I also think it's great to find a role model. People who have had experience and success are happy to share. You just have to reach out and ask. It doesn't matter if it's Nelly Korda or whoever. She's on Instagram and you could direct message her and she might actually reply back. Learn from people who have been where you want to be.

WU: What message do you have for young girls who are considering whether to take up golf?

LUELLEN: If they're young, they should be interested in any kind of sport or activity. Do a lot of different things. Get exposure.

For golf, even if you don't play at the collegiate level, you can still play and enjoy it. For anyone that ever played the game, it's really hard. Everybody’s bad when you start. It’s such a rewarding sport because you do it yourself. You've got people that support you, like a coach or a mentor and your parents. But at the end of the day, you're the one putting the work in and you're the one reaping the rewards or having to deal with failure. It's a great teacher of life, and when things go well, there's nothing better, and when things are hard, it teaches you a lot about who you are as a person and teaches you resilience. If you decide to play at a competitive level, you have to accept that it's going to be a challenge. But I think anyone that plays actually loves that it's not the same every day.

WU: On a final note, as someone who has played professional golf, what advice would you give to any girls who are interested in going down the same path? Is there anything they should know beforehand that isn’t always obvious?

LUELLEN: You have to dream. You have to ask for what you want. I don't know that everybody has to have the goal of being number one, because you can have a lot of success on the tour and not be number one. But I think you can strive to be the best player that you can be. It takes a lot of sacrifice and a lot of time away from friend activities. But that's called dedication. It doesn't mean that you live by golf alone. My mom always said, “One does not live by golf alone”. But when you get a little obsessed with this game, it can really grab you. When I was competing, I did not have any other hobby, and that's not very healthy. So I would always recommend that even while you're working hard and trying to become the best golfer, you don't tie your self-esteem or your value with your golf score. You have different compartments of your life. Golf’s something that you do. It does not define if you're a good person or a bad person based on if you shot 80 or 70.