For the love of the game: Golf is a huge part of Sewickley Hills’ Carol Semple Thompson’s life

As Carol Semple Thompson sat on a couch inside Oakmont Country Club overlooking the ninth green, she reminisced about the game she’s loved her entire life.

She was never in it for the green — she was in it for the greens.

“I love this course, and I really loved it when I was younger and played better,” said Thompson, 76, of Sewickley Hills, one of the most prolific amateur golfers in the world. “It is difficult, and it is iconic. I have so many memories here.”

Those memories of Oakmont will emerge once again when the club hosts the best golfers in the world at the U.S. Open June 12-15 for the 10th time. The United States Golf Association oversees the U.S. Open and the U.S. Women’s Open. Semple Thompson was involved with the U.S. Women’s Open last week in Wisconsin — she was a starter at the first tee.

Having played the course, and as an honorary member who was chair of the Women’s U.S. Open when it was played there in 2010, Semple Thompson says Oakmont is more than plush greens and meticulously manicured fairways.

“This tournament and golf course are part of growing up in Western Pennsylvania,” said Semple Thompson, who plans to attend most days of the event. “I support the USGA (United States Golf Association). I am a USGA brat. My parents were involved in the USGA. It’s been a part of my life forever.”

Her fondness for the sport began decades ago when her parents, Phyllis and Harton ”Bud” Semple, introduced her to it.

Semple Thompson shot her first hole-in-one at age 16 at Sewickley Heights Golf Club and has had 11 that she can remember, she said.

The same day as she got her first hole-in-one, she defeated her mother (who Semple Thompson said took to the sport of golf with a vengeance) to win the Western Pennsylvania Women’s Golf Championship.

“My first hole-in-one wasn’t even a good shot,” Semple Thompson said. “There has to be some luck involved, and some skill, I suppose. Getting a hole-in-one is pretty exciting. Winning a championship is pretty exciting. Both in the same day? It was a really good day.”

Semple Thompson grew up in Sewickley Village and attended Sewickley Academy until ninth grade and then Miss Porter’s School in Connecticut for grades 10-12. She went to Hollins College in Roanoke, Va., where she majored in economics. She got a job in a bank working with municipal bonds after graduation.

She talked to her father about turning professional after she graduated from college in 1970. He told her he would support her amateur status for at least one year.

She played in the 1973 U.S. Amateur in Montclair, N.J.

She won the British Amateur in Wales the following year and was named to the 1974 Curtis Cup team, a prestigious amateur tournament played every two years by invitation only.

“I loved that experience,” Semple Thompson said.

In her career, she has played in 400 to 500 tournaments. She’s competed in 122 USGA championships and won seven. She is in the World Golf Hall of Fame at Pinehurst in North Carolina, where badges from those 122 tournaments are displayed.

She’s played on a dozen Curtis Cup teams and been a captain on two additional.

“Carol Semple Thompson is the embodiment of everything the USGA stands for — sportsmanship, integrity and a lifelong love of the game,” said Chief Championships Officer John Bodenhamer via email. “Her legacy is not only written in our championships, but in her unwavering dedication to amateur golf and her incredible impact on generations of players. With seven USGA titles and decades of service as a volunteer and ambassador, Carol has not only set a standard for competitive greatness, but also for leadership and selfless dedication. Her impact is felt in every corner of amateur golf, and her legacy continues to inspire.”

Semple Thompson was friends with late Latrobe golf legend Arnold Palmer and met star golfer Tiger Woods a few times, the first when he was a teenage phenom.

Semple Thompson is also in the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, where golf writer Ron Sirak interviewed her and Palmer when they were both being inducted nearly a decade ago at the Oakmont Country Club.

Sirak asked about golfing in Western Pennsylvania.

“Arnie said, ‘Kid, I’ve got this,’ ” Semple Thompson said. “He went on to talk about both of us for about 45 minutes. I was good with that.”

As a member of the executive committee of the USGA, Semple Thompson has been an official at the Masters tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. She’s been there at least 30 times. Her father was a member of the prestigious club.

Preserving the history of clubs such as Augusta and Oakmont is important to Semple Thompson, who is on the board of the Fownes Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the restoration, preservation and memorialization of nationally recognized, historically significant golf sites.

The foundation helps preserve Oakmont Country Club and other such clubs with rich histories. It was established in 1992 shortly after the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior designated Oakmont Country Club as a National Historic Landmark. It was named after Oakmont founders Henry Clay Fownes and his son William Clark Fownes Jr.

The historic club was designed by Henry C. Fownes and opened in 1903.

“This (tournament) is a cool way to showcase the city,” Semple Thompson said. “A lot of people might not have tickets for all the days, so they will most likely visit other parts of the city.

Nancy Sansom of Sewickley Hills met Semple Thompson at a wedding at Allegheny Country Club. Sansom said she has never seen men act so giddy as when they meet Semple Thompson, especially if they are golf enthusiasts.

“She has such a strong reputation,” Sansom said. “It is fun to see that. Meeting Carol is like meeting a Steeler to some people.”

Semple Thompson, an honorary member at Allegheny Country Club, met her husband through golf. They were married for nearly 38 years. He caddied for his wife a few times and worked in real estate development. The couple traveled the world together, enjoying the game they both loved.

She took time off from golf to care for him prior to his death in 2021 from Parkinson’s disease.

“He was truly the love of my life,” said Semple Thompson.

Her second love of her life is golf.

“Golf is a game of ups and downs, just like life,” she said. “I have been fortunate to have had some wonderful ups.”