Deacon Sports Xtra: From the Dominican Republic to North Carolina, Wake Forest Became Home for Women’s Golf Hall of Famer
10/26/2021 12:05:00 PM | Women's Golf
As Brenda Corrie-Kuehn (then Brenda Corrie) left the Dominican Republic for the right college destination in the mid-80s, she had narrowed the search criteria. She wanted to attend a small school with an excellent business program in a comfortable climate.
Although she wanted some place she could play golf, the status of the women's golf program at any particular school didn't enter the equation at all.
But Corrie-Kuehn certainly made her mark in golf, leading the Demon Deacons to the 1986 ACC Championship and earning first-team All-America honors before embarking on a storied professional and amateur career post-graduation.
"My father really emphasized education in the United States, which was pretty unheard of in my days," Corrie-Kuehn said. "None of my family left for college in the States. It was uncharted territory in my family."
She visited colleges while in the United State for junior golf tournaments.
"Truly, my parameters included the weather — Florida was out because it has the same weather as the Dominican Republic," Corrie-Kuehn said. "I also didn't want to go to Boston because that was way too cold. We wanted to go to a place where I could experience all four seasons.
"We were looking for a relatively small school. I wanted to be somewhere where it felt like a familiar place. I wanted a school with a good business program. Believe it or not, golf was at the bottom of the list. I just needed someplace I could play."
Corrie-Kuehn was looking for fun competition on the golf course, but it was the education and atmosphere at school that were the most important in her decision-making process.
"I didn't know anything about Wake Forest having a good or a strong golf program," she said. "In the Dominican Republic there was nobody to compete with, so I would come here and play three or four tournaments a year."
While visiting another relatively small North Carolina university, the Corrie family endured unbearable heat and car troubles. It ended up being an awful interview and visit.
"The next day we went to Wake Forest," Corrie-Kuehn said. "I had met Coach (Marge) Crisp at one of the junior events before but knew nothing about the recruiting process. I had met her and the coach from North Carolina, but I wasn't going there because it was too big. I had a visit to Wake Forest and it didn't take me long."
The campus tour was a hit for Corrie-Kuehn.
"Oh my gosh," she said she felt at the time. "This is it. It was beautiful and I loved it."
Corrie-Kuehn graduated high school but wasn't allowed by her family to go straight to the United States for college at that point.
"My very conservative mother told me I couldn't go to the States at 16-years old," Corrie-Kuehn said. "I had to delay entrance until I was 18."
To get a head start on her business degree, Corrie-Kuehn enrolled in a local community college for two years — a move that proved to her detriment later.
"There was no golf or anything," Corrie-Kuehn explained. "I had two years to kill and was 16 years old. What was I to do?"
She found out in the spring semester of her third season at Wake Forest that those two years cost her a year of eligibility and that her golf career as a Demon Deacon was coming to a close.
"It was like someone pulled the rug out from under me when I found out that was it," Corrie-Kuehn said. "I had to graduate a semester later and had no more golf.
"That was a great year for me. I was playing really well and was looking forward to having a fourth year. That did not go as planned."
She lost an appeal to the NCAA, but still had one more semester of coursework to complete to finish her degree — graduating that December.
The two years of Dominican Republic community college work transferred to just one semester of classes at Wake Forest and took away a year on the course with her teammates.
"What I remember most from my experience at Wake Forest are my teammates," Corrie-Kuehn said. "We had fabulous girls. We didn't hang out like they do now. We all had lives outside of golf but came together as a unit for golf. That was the best part — the friends that I made on the golf team.
"When we won the ACC, that was special as a team. The team winning the ACC was great, and I remember everyone being so happy. That was so fulfilling."
In addition to winning the 1986 ACC Team Championship, Brenda Corrie-Kuehn was the 1986 ACC individual champion. She won four other individual titles that year. She is sixth all-time in program history with 12 top-five finishes in her career along with being a two-time All-ACC selection and 1986 All-America First Team selection.
Corrie-Kuehn played professional golf for two years, then went back to business school, regaining her amateur status in the process. She played on the 1996 U.S. World Cup Team and was twice on the Curtis Cup squad, winning 4-0 in a United States 1998 victory.
She qualified for nine U.S. Opens in her amateur career. She was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame in 1999 and the National Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2002.
"Playing the U.S. Open, you see two types of players," Corrie-Kuehn said. "You see players who you look up to, like Nancy Lopez. Then you would see players who were your peers in junior or college golf. So, seeing them 10-15 years later offered a great opportunity to catch up.
"My last U.S. Open was my last one and probably the most famous, because I was pregnant with (current Wake Forest golfer) Rachel. I delivered her the Sunday after I played the U.S. Open. I didn't see the big deal, but everybody else did because I was large. I didn't realize how large I was."
The experiences both on and off the course at Wake Forest left a mark on Corrie-Kuehn.
"When I left Wake Forest, I left with a great confidence in what I could achieve," she said. "I got there as a naive Latin girl. When I left, I knew I could do so much more than I ever imagined. I left there as a different person."
After declaring that she'd never attend Wake Forest, Brenda's daughter Rachel has since become a Demon Deacon and is leaving her own mark on the record book.
"She's made it her own place," Brenda said. "Now that I've had a chance to go back and see the school, because of Rachel, I'm just flabbergasted at the progress we've made as a school and in women's athletics. It's a different place, for the better.
