Karen Bahnsen: Recruit, Student-Athlete, Coach, Hall of Famer
As we near the end of Women’s History Month, Healthy Tiger wanted to highlight just a few of the incredible women who have served as icons for their sport. Karen Bahnsen is certainly one of the best.
There are so many unique stories about student-athletes at LSU and their journeys through school life and beyond. Former LSU women’s golf coach Karen Bahnsen would certainly rank high on that list and what better story to talk about than a student-athlete who becomes the team’s coach.
No big deal, you say?
If it seems like Karen Bahnsen has been a part of the LSU golf program all her life, you wouldn't be exactly wrong.
No, she wasn't putting on the LSU campus course as a youngster, but since 1980 she has been one of the leaders in shaping the history of the women's golf program on this campus.
She was the first recruit of the fledging program prior to the 1979-80 season and helped mold the team that would become the first to tee it up for LSU women's golf. She graduated from LSU in 1984 and subsequently was named the women's head coach prior to the 1984-85 season. In her second year, she had the number one player in the country, five team titles and a top 10 NCAA Championships finish. She would continue that success until her retirement after the 2018 season.
Bahnsen is in many ways a historian for the sport of college golf, especially at LSU and the Southeastern Conference. She has seen the sport improve in so many ways with better equipment, better scores and better players. She has now seen the sport she loves advance into the television age as the Golf Channel documents the women's final and its exciting match play championships.
Over 20 times, the Tigers were in NCAA postseason play. Seven times her teams finished in the top 10 including impressive third place finishes in 2011 and 2012. She coached the NCAA champion in 2011 as freshman Austin Ernst posted a six-under 66 to win the individual title to start the honors for a player who has gone on to win over $4 million dollars and three titles on the NCAA tour.
That number one player, Jenny Lidback, won seven college titles for LSU, in 1986 and would add a major LPGA title to her resume’ that saw her inducted into the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame.
Over the years Bahnsen came up with a simple philosophy that she started using as a player. It was so simple, but so amazingly effective when put into play. She wanted her team to play each shot as a separate event. If something bad happened, forget it and move on. Don't let it carry on for four or five holes. Most of all have fun.
Bahnsen’s love and desire for a program she has devoted over half her life to is what gave her a smiling satisfaction about a program she virtually helped design from scratch. She pushed LSU women’s golf into the national spotlight.
In 2009 she was inducted into the Women’s Golf Coaches Association joining a list of members who helped make women’s college golf what it is today. That it came before two of the greatest seasons in her career was a testament to what she meant to the growth of the game.
Recruit, Student-Athlete. Coach. Hall of Famer. Well done.
