Loral Dean disdained golf. She couldn’t understand the arcane jargon, let alone figure out why golfers became so obsessed with the game. And even though – or, perhaps, because – both her husband and ex-husband were avid golfers, she was convinced that golf was just goofing off and not a game for someone with kids to raise, a job to do, and a million chores awaiting.

But as she eased into her fifties, her life was growing less complicated and, while walking a course in North Carolina while her husband and some friends played, she decided to give golf a chance. Sandra Post and Me: A Veteran Pro Takes a New Golfer from First Swing to Tournament is the story of Dean’s first 100 days as a golfer.

Sandra Post won the Ladies Professional Golf Association championship when she was 19 and played on the Tour for 16 years. Then she returned to Canada to teach.

From Dean’s first clinic to first corporate tournament, she quickly learns that golf is a roller-coaster ride of emotions as breakthroughs are often followed by complete collapses. But she develops a deep and abiding love for the game. In fact, when her husband declines a second game during a long weekend at the cottage, she sneaks out at 5 a.m. to play by herself.

Despite the clinics, the hours and hours spent at the driving range, and numerous rounds of golf, Dean remains far from the holy grail of a sub-100 score. But golf has allowed her to bond with a young nephew, meet new people, and learn about herself. And Post, who is a great advocate for women in golf, insists that she’s seen Dean grow more confident – not just as a golfer, but as a person. “That’s what I love about my life now, post-Tour, as teacher-mentor to new golfers,” writes Post. “I can change people’s lives forever. Now that’s powerful. That’s the magic of golf.”