The queen of the senior amateur circuit is not slowing down.
Some golfers peak early. Others find their stride away from the pressure to perform or fear of failure, a combination that comes through life experience. For Nadene Gole, golf’s second act has turned out to be its most fulfilling.
Once a rising professional, who turned pro at age 21 by touring Japan and Europe, notably winning the Ladies European Tour’s Danish Open in 1996, Gole stepped away for almost two decades to raise her family and build a life away from the fairways. Now, she’s back and the 57-year-old is stronger, wiser and arguably playing the best golf of her life. “I’ve got more self-belief, more self-worth and I’m highly respected now,” she says. “It’s a wonderful thing to go out and play with that feeling.”
Despite a hiatus from competitive golf, Gole has returned to the game she loves and stormed to the very top of the senior amateur circuit. Her message is clear: she’s here to stay, and she’s not slowing down.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” Gole reflects. “Coming back to the game, putting myself out there again… but I’d have to say 2024, going onto the world stage and winning the two biggest majors of seniors’ golf, that would have to be the biggest of all the whirlwinds.”
For almost 20 years, Gole’s competitive nature was stowed away. Family came first – raising her children and working. “It was just something on the back burner,” she says. “Golf was always there, but it was not for me; it was giving to other people all the time, whether it be teaching them or taking them away and travel or teaching golf in schools and things like that.”
When she finally returned to competition, it wasn’t with a grand plan. “Initially I was quite apprehensive. It was, Let’s see how I go. It’s not a full-time thing for me. But my husband clearly saw what I could do.”
That quiet confidence proved prophetic. Since her return to competitive golf, Nadene Gole has rewritten the senior amateur record books. In 2023, she claimed both the English and Scottish Senior Women’s Amateur titles. Her ascent continued in 2024 with historic victories: she became the first Australian to win the R&A Women’s Senior Amateur, and not long afterwards captured the US Senior Women’s Amateur, defeating top international fields both times. Beyond the trophies, Gole has shown remarkable consistency, repeatedly contending on difficult courses across continents, elevating her reputation as a global standard-bearer for senior women’s amateur golf.
GREATER PERSPECTIVE
Now in 2025, Gole has become the woman to beat. But defending a title, she admits, is a whole different challenge. In August, she reached the quarter-finals of the US Senior Women’s Amateur, falling just short of back-to-back crowns.
“Of course I would’ve liked to have won again, let’s not kid ourselves,” she says with trademark candour. “When there’s a build-up to defending, especially in the US, there are a lot of interviews, there’s expectation, there’s a speech night. It’s hard enough to win, let alone defend.”
Her draw was tough, facing decorated champions like Ellen Port and Shelly Stouffer, but Gole doesn’t deal in excuses. “I just didn’t hole some crucial putts. Maybe I could have got through and gone on to win, but I didn’t actually go away disappointed. It just was what it was. I learn from it all the time and maybe next year I’ll take it out again.”
So what’s changed between her first career in golf and this remarkable renaissance? Experience, she says. And patience.
“My short game was always quite strong,” Gole says. “I’m relatively straight, but I wasn’t necessarily long. In your younger years you’re a lot more impatient. Now I just enjoy the challenge and whatever’s thrown at me. That’s been the difference.”
Life has given her perspective, too. “Our children are now 27 and 24. They’re very independent. I just have a very different outlook on life and I’m around a lot of lovely energy. I give good energy to people. I just feel I’m very fortunate.”
Golf is about far more than trophies for Gole. She calls it “the ultimate sport” for its inclusivity and longevity.
“Age is no barrier. There is no expiration date. Golf does not discriminate against your age. Pick up a golf club and start playing, it’s something you can do indefinitely. Women especially need to take up the game, because they’re missing out on something so beautiful. You walk around in the trees, you’re in fresh air, you can play with friends of any age. It’s just wonderful.”
This openness has brought unexpected friendships and opportunities, particularly in the United States, where she’s become part of the USGA “family”. “Everyone in America wants to be around people who do well. They celebrate it differently to how Australians do. At home, there’s still Tall Poppy Syndrome. [In America], they just love it. And I’ve learned to embrace that.”
THE POWER OF TWO
Behind her success stands her husband, Sam. Their partnership both on and off the course is the heart of Nadene’s story.
“Our words to each other are: this is an adventure of a lifetime,” she says. “He has one of the greatest golf IQs I’ve ever come across, and we are just having a very special time. We’ve been together more than 35 years. When you’ve had a relationship and a life partner for so long, it’s just wonderful.”
That bond deepened after a frightening health scare. “I nearly lost him to sepsis just after the R&A last year. Eight weeks later, I won the US [Senior Women’s Amateur]. If he wasn’t with me, I wasn’t going to continue playing golf. To have him by my side now, it’s everything.”
What keeps Gole pushing forward, even after reaching the pinnacle? “I’m highly driven, no matter what. And it brings joy to a lot of people. I’ve had a lot of support from a group down in Melbourne called ‘The 15th Club’. They’ve backed me, and I’ve enjoyed giving back to them. That’s a good driver every day to get up and compete.”
Even injury hasn’t slowed her. A back issue earlier this year forced Gole to adapt her training. “I probably don’t do the reps I’d like because I’m cautious, but I can mentally prepare,” she says. “As you get older you prepare differently. It might not be thousands of balls, it might be more short game or playing when you can. I just manage it the best I can.”
Gole’s calendar shows no signs of shrinking. In 2026 she plans to return to the R&A British Senior, the US Senior Women’s Open, the US Senior Women’s Amateur and the Mid-Am, along with hopes to defend her Scottish Senior Open title. “How can I not want to be in those moments again?” she asks.
A career highlight coming at this year’s US Senior Women’s Open: “I played in the marquee group with Karrie Webb; they put the defending champion and the defending US Senior Open Amateur Champion together. That was such a buzz. How can I not want to be there?”
Back home, Gole balances her golf with some real-estate work, family, swimming and Pilates. “I think I’m pretty good at compartmentalising,” she says. “I structure my days, I can switch between golf, work or helping family. I now have the ability to say ‘no’ to things and ‘yes’ to the things I really want to do.”
For many, Gole’s greatest legacy may be the inspiration she gives others. She regularly mentors younger players and receives messages from golfers of all ages. “I’m getting younger kids, older generations, even retired professionals saying I’ve inspired them. People say, ‘Come on Nads, we love watching you.’ It’s unbelievable, the amount of support. I hope my legacy is simply: give it a go. There is no barrier.”
As Gole looks to her next tournaments, and a long-awaited return home to Melbourne, she reflects on the whirlwind her second golf career has become.
“I don’t do it for records. I don’t do it for acknowledgement. I really do it because it’s something I enjoy,” she says. “I think when you love something you do, you always see good in it, don’t you?”
Photographs by Warren Little, Yong Teck Lim, Tony Marshall/Getty Images
