THE ART OF BECOMING A MASTER

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The story behind the art and life of Julie Marsland

Way back in the eighties, before I even knew where the White Mountains of Arizona were located or that deserts didn’t cover the entire state of Arizona, Ed Marsland was orchestrating a land trade for the Torreon Golf Club property and Julie Marsland was picking out the architect (a world famous golf course designer from Florida) to design the Torreon Golf Course. Ed Marsland died in 1995 at the age of 85 and he never saw the house built in Torreon. Julie continues to live in Torreon — the area and golf course they helped create.

Julie is an incredible artist and a pro golfer — two of her favorite things and both she developed into successful careers. I met her and saw a few of her paintings at Mountain Legacy in Lakeside and she invited me to see her home studio in Torreon. Not only did I see amazing artwork, but I was educated in the art of success and not just in golf and creativity, but in the perseverance of following your dreams.

Marsland won her first golf tournament at the age of 14. Her Dad, who owned a hotel in Salamanca, New York, played golf and she would tag along with him when he would stop by the golf course after work to practice. “I would grab his nine iron and hit golf balls with him,” she explained. Her Aunt, who owned a different hotel in town, gave her a 1930 model set of clubs, which she used for about a year. Eventually, she asked for a new set of clubs and she got them and she was on her way.

There weren’t many young girls playing golf back then. The tournament, which was held in Olean, New York, was a three day event and she won it by 21 strokes. On the first day, she got five birdies and ended up on the front page of the Olean Times Herald alongside John F. Kennedy, who was running for office at the time. And, she told me, “It was a great way to meet boys!”

I got the impression that when she was a teenager, she was inspired by her Mother, Julie Mello (Torge) who had a radio show in Providence, Rhode Island. She sang and played the piano and when Paul Whiteman (the “King of Jazz” and one of the biggest 1930’s dance bands in the country), brought his famous orchestra to her town and heard her on the radio, he invited her to sing with him and his band. As a child, however, Julie took piano lessons along with her siblings, but told me, “once they removed the numbers on the keys, I couldn’t play anymore, so I went back to painting.”

Julie started sketching and painting at the age of 10. Her brother bought her a set of oil paints and she would copy the old masters from France and Italy. “I got really good at copying the masters,” she said, “and it taught me a lot about color and technique.” She knew at an early age that she wanted to be an artist. She won a scholarship for portraiture to the Columbus School of Art and Design in Ohio in the early 60’s and worked as a commercial artist for several years.

She moved to Tucson, Arizona for a while and then took a job with Motorola’s Military Electronics Division in Scottsdale. It wasn’t what she wanted to do, however, through a golf pro in Scottsdale, she was offered a position to teach golf in Chicago at the Sunset Ridge Country Club in North Shore and took it. She worked there for quite a few years; played in two National Women’s Opens and painted. Marsland married a golf pro and had two daughters, Heather and Holly.

Eventually, she moved to Sedona, Arizona, where she lived for over 16 years and raised her two daughters. She opened an art gallery in Tlaquepaque and hung out with the likes of dancer, singer, and actress, Ann Miller, and actress, Jane (Randolph) del Amo. After a divorce from her first husband, she met Ed, remarried and traveled around the world.

As I was standing on Julie’s back deck overlooking the Torreon Golf Course, I saw a view that reached almost 50 miles. Julie was instrumental in the creation of this golf course; designed by the world famous architect, Robert von Hagge. Julie found this architect and convinced the partners that maybe they could get him for a good price, because he had never designed a golf course in Arizona.

Julie still loves to paint and mentioned that she might be willing to do a little golf instruction too. “If a few girls want to get together,” she told me, “I would love to help them with their golf game.” She says it’s all about the swing. “Golf isn’t just athletics,” she stated, “it’s a mental game and once you understand the science of the swing, you will master the game.” From amazing artwork to golf pro, Julie Marsland has mastered them both.

Notes: In his autobiography, Duke Ellington declared, "Paul Whiteman was known as the King of Jazz, and no one as yet has come near carrying that title with more certainty and dignity.”

Robert von Hagge is credited with designing over 250 courses in over 20 countries.

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