TARA MCKENNA ('89) IS COMPLETELY AT EASE WORKING IN THE TATNUCK (MASS.) COUNTRY CLUB. After all, she has been a self-declared country club brat since age 5.

The first female head golf pro in the 105-year history of Tatnuck Country Club, McKenna is proud to have left the JMU women's golf team able to pursue her love of the male-dominated game. "Few women break from the ranks into positions of leadership," she says. "It's a little better as Annika Sorenstam and Susy Whaley become better known by playing in the male-dominated PGA tour."

McKenna, who walked onto JMU's team in 1985, earned a B.A. in psychology. She also earned a sport psychology degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. "During my time at UNCG, I considered turning professional," she says.

With recent controversies of segregated memberships and tee-time disadvantages, discussions on what is right and what is fair come into play for all involved in the sport. McKenna says that she does not agree with Martha Burk's tactics or her target of the Augusta Country Club. "Now that I have broken the grass ceiling, so to speak, and have earned my first head professional job, I have learned that when you look at discriminatory policies at golf clubs, you must consider what we're critiquing -- private clubs," she says. "From the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, to the LPGA, there is separation everywhere. Private clubs are entitled to their choices as to whom to admit. If Burk had succeeded, it would not have encouraged little girls to take up the game or kept down the attrition rate of women leaving the game."

Many private clubs, including Tatnuck, admit both male and female members or designate certain hours as ladies' or men's only tee preferences. McKenna says this helps some women be more comfortable on the course, "as they will often be embarrassed to play if too many men are around. Women can excel in the teaching area and can be incredibly successful."

As for the future of golf, McKenna says, "I would love to see someone open a women-only club someday, but I'd rather see tee preference based on pace of play. Put all the slow pokes -- regardless of skill or gender -- at the end of the line."

-- Kyra Papafil ('04)