Sometimes, people will think you’re a bit crazy for setting a lofty goal. They may not understand the vision you have or your strong belief in your own abilities. This was the case for the two-time major champion, Jane Geddes when she decided to leave Flordia State her Junior year to pursue a career as a professional golfer. The reason being, she just started playing a few years before.

Against all odds

With competitive golf getting younger and younger, the stories of an individual picking up the game at 16 and becoming a winner on tour are few and far between. Jane Geddes is one of those exceptions.

After being unhappy during a family move to South Carolina in her high school years, golf became the focal point of her life. One lesson lead to another and she was quickly infatuated with the challenge of the sport. This strong desire for improvement blossomed into opportunity. Just a couple years into her journey, and she was on her way to play for the Florida State Seminoles. Junior year was the culmination of her efforts helping her team to a national championship.

With confidence riding high, she made the bold decision to leave school for a bigger dream. Professional golf was her next frontier and just a few years in she entered a mental state all athletes strive to achieve. Jane was in the zone and her career changed forever.

From Major Champion to Entrepreneur

From the years of 1986 – 1987, her golf game was ablaze. The hot streak commenced with her first professional win at the ’86 U.S. Open. Not bad for someone who first picked up a club a mere ten years earlier. She kept the ball rolling from there. In a 12 month stretch, Jane netted seven of her eleven LPGA career wins adding another major to her resume with the ’87 LPGA Championship.

As Jane puts it, her time on the LPGA tour was a dream. She got paid to travel the world doing what she loved and in the process created a storied career.

With 14 worldwide wins, a Solheim cup appearance, and many more accolades, you would imagine she was ready to kick back and enjoy the fruits of her labor. But she was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and in 1998 co-founded an e-commerce company that got funded and grew to near 30 employees. Eventually, they sold it in 2001 and once again you would think this would be the end of the story. We’re not even close.

Back to school

This may be hard to believe, but Jane’s life off the course may be more interesting than the one she had on it.

After wrapping up her time on the greens, Jane took her talents to law school to set herself up for a second career.

Upon receiving her Juris Doctorate, she set her new life into action. She would go on to work for the LPGA helping manage player relations while being heavily involved in a multitude of initiatives. A headliner was serving a major role in getting golf into the Olympics. She then went on to spend four years in a completely different spectrum, the WWE, helping manage the talent of which the organization relied on.

Photo of Jane Geddes with the WWE. Photo Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy

Now, Jane is back in golf helping get other women into the game that has given so much to her life. As the Executive Director of the LPGA Women’s Network, she is leading the charge of the InviteHER campaign, promoting the idea of inviting the women in your life to the course.

G&E The Podcast

Jane Geddes has lead a remarkable life and it seems as if she is just getting started. It was a pleasure to have her on our podcast as we talked in-depth about her career on and off the course.

You can listen to the interview below or on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever else you listen.