HEAD OF HER CLASS : Top Senior Mildred Stanley Has Always Been a Quick Study on the Golf Course

ESCONDIDO —  Ever hear of a 47-year-old college freshman star athlete . . . other than Rodney Dangerfield in “Back to School?”

Complete nonsense? Well, in 1976, at age 47, Mildred Stanley became a kid again, accepting a golf scholarship from Cal State Long Beach.

She went through the whole routine--long bus rides over desert highways, arguing with teammates over who got the beds in the team’s small motel rooms--or, more precisely, over who had to sleep on the floor. She even got caught with beer in her room the night before a match.

There were tournaments against the likes of Tulsa’s Nancy Lopez and San Jose State’s Patty Sheehan. There was the excitement of qualifying as an individual for the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. tournament four years in a row and the disappointment of never winning.

And, of course, Stanley went through classes, midterms and finals. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science.

“I am one of the most fortunate adults,” she says now. “At my age to have the opportunity to travel with a college team and represent a great university and get my degree . . . this golf game has been a vehicle for so many things that enriched my life.”

And, yes, golf is still enriching. Last week Stanley, now 60, claimed the women’s state women’s senior championship in Monterey, for golfers over 55. Actually, claimed doesn’t really do justice to her accomplishment. But then again, what verb is there to describe a victory, in a state championship tournament, in which the second-place finisher was 23 strokes behind.

“Not to take anything away from the ladies who were there,” Stanley said, “but there were a few women not playing because of conflicting schedules who would have made for a good contest.”

Stanley has been on a golf course all her life. She learned to play in her native Hawaii from her father, Joe Mahelona.

“He was a player himself and he used to bring home the broken golf clubs of the frustrated (mainlanders). They used wooden clubs in those days. He fixed the clubs for us, and we’d start sneaking onto golf courses at night.”

Besides golf, Stanley’s father stressed school.

“He always talked about education,” Stanley said. “And the word was power. You can do anything if you have an education, except be president of the United States if you’re a woman.”

Funny how golf gave Stanley the power to get a college education.

Some younger golfers Stanley had met in amateur tournaments simply brought up the matter to the Long Beach athletic director, Stanley said.

And since Long Beach “didn’t have money to recruit like Tulsa,” Stanley was given an SAT test, which she passed, and allowed on the team.

“I look back on that now and say, ‘Golly, you can’t buy that: the times, experiences, relationships with the kids.’

“I carried on not a mother-type relationship, but a player-coach type relationship.”

But Stanley cherishes what she learned in college as much as her relationships.

“No. 1 was the education,” she said. “It really helped me to enhance my skills, sharpen my mental edge. Before (going to college), I was piece-mealing things. Like the Hawaiians say, hang loose.

“But that’s not the attitude to have. The right attitude is to prepare for everything the best you know how and to always give your best. Winning a title is great, but doing your best is even greater.”

Stanley became a player/coach her senior year at Long Beach and stayed on as coach until 1984, when her husband, Bob, retired from banking, and the couple moved to Escondido.

Although Stanley left college competition, she in no way left golf. That state title she won last week was her fourth in a row and fifth overall. She recently qualified for the USGA Mid-Amateur in Austin, Tex., early next month, by shooting a winning round of 79 at El Niguel Country Club in Laguna Niguel.

Most Mid-Amateur competitors are much younger than Stanley or at least closer to the age requirement of 25. Yet they seem somewhat intimidated by Stanley’s presence.

“They (other golfers) are playing me instead of playing with what they have--their skill,” Stanley said.

Even Stanley’s pro, Tom Sims, is somewhat in awe of her.

“She calls me her pro, but really she just goes out there and hits,” Sims said. “I watch and open my mouth a few times, but really she’s her own pro.”

Stanley isn’t just a golfer. She also gives back to her sport. While coaching at Long Beach, Stanley raised $100,000, $60,000 of which went to the Millie Stanley endowment fund.

She is also a volunteer for the USGA, in charge of securing the site for the Western Regional of the Mid-Amateur and attracting golfers to play in it.

“I’m a contestant No. 1, and a committee member No. 2,” Stanley said.