Playing as a member of the only Manitoba team to win the Canadian women’s amateur team championship in 1962 ranks as a high point in an impressive record of golf achievements for Merlene Netterfield. Completing the lineup of that team were Heather Lawrence, Anne Tachan and Marg Homenuik.
Netterfield was the low team player in that 1962 national event and also was the Canadian low gross winner at the 1983 Canadian senior women’s championship.
Her golf career began as Marlene Wach as she registered three Manitoba junior women’s championships in 1951, 1953 and 1954 and one provincial amateur women’s championship in 1965. As Merlene Netterfield, she went on to win the provincial senior women’s championship six times in 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1991. She was also a five-time winner of the City and District championship.
Merlene played in national competitions on a total of 18 provincial teams, nine amateur and nine senior. Her amateur teams were in 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1961 as Wach and in 1962, 1963, 1976 and 1979 as Netterfield. She was on the senior women’s teams in nine consecutive years – 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991.
She was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 and is an inductee into the Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame and Museum Inc., September 27, 2004.