The golf industry has long been shaped by bold women, even when their names weren’t always recognized. Now in its fourth year, the Hilda Allen Award honors women who lead with vision, grit and generosity, just as Allen did throughout her decades-long career as one of the nation’s most respected golf course brokers.
Over the first three years, Golf Inc. recognized 25 women who have not only excelled in their careers but have also created space for others to grow. They’ve been operators, architects, executives, innovators and mentors, each one helping push the business of golf forward.
This year, we add five more women to that distinguished group, honoring leaders who are shaping the future of the game in meaningful ways.
JANA SMOLEY
Vice President of Golf/Agent, Range Sports
Jana Smoley has spent more than three decades in golf finding opportunities where others saw limitations. Along the way, she became a trailblazer for women, although she didn’t necessarily see herself that way.
Smoley remembers when the PGA Tour asked her to step off the board of the Reno-Tahoe Open and run the tournament. What surprised her was the attention surrounding the fact that she was the first woman to do it.
“I never think of myself as a female,” Smoley said. “I’m a human being. I just work hard.”
Smoley first made her mark as an operator, increasing revenue at a premier daily-fee facility by more than 20% in her first year. She later joined the Reno-Tahoe Open board, where she helped secure its first title sponsor after eight years without one, bringing millions of dollars in new revenue to the event.
Her success led the PGA Tour to name her tournament director, making Smoley the first woman to hold that position at a PGA Tour event. In 2012, she helped transition the tournament to a Modified Stableford scoring format, giving it a distinctive identity. That year, Sports Business Journal named her a “Game Changer,” and the tournament’s charitable partner, The Children’s Cabinet, was named PGA Tour Charity of the Year.
Smoley later shifted from building tournaments to building careers. In 2014, she founded a boutique sports management and brand consulting firm focused on player representation. Range Sports acquired the company in 2025, with Smoley continuing as vice president of golf and an agent.
Her work with PGA Tour player Matt McCarty illustrates that approach. Smoley began working with him in 2019 while he was still in college. After turning professional ranked around No. 1,365 in the world, McCarty earned a three-win promotion from the Korn Ferry Tour, won in his third PGA Tour start and climbed into the world’s top 60.
Smoley has also made supporting other women an important part of her career. The people who have worked most closely alongside her have all been women.
“A huge believer in women helping women grow, establish themselves, connect, networking,” she said.
She has watched opportunities for women in golf change dramatically, with women now leading governing organizations, tournaments and golf facilities.
“I’m so proud today to see women actually in huge leadership roles really do some big stuff,” she said.
Still, Smoley doesn’t define her career by being first.
“I see myself as an equal and we’re all just human beings and doing a job,” she said. “I just put myself [as] somebody who wants to work hard and deliver results the right way.”
That approach has carried Smoley from operations to tournament leadership to athlete representation, while helping create opportunities for the women and professionals following her.
SUZY WHALEY
PGA Master Professional and LPGA Professional
Suzy Whaley has spent her career breaking barriers in golf, but her influence extends well beyond the milestones that made her a historic figure in the game.
In 2018, Whaley became the first woman elected president of the PGA of America, after previously becoming the organization’s first female officer. In 2026, she joined the USGA Executive Committee, adding another leadership role to a career spanning instruction, competition, broadcasting and governance.
Whaley serves as director of instruction at The Country Club at Mirasol in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and through Suzy Whaley Golf. Her broadcasting work has included roles with ESPN, ESPN+, PGA Tour Live and SiriusXM.
A dual member of the PGA of America and LPGA, Whaley competed on the LPGA Tour in 1990 and 1993. She later won the Connecticut PGA Championship and qualified for the 2003 Greater Hartford Open, becoming the first woman since Babe Zaharias in 1945 to qualify for a PGA Tour event.
Teaching and developing golfers have become defining parts of her career. A Golf Digest Top 50 instructor and one of GOLF’s Top 100 Teachers in America, Whaley earned PGA Master Professional status in 2018. She has coached five PGA Jr. League teams to the championship finals and instructed more than 300 young golfers who went on to play collegiately.
Her leadership has earned recognition throughout the industry. Sports Business Journal named her a “Game Changer” in 2015, and she received the American Junior Golf Association’s Betsy Rawls Award in 2017 for her service and contributions to women’s golf. She has also been inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Sports Hall of Fame, Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame and PGA of America Hall of Fame.
Whaley has extended that influence through service with organizations including the ANNIKA Foundation, PGA Tour Policy Board and First Tee of Connecticut.
A University of North Carolina graduate, Whaley has built a career that reaches nearly every corner of golf. Her legacy includes a series of significant firsts, but her lasting influence may be found in what those firsts have made possible for the women and young golfers following her.
ANNE BROHOLM
CEO, Ahead
Anne Broholm has spent more than three decades building brands, developing teams and bringing a consumer-focused perspective to the golf industry.
