Colorado PGA News
Golf Professional of the Year is Anything but Plain and Simple Alice Plain, PGA, Director of Golf at Vail Golf Club in Vail, Colorado, has been selected as the 2021 Colorado PGA Golf Professional of the Year! The highest honor given annually by the Colorado PGA goes to a member for their overall performance including leadership, service, and promotion of the game of golf, and it’s evident that Ms. Plain embodies each and every one of those pieces.
“I’m so excited and honored to win this award. I’ve worked really hard in my career, and I never thought I would win this award – it’s incredibly rewarding to be recognized for this type of award.” Having grown up in South Bend, Indiana, Alice was exposed to golf at a young age, and as she would say, “I was the last hope within the family to pick up the sport.” Her father intentionally introduced her and her three other siblings to lifelong sports, and while Alice admitted to playing more soccer while growing up, she always came back to golf because it meant spending time with her dad. In fact, when asked who was an influential role model
15 AUGUST 2021
in her early years, she was quick to share the relationship she had with her father, George Plain, as he became a good friend and mentor to her while growing up as they spent a lot of time on the course. He never pressured or pushed her to focus on golf, which is something she appreciated.
Entering her 25th year with the Colorado Section, Alice can admit that the challenges she faced while growing up and trying to play golf as a female in a male dominated industry prepared her for her career today. She wasn’t allowed to play on her high school golf team, as they didn’t have a women’s team at the time. It wasn’t until she had to organize a meeting with the President of Hanover College, where she was enrolled at the time, plus, the roster of the men’s golf team, to allow Alice to play competitively at a collegiate level. “They [members of the men’s team] went to bat for me. It was huge – I wasn’t alone in my fight, and they wanted me to be a part of the team. It set the stage for me. They knew I could compete, and it gave me
The SUMMIT
