In 1996, Judy Bell, who has died aged 89, was made the first female president of the United States Golf Association. It had taken 102 years before the USGA could bring itself to appoint a woman to their top job, but when it did so, it got it right.
Bell was a good golfer, an even better administrator and diplomat, and someone with whom it was always a delight to talk about the game. She was extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of her sport and it was characteristic that she spent much of her time as president, until 1999, encouraging its spread in areas from which it had been excluded, including the inner cities.
