Elizabeth "Betty" Dodd was an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour. Elizabeth “Betty” Hobart Dodd was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1931 to General Francis and Margaret Dodd. Betty began the game of golf at age 11 in 1942. On her first 9 holes she shot a 42 at the age of 11. At age 16, she won her first tournament in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Her father was in command of the lower area in southern Germany during this time. After the war, the family settled in San Antonio and Betty soon began dominating ladies amateur golf in San Antonio until she turned professional, joining the LPGA in 1952. At age 19, she won the San Antonio driving contest with a 310 yard drive. From 1952 until 1964, Betty was an active member of the LPGA tour. During her professional career, Robert Mayer, Warren Smith, and Babe Zaharias instructed Betty. Betty Dodd won twice on the LPGA Tour, in 1956 and 1957. She claimed the San Antonio Women’s City Championship from 1941 to 1951, the Oak Hills Club Championship in 1951, and the Brackenridge Club Championship in 1950-51. Soon after turning professional, Betty was the first woman professional to earn an endorsement contract with Hillerich & Bradsby Co. She retired in 1960 because of a recurring ankle injury she originally broke playing high school basketball. Betty later taught for many years in the San Antonio area and was a golf instructor at Oak Hills Country Club and Ft. Sam Houston Country Club. Her prominent students at the time, included touring professionals Shirley Furlong, Cindy Lincoln, and Wendy Ward. Betty was elected national LPGA “Teacher of the Year” in 1980 and attained Master Professional status in 1987. In 2004, she was inducted posthumously into the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame along with NBA star David Robinson, MLB All-Star Gary Bell, MLB pitcher Joel Horlen, and high school baseball coach Robert Zamora. Betty was a close friend and pupil of fellow golfer Babe Zaharias. According to Susan Cayleff's biography Babe, Dodd was quoted as to saying "I had such admiration for this fabulous person . I loved her. I would have done anything for her." They met in a 1950 amateur golf tournament in Miami and became friends almost immediately despite the 20 year age difference. This was most likely due to their brash personalities. Both liked to be on the stage, and they often entertained the other women golfers, with Babe playing the harmonica and Betty singing and playing the guitar. They even performed on the Ed Sullivan Show together. In Babe's 1955 autobiography, This Life I've Led, she talks about how she enjoyed helping Betty, as a talented teenager, get started in pro golf and her overall fondness for Betty; "She's like a daughter to me." Betty appreciated Babe's help and friendship. When Babe was losing her battle to cancer, Betty joined Babe and George in Florida to help take care of Babe. She looked up to Babe and never forgot how someone of Babe's athletic stature was willing to help a promising teenager learn the ropes of professional golf. This was a great influence on why Betty went into teaching after she retired.
