One of the first presidents of England Golf, Huddersfield’s Sue Johnson, has been made an OBE for services to golf in the New Year Honours list.
“This is a very great honour,” said Sue, who has held prominent positions within golf at national, county and club level. “I must be very lucky to be honoured for doing something that has given me the greatest pleasure.”
For many years Johnson was closely involved with the administration of women’s golf, but when England Golf was formed in 2012 she became joint president of the new organisation, alongside Lincolnshire’s Paul Baxter.
‘This is a very great honour’ England Golf was formed by the merger of the men’s and women’s governing bodies and at the time Johnson said: “This is history in the making and we are privileged to be part of it. Through our roles as president we can help to bring men and women golfers together as members of one united and successful organisation.”
Since then, she has also become the first female president at Huddersfield, where she is in her second term of office.
However, Johnson insisted: “I’m not a trailblazer. I’ve just been lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time – and I can’t say ‘No’.”
Johnson began her career in golf administration in Yorkshire and went on to represent the county on the England Ladies’ Golf Association. She was the association’s chairman in 1987 and then started a six-year term on the Ladies Golf Union, which she chaired in 1994.
Johnson is a former LGU president and was involved with running the Commonwealth Tournament – now the Astor Trophy – and the Curtis Cup.
She has been a single figure golfer for most of her life and said: “I’ve never been a top golfer but I have had such pleasure from the game and met so many wonderful people.”
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Johnson was introduced to the game by her husband, Peter, and their elder son, Paul, is a past captain of Huddersfield.
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