Sally Bishop

Women's Golf

Where Are They Now Wednesday - Sally Bishop

Our student-athletes are what make Georgia State so special. Our 'Where Are They Now Wednesday' segments feature former student-athletes from across all of our sports and not only look back on their accomplishments, but where they are now.

Sally Bishop was among the first players to come to Georgia State and compete for former head coach Cathy Mant on the women's golf team. From 2000-04, Bishop was a constant in the line-up and as good as she was on the course, was equally impressive in the classroom earning academic honors all four years. She was part of the first conference title in program history and following graduation worked in the athletics department before starting her career which now sees her working in New York.

Talk a little bit about what you have been up to the last 18 years since finishing up at Georgia State (work, sports, family, travel)
Gosh, 18 years has flown by! After finishing my undergrad degree in Psychology and completing my four years on the golf team, I returned to the United Kingdom for a brief period before coming back to GSU to obtain a Masters in Sport Administration. That program required me to take several business classes, including basic accounting principles and from there, I was hooked! I decided to complete a Master of Professional Accountancy degree and was blessed to be able to join a big four public accounting firm after graduating. I spent several years in Atlanta serving audit clients before moving to New York City in 2017 to complete a rotation in the firm's national technical accounting practice. Growing up in a small town in England, I could never have imagined that I'd get the opportunity to move to the U.S. and live in rather different yet equally wonderful and vibrant cities such as Atlanta and NYC.

How did your experience at GSU help you get to where you are now?
The experience was tremendous. I'm forever indebted to GSU for the opportunity to come to the U.S. and compete on the GSU women's golf team. It is pretty difficult to put into a few short words what that time in my life means to me, but to say that it was nothing short of personally and professionally transformative sums it up pretty well. I came to play college golf to see if I was good enough to compete and fulfill my dream of playing golf professionally. Although my career ended up taking a different direction, I reflect back on my athletic and academic experiences at GSU with so much gratitude because it gave me such a strong foundation to be successful in many facets of my life - I got so much more out of the experience than I could have ever hoped for. I was awfully shy when I first arrived in the U.S. and I nearly left during the first few days because I was so overwhelmed, homesick and unsure what I had gotten myself into. Getting the chance to actively participate in an athletic and college community full of so many diverse, wonderful people from all over the U.S. and the world was so eye-opening for me, and it gave me the chance to loosen up a little bit and develop a sense of independence, self-confidence, and resiliency. I gained an invaluable perspective that I continually draw from every day. I arrived at GSU to a group of unknown teammates, and I left with life-long best friends. I am SO glad I didn't jump on a plane back to the UK that first week!

You were a part of former head coach Cathy Mant's first teams at Georgia State. What was it like getting to play in some great events throughout the southeast and being a part of the first conference championship team in 2003?
Over the years, we've repeatedly joked with Coach Mant about how none of us had any clue what was going on or what we were doing that first semester (Fall 2000)! I believe we had five freshmen, one sophomore and one junior, and five of us were foreigners living in the U.S. for the first time. We leaned on our two American teammates heavily, and I'd like to thank them one more time for squeezing us all into two cars and hustling to practice every afternoon, golf clubs and all!

Playing golf at the collegiate level was a phenomenal experience. We worked really hard but had so much fun! There are so many random memories, but just to be able to play some immaculate golf courses like Pinehurst and Kiawah Island was such a privilege. Competing in individual stroke play events in a team format was also a first for me and it took some adjustment – I'd grown up almost exclusively playing match play in a team setting. At a tournament in Florida, I vividly remember being so mad at myself for finishing the last couple of holes of the final round so poorly that I forgot to sign my scorecard before turning it in. It was truly humbling (not to mention embarrassing!) to have to face my teammates and my coach and explain why I cost the entire team 10 strokes!

It was awesome to observe our team develop and improve during Coach Mant' tenure. She was a fantastic technical coach, amazing at course management, not to mention an outstanding human to be able to lean on, both on and off the golf course. She was extremely committed to our collective and individual successes, supported us through ups and downs, and pushed us to be the best version of ourselves every day - she was the kind of person you badly wanted to win for! Being a part of her team that won the first conference title for GSU women's golf was one of the best weeks in my college golf career - a highlight that I'll treasure forever.

What is one thing you would go back and tell your college self?
Slow down and enjoy this - Savor all the moments as much as you can. You'll experience nothing else like it and you will cherish it forever. Also, don't sweat the small stuff, even if it seems like big stuff, because it isn't!

Is there a tournament or moment from your time that sticks out more than maybe some others?
Finishing in second place as a freshman at the conference tournament was one personal highlight, as well as shooting my lowest-ever round in Kiawah one year (a 2-under par 70). I just could not miss that day (except maybe one short putt!). It was the best I've ever felt on a golf course, and one of the few times in my life I felt truly "in the zone" the entire time. I am yet to properly recreate that feeling but it's my plan to try and break 70 before I can no longer pick up a golf club!

As we mentioned you played for former head coach Cathy Mant. Give us one of your best "coach" stories from your time as a Panther.
There are so many wonderful stories, whenever I think back to those times, Coach Mant is one of the first people to always pop into my head! As I alluded to previously, Coach is the loveliest person one could ever have the pleasure of being around. She is extremely kind, humble, and forgiving, and when dealing with a group of hormonal college-age women, that is probably to her disadvantage! However, I will never forget the one time I made her absolutely livid on the golf course. I believe it had something to do with me slamming my putter into my bag (which inadvertently broke my cell phone inside) in anger after 3-putting the 17th hole, a par-5. Coach was, quite rightly, absolutely fuming at the fact I had carried my cell phone around in my bag and how I let that incident distract me by completely tanking the 18th hole of what was otherwise a solid round of golf. I never did that again!

I also recall us reminiscing once about the time she made me cry mid-round, during a discussion on an approach shot to the green, because I had a lot of negative self-talk going on. Afterwards, she explained that she was just trying a more aggressive tactic to see if it would be motivating and get me fired up because nothing else seemed to be working. I think she also may have tried the same approach with another teammate. I think it is safe to say that the tactic backfired, but I'd love to hear Coach's side of the story again!
 
 
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