Known as “The First Lady of Golf,” Dinah Shore gave unwavering support to women’s golf and helped open the game to many future stars.
Dinah Shore was one of America’s first television stars. In a career that spanned six decades, she was a movie actress and singer, hosted her own variety show, and hosted two talk shows. She also reshaped women’s golf by securing network television coverage of LPGA tournaments, increasing prize purses, and breaking barriers for other women who wanted to play golf.
Born Frances Rose Shore on February 29, 1916, Shore was an all-around athlete in high school, playing softball, basketball, and running track. As a teenager, Shore’s mother died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Shore attended Vanderbilt University, where she stayed active in sports, making the varsity swimming and fencing teams. She never played golf, her late mother’s favorite sport. She described her mother as “one of the finest, most enthusiastic golfers in the state of Tennessee,” and added, “She died when I was young, but her encouragement stayed with me.”
Dinah Shore in 1961 (photo courtesy Vancouver Pop Music Signature Sounds)
In the years ahead, Shore would have a very long and successful career as an entertainer. She got the stage name Dinah from the song she auditioned with, “Dinah.” When American disc jockey Martin Block couldn’t remember her name, he called her the “Dinah girl,” and soon after, the name stuck. In the 1940s, Shore starred in many films, including Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943), Up in Arms (1944), Follow the Boys (1944), Belle of the Yukon (1944), Make Mine Music (1946), Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), and Fun and Fancy Free (1947).
During the 1940s, Shore also established herself as a recording artist. After failing singing auditions for Big Band acts such as Benny Goodman and Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Shore eventually embarked on a solo career. She became the first singer of her era to attain huge solo success. From 1940 to 1957, Shore had about 80 songs reach the Top 40; four reached #1.
Shore also gained popularity in television, hosting her own variety shows. From 1951 through 1963, she hosted The Dinah Shore Show and The Dinah Shore Chevy Show. In the 1970s, Shore hosted two daytime talk shows, titled Dinah’s Place and Dinah!
At the age of 52, Shore finally took up the game of golf. She did acknowledge she wasn’t the best golfer, and she wasn’t a quick study either. “Whenever I break 100, they send up a flare,” she once said. Her goal in golf was to try to shoot 85. In 1972, Shore helped found the Colgate Dinah Shore Golf Tournament, and thereafter she had a significant impact on women’s golf.
in 1993 with champion Helen Afredsson (photo courtesy FORE The Good of the Game)
She helped ensure that women’s golf received national exposure with network television coverage and increased prize purses from 5 figures to 6 figures. That year’s U.S. Open tournament had a prize purse of $40,000. The inaugural Dinah Shore tournament had a substantial prize purse of $110,000.
The “First Lady of Golf” also had many firsts in women’s golf. Shore became the first woman to play in the PGA Tour Pro-Ams at San Diego and Westchester. She was the first female member of the Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles.
In 1994, Shore was posthumously inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame. Other awards and honors Shore received for her contributions to golf include the Patty Berg Award in 1985 and the Old Tom Morris Award in 1993.
In her own words, Dinah Shore gave unwavering support to women’s golf and helped open the game to many bright stars and future stars. “I don’t like discrimination based on sex. Ability is the only thing that matters. The tournament we play is awfully powerful proof of that.”
