Marian Blain, PGA professional and golf instructor at Colgate’s Seven Oaks course, will be inducted into the Central New York PGA Hall of Fame.
The honor for Blain comes on the heels of Seven Oaks having been named golf course of the year by the New York State Golf Association. The course has hosted numerous qualifiers and championships for the state golf association and for the United States Golf Association. Blain accepted the President’s Award from the state association on behalf of the Seven Oaks staff.
Blain herself will be honored Dec. 6 when she is inducted into the CNY PGA Hall of Fame during an awards banquet at Turning Stone Resort’s Shenendoah Golf Club.
According to a report in the Syracuse Post-Standard, Blain has broken several “glass ceiling” gender barriers during her golf career, including becoming the first female to become a PGA member in the CNY Section and also one of the first nationally.
In 1970, following a petition to state officials by her father, Blain became the first girl to try out for — and make — the Hamilton Central High School boys team. It came at a time when girls were not allowed to be on boys teams, even if there wasn’t a girls team for that sport. By her senior year, Blain was the team captain and the first girl to earn a varsity letter in a boys sport at Hamilton.
Blain played collegiate golf at Miami-Dade Junior College and the University of South Florida, where she graduated in 1979. She played in two U.S. Women’s Amateurs and four LPGA tournaments, and placed runner-up in the first annual championship for female PGA pros.
Blain has been the head pro at Seven Oaks since 1982, becoming affiliated with the CNY PGA five years later. She coached Colgate’s men’s golf team from 2005-07 and continues to teach two golf classes at the university.