Dana Rene Bowler / Star staff Betty Chen came to Sterling Hills Golf Course from Empire Lakes Golf Club in Rancho Cucamonga. She is a former junior champion.

Betty Chen has never had a problem competing side by side with members of the opposite sex.

That was the case in the early 1990s, when Chen played on the boys' golf team at Palm Desert High, a program which perennially competes for the CIF title.

Chen recently became the second female head golf professional in the county (joining River Ridge's Susan Sipes) when she accepted that position at Sterling Hills Golf Club.

Chen, 32, arrived at Sterling Hills at the end of March, coming from Empire Lakes Golf Club where she had also been serving as the head golf pro. Previous to her time at Empire Lakes, she was the head pro at Dupont Country Club in Wilmington, Del.

"The biggest challenge is most people don't expect a woman to be the head golf professional," Chen said. "I'll answer the phone and the person asks for the head pro and I say, I am the head pro.'

"But I've found it's just a matter of golfers getting to know me and once they do there's no problem. And I've had no problems with any of the staffs where I've worked. If you show them respect, they will respect you. You are only as good as your staff and I have been lucky in that regard."

Chen was happy at Empire Lakes, where she worked for Tom and Eugene Park, who are also the owners of Sterling Hills and Camarillo Springs.

Having recently taking over control of Sterling Hills, the new owners were looking for someone to give the course an infusion of spirit.

Having been impressed by her work at Empire Lakes, the Parks asked Chen if she would be interested in making the switch.

"I didn't know anything about Sterling Hills, so I looked it up on the Internet," Chen said. "One reason the Parks thought I would like it is because they knew I wanted to live near the ocean.

"I came out and looked around, saw how beautiful it was, so I decided to make the move."

Moving from the heat of Rancho Cucamonga (where Empire Lakes is located) to the cooler temperatures of Camarillo has been a nice change for Chen.

She did get sick her second week on the job because she failed to account for the cooler temperatures and didn't bring a light jacket to work. Aside from that, she's enjoying her new digs.

Chen's top priority since getting to Sterling Hills has been to get familiar with the property and the operation.

Like everyone in the industry, she said one of her main goals is to bring new players to Sterling Hills while making sure regular customers continue to have a quality experience each time they play.

"We have a great golf course here, but there are always things to do to make it better and more enjoyable for players," Chen said.

Chen got into golf when she was around 9, opting out of her ballet classes so she could follow her two brothers on the golf course.

Her skills quickly developed and she began playing junior golf tournaments around the country. One player she bumped into a lot was Tiger Woods, who was also a teenager at that time.

At Palm Desert High Chen won the CIF-Southern Section girls' individual title in 1991, beating out a teammate, April Packham.

Her strong play earned her a full ride to UCLA, where she was a member of the Bruins' traveling squad.

When she graduated from UCLA in 1994, Chen knew she wanted to be involved in golf but was not sure how.

Chen toyed with the idea of making a run at playing on the LPGA Tour, but thought better of it.

"Having to make that 3-foot putt for your next meal did not appeal to me," Chen said. "I prefer a steady paycheck."

Chen opted to go to work at Los Angeles Country Club, where she started at the bottom, sweeping up and working in the cart barn. She eventually got into the LPGA program and later went to work at Cimarron Golf Club in Palm Springs.

Chen worked also worked in Arizona, moving her way up before accepting the head pro position at Dupont Country Club.

She enjoyed the work, but as a West Coast native she didn't take to the weather.

"I loved getting to know the members and being part of the club, but I didn't like cramming 365 days into six months (because of weather)," Chen said.

"They wanted me to stay, but I just wanted to come back."

Chen is quickly adjusting to the life at Sterling Hills and hopes once things settle down she can do a little more teaching, a part of the job she enjoys.

But Chen enjoys all aspects of her job, from buying merchandise for the golf shop to making sure the operation runs efficiently.

"I love what I do," Chen said. "I don't even look at it as a job. I'm a people person, so this job allows me to meet a lot of great people and be at a place I really enjoy."