June is National Women’s Golf Month. To celebrate, this month we have featured a few of the incredible women who are a part of the PXG Troops. Although there are many other exceptional women, including 40% of our leadership team, who we would love to feature, this weekend we present our final edition.
Meet PXG Fitting Specialist Phoebe Cipa. Phoebe began playing golf at a young age with the support of her father and uncle. As she grew up, golf became her passion. She was a collegiate golfer and has pursued the sport as a career, which led her to be the first female Fitting Specialist at PXG. Phoebe’s advice: Don’t be afraid to speak up for what you want and always over-prepare.
PXG asked Phoebe the following questions to learn more about how she got into the game of golf, the best part of her job, what people would be surprised to know about her, and more. Here are her responses:
HOW DID YOU FIRST GET INTO GOLF?
I was first around golf at a young age because of my father and uncle. My uncle is a PGA professional in England, and my father was an avid amateur golfer. The two would take my siblings and cousins to a local course occasionally to hit balls, which, to us, mostly meant who could drive the buggy fastest.
The summer I was 13, my dad decided my younger brothers were going to learn how to play golf properly and in not wanting to be left out I decided to tag along with them. That summer I fell in love with golf, joined a club and received my first handicap. After that I played often and eventually earned a scholarship to play at Grand Canyon University.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY ON THE GOLF COURSE?
I have several fond memories on the golf course and the highlight was being proposed to by my now husband. He had a golf ball left in the hole for me to find with the words “Will you marry me?” written on it. It was the perfect place to be proposed to.
Another of my favorites was growing up, playing after school one day in the summer with my dad. We lived on a golf course, so we had walked out onto the 10th tee to play a few. My dad reminisced about his father, who I never met as he lost his life at a young age to bone marrow cancer. He said, “I wish my dad was around to enjoy this with us, he would have loved to see you playing golf.” Family is very important to me and this made me feel as though I had a connection not only with my father, but his father too.
Another great memory was getting my first hole in one. It was in my final home tournament competing for Grand Canyon University on a hole that had several spectators, including the Athletic Director. At the University’s annual awards, I won player of the year for the ace.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OTHER WOMEN INTERESTED IN WORKING IN THE GOLF INDUSTRY?
Don’t be afraid to speak up for what you want. If you love golf and want to work in the golf industry, go for it. Carve out a space for yourself and encourage other women to do the same.
WHAT IS THE BEST PART OF YOUR JOB?
I get to connect with different people every day, almost all of whom love golf as much as I do, and help them find the clubs that are going to improve their game and their enjoyment on the course.
WHAT IS THE BEST CAREER ADVICE YOU’VE RECEIVED AND HOW HAVE YOU APPLIED IT YOUR CURRENT POSITION?
Preparation is key. If you are over-prepared, then you are almost always able to deal with situations that could have caught you off guard.
WHAT WAS YOUR DREAM JOB AS A KID AND WHY?
At 7 I wanted to be a ballerina, at 10 I wanted to be Britney Spears, and at 14 I wanted to be a professional golfer. Once I fell in love with golf, I couldn’t imagine it not being part of my life. I am fortunate to be able to work for a company that supports women’s golf the way PXG does.
TELL US ONE THING PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO KNOW ABOUT YOU.
I was born and raised in England but am only half English. My grandparents were from Poland and Finland, I don’t know any Polish but can speak a little Finnish.