For the past 14 years, she has led Ahead, the New Bedford, Massachusetts-based headwear, apparel and accessories company, guiding its growth following its acquisition by Sweden-based New Wave Group. Under her leadership, Ahead has expanded its reach and product portfolio while strengthening its position as a provider of custom-branded merchandise for golf facilities, resorts, championships and other organizations.
Broholm came to golf through a different path than many industry leaders. She built her career in merchandising, apparel, sales and marketing, including roles as global sales manager for golf at Cutter & Buck and executive vice president of sales and marketing for Imperial Headwear. She also held positions with Liz Claiborne, Ocean Pacific and O’Neill.
At Ahead, Broholm has emphasized long-term relationships, employee engagement and corporate citizenship. The company has been recognized as an NGF Top 100 Company in Golf and as one of the Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts.
She also oversaw Ahead’s acquisition of Tournament Solutions, expanding the company’s tournament gifting and branded merchandise capabilities while maintaining Tournament Solutions as an independent, wholly owned subsidiary.
Broholm’s influence reaches well beyond Ahead. She serves on the boards of the ANNIKA Foundation and National Golf Foundation and on the PGA of America’s Special Awards Committee. Beyond golf, she serves on the board of Associated Industries of Massachusetts and has supported education and women’s leadership through Colorado State University’s Executive Leadership Council and Alumni Board.
A Colorado native, Broholm earned a bachelor’s degree in merchandising from Colorado State University and an MBA in management and marketing from the University of Colorado Denver.
As one of the relatively few female CEOs in golf, Broholm has helped grow one of the industry’s most recognized merchandise brands while lending her experience to organizations working to strengthen the game. Her career shows how expertise in people, products and brands can translate into influence across the broader business of golf.
CRYSTAL ROSE-FRICKER
President, Pure Seed and Pure-Seed Testing, Inc.
Crystal Rose-Fricker has spent more than four decades changing what grows beneath golfers’ feet.
As president of Pure Seed and Pure-Seed Testing, Inc., Rose-Fricker has combined plant breeding, research and industry leadership to develop turfgrasses that perform better while addressing environmental challenges. Over her career, she has developed 403 turf and forage grass cultivars used on golf courses, sports fields and landscapes around the world.
Among her most significant contributions is the development of the world’s only commercially available seeded paspalum, providing high-quality turf with salt tolerance and sustainability benefits. The grass is now used in more than 60 countries, including at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome, host of the 2023 Ryder Cup, and Point Hardy Golf Club at Cabot Saint Lucia.
Water conservation has also been a major focus of her work. Through leadership with the Turfgrass Water Conservation Alliance, including service as president and a board member, Rose-Fricker has helped advance drought-tolerant grasses that allow superintendents to maintain playing conditions while using water more efficiently.
Her influence extends throughout the turfgrass industry. She has held leadership roles with the American Seed Trade Association, Turfgrass Breeders Association, Oregon Seed Association and National Turfgrass Evaluation Program committees.
Her work has earned numerous honors, including the NCCPB Genetics and Plant Breeding Award for Industry, Fred Grau Turfgrass Science Award and Breeder’s Cup Award. Sports Illustrated recognized her as one of golf’s most influential women in 2000.
Rose-Fricker’s impact lies in connecting scientific research with challenges faced on the golf course. Her work has given superintendents more options for managing water, climate and course conditions while maintaining quality playing surfaces.
Through four decades of research and leadership, she has helped shape not only how golf courses perform today, but how they can adapt for the future.
NICOLE BROOK
Chief Financial Officer, Bobby Jones Links
Nicole Brook has spent three decades helping golf businesses access capital, strengthen operations and navigate an industry that traditional lenders once struggled to understand.
Brook entered golf finance in 1995 with Textron Financial and was promoted to CFO of its Golf Finance Division in 2004. There, she played a key role in a $1 billion lending operation that served multi-course operators and individual facilities. Her focus on disciplined analysis, customer service and communication contributed to 20 consecutive years of profitability for the group.
When the Great Recession disrupted golf financing in 2008, Brook helped clients find new lending sources and establish Great Oaks Golf, a Textron-owned portfolio of nearly 40 properties. As CFO, she helped implement nearly $50 million in capital investments and negotiate management agreements with national and regional golf operators.
In 2013, Brook became a founding member and CFO of Leisure Financial Group, helping build a debt brokerage platform serving the golf, marina and resort industries.
She joined Bobby Jones Links as CFO in 2020, bringing decades of finance and operating experience to the growing management company. Brook has helped establish best practices in operations and financial reporting, modernize its accounting system and support record growth in new management contracts. The company has also been selected to oversee public-private golf partnerships designed to bring accessible and affordable golf to urban communities.
Beyond her financial expertise, Brook is known for building relationships and sharing her knowledge. She has an ability to communicate with everyone from entry-level employees to C-suite executives, bringing people together to solve problems and improve operations.
Brook’s influence often happens behind the scenes, but its reach is significant. For 30 years, she has helped operators secure capital, guided golf businesses through economic uncertainty and built financial practices that position facilities and communities for long-term success.
This article originally appeared in the November/December 2026 issue of Golf Inc.