Joshua Fleer
Contributing Writer
In a tight spot on a golf course down under, Katherine Hull decided to give God a try. Taking Good Shepard Lutheran’s required Christian Living class had sparked just enough of a curiosity in Christianity that she uttered a prayer for the first time.
“You know what God, help me out here,” she said.
Hull pulled through and was fortunate enough to win the tournament.
Since that first attempt at prayer on the course, Hull’s faith has grown. Today, you won’t find her without one of her two necklaces bearing a cross, which serve as reminders of her savior and her commitment to follow in his footsteps.
“God chose me more than I chose him,” says Hull, a native of the laid back coastal town of Sunrise Beach, Australia. “It’s his grace that saves us all, not ours.”
On the golf course, Hull’s a flusher (Australian lingo for a really good golfer). This year Hull broke her own NCAA 18-hole record of 64 strokes, set her junior year, by shooting a 63. She also owns the 54-hole record score of 200.
Ranked as the top collegiate golfer in the nation according to the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings, Hull’s collegiate career will culminate at the NCAA Championships Apr. 14-15. After that Hull will turn her attention to the LPGA.
“She hasn’t even reached her potential,” says Lindsey Wright, a teammate of Hull’s. “She’s doing great right now, but she’ll do even better.”
Hull made the public commitment to accept Jesus as her savior when she and her younger sister, Vanessa, were baptized her senior year of high school. During her three-and-a-half years at Pepperdine, Hull’s faith has continued to grow.
Through Pepperdine’s Christian ties, Hull has encountered many other Christians, taken religion courses and attended UM – a student geared service at Malibu Presbyterian. After leading a Bible study in her dorm, Hull is excited to join the LPGA Tuesday Bible studies, which she hears are quite good.
“She is a hard worker, wonderful athlete and incredibly competitive,” says Laurie Gibbs, Pepperdine women’s golf coach. “I know she has a lot of faith and she displays it on the golf course. She wears a WWJD bracelet (from which comes her tan line on her left wrist) and looks at that, and she knows she’s very blessed with the gift that she has.”
Hull was bitten by the sports bug early in life. She played just about everything from athletics (track & field) to net ball (basketball), and everything in between. Initially, tennis was her game, but at age 12 Hull says she got burnt out, and her father, Frank, convinced her to caddy for him one day. She liked watching, and the next week she and her father went out to the course to play together.
“Golf got me instantly,” Hull says. “I’m glad I switched. No offense to the game of tennis, but I can’t just stand in a little box.”
Soon, she was attending junior clinics and was golfing with her father every afternoon after school.
“In those days, women couldn’t play on Saturdays,” Frank remembers. “So because she was still a junior, the way we would get around it is that she would play with the last group of juniors and I would play with the first group on the men’s field. That way we could still play together, and she could get good competition with the overlap. We would walk up to the course hand-in-hand.”
Hull’s commitment to her faith has led to a tension with her parents. Committed to supporting their daughter, they attended Hull’s baptism. However, her parents have expressed concern that she doesn’t “go ramming it down people’s throats,” and Hull’s enthusiasm for Christ during the Christmas season is not reciprocated.
“Golf’s a gift I’ve been given from God,” Hull says. “My dad’s convinced the gift is in my genes and from my hard work.”
On the course Hull credits her faith in keeping her more even tempered.
“When I was younger, I had a bit of a temper,” she says with a soft laugh.
Off the course, Hull says her faith has kept her from becoming absorbed in herself and her opportunistic purposes in golf. Instead, her love for people shines through. She knows all the girls in her dorm by their first names and greats each of them whenever they cross paths during the day.
“Katherine is a very giving person,” says Wright, who will be joining Hull on the LPGA tour. “She will do anything for you. If you need help, she will be there.”
Last month the LPGA called Hull to grant her a sponsor’s exemption to play in her first tournament, the Office Depot Championship, Mar.31-Apr. 6. Although she could not collect her winnings of over $3000 due to her collegiate status, Hull made the first cut and placed 70th.
With a 260-yard drive, Hull doesn’t plan on changing her swing for the LPGA. Instead, she will concentrate on the mental aspects of golf more than the mechanical.
“It is such a blessing to be a professional athlete when there are people sitting in offices,” Hull says. “That’s not even taking into account the people in third world countries. God has blessed me with such a good life.”
Hull plans to use her platform as a professional athlete to do some motivational speaking and spreading of the gospel of her savior. She also has given missionary work some thought, perhaps to her home country.
“I’ll go where God leads me,” Hull says.
April 17, 2003