When Maggie Martin Giesenhagen was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2002, she gained the distinction of having the longest name of any member.
That’s appropriate, since her list of credentials is long, too. Giesenhagen, born Sept. 11, 1943 in Albuquerque, began playing golf when she was 5. She honed her game through her teenage years and by 1961 played well enough to finish runner-up in the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship. As she matured during her college years, so did her game. She played in nine U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships, starting in 1961. She also participated in three U.S. Women’s Opens (1963, ’75 and ’76) and several of the nation’s top amateur tournaments, including the Women’s Trans National, the Broadmoor Ladies Invitational and the CWGA Match and Stroke Play events. Her top finishes included victories in the 1965 Big Ten Conference women’s tournament and the 1974 CWGA Match Play Championship.
Giesenhagen’s resume includes much more than her playing record, however. A member at Broadmoor Golf Club since 1967 and at Denver Country Club since 2003, Giesenhagen has been a strong administrator for the game, serving on the CWGA golf course rating and handicap committee from 1977 to ’94. She played an instrumental role in forming the slope handicap system that is used today.
In 1988, Giesenhagen accepted the challenge of becoming the first executive director of the CWGA. That made her one of the first full-time directors of a women’s state organization and, in 1989, she was the first women’s director to become a member of the International Association of Golf Administrators.
For 19 years starting in 1992, Giesenhagen worked for the USGA, first as Manager, then Director, of Regional Affairs in the Western and Rocky Mountain Regions. She was the liaison between the USGA and the state and regional golf associations. She has worked numerous national championships at all levels. In 2008, Giesenhagen moved over to the USGA’s Rules and Competitions Department as Director and Staff-in-Charge of the U.S. Women’s Amateur and U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championships and the Curtis Cup matches.
Maggie Martin Giesenhagen has dedicated a great deal of her life to golf. Her induction into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame is a fitting tribute to a remarkable woman.
2010 Lifetime Achievement
Her myriad feats as a champion golfer are rivaled only by her accomplishments during her decades as a volunteer director with the CWGA and the USGA, and as an expert in all aspects of the game.
