When most people think of golf, they usually don’t think of love or marriage, but I do.  I met my husband for the first time on a golf course and we have been blissfuly married and playing golf for over 11 year nows.

Golf always has been and will always be a big part of our lives. To make a long story short, I met my husband Dan Jansen when he came to take a golf lesson from me when I worked at the David Leadbetter Golf Academyin Orlando, Florida back in 1996. You may remember Dan; he won a gold medal in speed skating in the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway.

We hit it off, but our time together was brief and after that initial golf lesson I would not see him for four years. We re-met by chance at a Gary Player charity golf event at the Floridian Golf Course in Palm City, Florida. Dan, obviously knowing a good thing when he sees it, would not let me get away this time and we were married a year later.

Dan and I have been good for each other. He understands the crazy lifestyle of a golf professional because his life as television broadcaster and motivational speaker is just as crazy. Teaching and playing golf for a living can be a grind. You are constantly on the go, traveling to tournaments and clinics all over the country. It is hard to be the happy homemaker. I don’t have that kind of life that allows me to have a set schedule, so most nights dinners are improvised, laundry, errands and house cleaning go undone and forget about making plans on the weekends and holidays because that is when most lessons and tournaments happen.

But Dan knows that I really love what I am doing, so he is the first one to encourage me to do whatever I have to do to better my career. For this I am thankful.

Golf is not only my profession, but it is my hobby and my favorite pastime. So fortunately for me, my husband has grown to love the game as much as I do. He has gotten pretty good too. Since we’ve been married he has whittled his handicap down to a 3.  Not only do we spend all our free time playing golf on the weekends, but we play on vacations too. We’ve played all the great courses in Pinehurst, North Carolina, Kohler, Wisconsin, Ponte Vedra, Florida,  and we even got to play Pebble Beach and Augusta National!

Our favorite place for a golf getaway weekend is Champions Retreat in Evans, Georgia. In fact spend most anniversaries playing golf. We may play 27 holes a day. What a great way to get to know your spouse. I am thankful for my spouse that plays golf. It is fun to be married to someone that loves to play golf as much as I do. Everyone should be so lucky.

What is you golf love story?  I would love to hear it.  Send me a note a KPJ@swingbladegolf.com.