"I go back to Marge Crisp and Dot Casey. I think back to my everyday schedule and activities at Wake Forest and compare them to what Rachel is doing now, along with the facilities and opportunities they have. It's amazing how far we've come, and I'm very proud of the school for getting there."
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Although she wanted some place she could play golf, the status of the women's golf program at any particular school didn't enter the equation at all.
But Corrie-Kuehn certainly made her mark in golf, leading the Demon Deacons to the 1986 ACC Championship and earning first-team All-America honors before embarking on a storied professional and amateur career post-graduation.
"My father really emphasized education in the United States, which was pretty unheard of in my days," Corrie-Kuehn said. "None of my family left for college in the States. It was uncharted territory in my family."
She visited colleges while in the United State for junior golf tournaments.
"Truly, my parameters included the weather — Florida was out because it has the same weather as the Dominican Republic," Corrie-Kuehn said. "I also didn't want to go to Boston because that was way too cold. We wanted to go to a place where I could experience all four seasons.
"We were looking for a relatively small school. I wanted to be somewhere where it felt like a familiar place. I wanted a school with a good business program. Believe it or not, golf was at the bottom of the list. I just needed someplace I could play."
Corrie-Kuehn was looking for fun competition on the golf course, but it was the education and atmosphere at school that were the most important in her decision-making process.
"I didn't know anything about Wake Forest having a good or a strong golf program," she said. "In the Dominican Republic there was nobody to compete with, so I would come here and play three or four tournaments a year."
While visiting another relatively small North Carolina university, the Corrie family endured unbearable heat and car troubles. It ended up being an awful interview and visit.
"The next day we went to Wake Forest," Corrie-Kuehn said. "I had met Coach (Marge) Crisp at one of the junior events before but knew nothing about the recruiting process. I had met her and the coach from North Carolina, but I wasn't going there because it was too big. I had a visit to Wake Forest and it didn't take me long."
The campus tour was a hit for Corrie-Kuehn.
"Oh my gosh," she said she felt at the time. "This is it. It was beautiful and I loved it."
Corrie-Kuehn graduated high school but wasn't allowed by her family to go straight to the United States for college at that point.
"My very conservative mother told me I couldn't go to the States at 16-years old," Corrie-Kuehn said. "I had to delay entrance until I was 18."
To get a head start on her business degree, Corrie-Kuehn enrolled in a local community college for two years — a move that proved to her detriment later.
"There was no golf or anything," Corrie-Kuehn explained. "I had two years to kill and was 16 years old. What was I to do?"
She found out in the spring semester of her third season at Wake Forest that those two years cost her a year of eligibility and that her golf career as a Demon Deacon was coming to a close.
"It was like someone pulled the rug out from under me when I found out that was it," Corrie-Kuehn said. "I had to graduate a semester later and had no more golf.
"That was a great year for me. I was playing really well and was looking forward to having a fourth year. That did not go as planned."
She lost an appeal to the NCAA, but still had one more semester of coursework to complete to finish her degree — graduating that December.
The two years of Dominican Republic community college work transferred to just one semester of classes at Wake Forest and took away a year on the course with her teammates.
"What I remember most from my experience at Wake Forest are my teammates," Corrie-Kuehn said. "We had fabulous girls. We didn't hang out like they do now. We all had lives outside of golf but came together as a unit for golf. That was the best part — the friends that I made on the golf team.
"When we won the ACC, that was special as a team. The team winning the ACC was great, and I remember everyone being so happy. That was so fulfilling."
In addition to winning the 1986 ACC Team Championship, Brenda Corrie-Kuehn was the 1986 ACC individual champion. She won four other individual titles that year. She is sixth all-time in program history with 12 top-five finishes in her career along with being a two-time All-ACC selection and 1986 All-America First Team selection.
Corrie-Kuehn played professional golf for two years, then went back to business school, regaining her amateur status in the process. She played on the 1996 U.S. World Cup Team and was twice on the Curtis Cup squad, winning 4-0 in a United States 1998 victory.
She qualified for nine U.S. Opens in her amateur career. She was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame in 1999 and the National Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2002.
"Playing the U.S. Open, you see two types of players," Corrie-Kuehn said. "You see players who you look up to, like Nancy Lopez. Then you would see players who were your peers in junior or college golf. So, seeing them 10-15 years later offered a great opportunity to catch up.
"My last U.S. Open was my last one and probably the most famous, because I was pregnant with (current Wake Forest golfer) Rachel. I delivered her the Sunday after I played the U.S. Open. I didn't see the big deal, but everybody else did because I was large. I didn't realize how large I was."
The experiences both on and off the course at Wake Forest left a mark on Corrie-Kuehn.
"When I left Wake Forest, I left with a great confidence in what I could achieve," she said. "I got there as a naive Latin girl. When I left, I knew I could do so much more than I ever imagined. I left there as a different person."
After declaring that she'd never attend Wake Forest, Brenda's daughter Rachel has since become a Demon Deacon and is leaving her own mark on the record book.
"She's made it her own place," Brenda said. "Now that I've had a chance to go back and see the school, because of Rachel, I'm just flabbergasted at the progress we've made as a school and in women's athletics. It's a different place, for the better.
"I go back to Marge Crisp and Dot Casey. I think back to my everyday schedule and activities at Wake Forest and compare them to what Rachel is doing now, along with the facilities and opportunities they have. It's amazing how far we've come, and I'm very proud of the school for getting there."
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