First American female Olympic champion was a Chicago golfer who never received a medal Artwork...
Orland Park native loves straddling her two worlds
Game action photographs by Charles Cherney
This article appeared in the February 2025 edition of Chicago District Golfer.
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After plying both basketball and golf at Bradley University, Orland Park native Lauren Niemiera has made a career out of both sports. She is an NCAA women's basketball and G League referee in addition to being a golf instructor at Five Iron Golf in Chicago.
When Lauren Niemiera worked part-time running the front desk at the swanky Golf & Body NYC in Manhattan’s Midtown neighborhood, she treated the unremarkable job as an opportunity.
Danielle Kindelmann, who hired Niemiera, would have understood if she did nothing more than show up and shut up.
“She didn’t have to take it seriously,” said Kindelmann, now a public relations and marketing executive at Five Iron Golf. “But that’s not Lauren. She cared about the quality of her work and took ownership of that job. I got hooked on her immediately and trusted her. It was like ‘Lauren is here, so no one needs to worry about anything.’ And it was effortless, came naturally for her.”
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The 34-year-old Niemiera is ambitious and overachieving.
A two-sport athlete and double major with a master’s from Bradley University, Niemiera played basketball and golf and studied Communications and Spanish before earning a postgraduate degree in Leadership and Human Service Administration.
These days, she spends her time as a golf instructor and basketball referee. Niemiera is an LPGA-certified teacher at Five Iron Golf in Chicago’s River North neighborhood, where she lives, and works full-time as a women’s college basketball official for 16 conferences, notably the ACC, Big 12, Big East and Big Ten, as well as the NBA G League.
Kaitlin Sharkey, a sports reporter and anchor at WGN-TV, once took lessons from Niemiera, and the two remain friends and frequent golf partners. Sharkey marvels at Niemiera’s energy and discipline.
“I don’t know how she finds the time,” she said. “She does a good job of balancing all the things going on in her life, and it’s a lot of things. It’s fun to watch her go.”
Growing up in Orland Park with active and athletic brothers, Niemiera was introduced to sports at an early age and was encouraged to experiment. She played basketball, baseball, softball, golf and even trained in Taekwondo. Eventually, Niemiera settled on basketball and golf, and excelled at both.
“I felt empowered at a young age,” said Niemiera, an alum of Marist in Chicago’s Mount Greenwood neighborhood. “I am curious and love learning, and I tried a lot of different things. I was unafraid.”
Basketball officiating takes center stage for Niemiera from November-March, a time during which she officiates four to six games per week. She balances this busy schedule with teaching at Five Iron Golf in Chicago throughout the year.
At Bradley, Niemiera earned the Slane College of Communications & Fine Arts Intern of the Year after she created a golf tournament at Silver Lake Country Club, a CDGA member club in her hometown that raised roughly $10,000 for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Ann Crosby has known Niemiera since she was a college student. They later worked together at the Chicago Sky, where Crosby now is the Vice President of Operations.
“She was young when I first met her,” Crosby said. “I was taken aback by her, an old soul and cool as a cucumber. Lauren knows what she wants, and she goes out and gets it.”
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Niemiera’s introduction to golf started in the junior program at Silver Lake, where she later worked during the summers until she graduated from Bradley. Her love of the sport stemmed from Michael Jordan. She even used Jordan junior clubs by Wilson.
“He played golf, so to me golf was a cool thing to do,” she said. “I did whatever he did.”
Basketball took center stage post-college. She had been an intramural referee in college and owned an IHSA certification “because there always was a need for women’s officials,” Niemiera said.
After landing an internship in 2013 with the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Niemiera caught the eye of George Toliver, a former NBA referee and the person in charge of training the G League officials. That chance encounter led to her joining the NBA’s ultra-selective program for developing future professional referees.
“I always trusted my intuition and made the best decision possible with the information I had at the time,” Niemiera said. “[Las Vegas] changed my life. It was really fulfilling to me to serve the game and be an asset to [basketball] again.”
This is Niemiera’s busiest time of the year. She’s in the middle of the college basketball season, which runs from November through March. Niemiera estimates she officiates four to six games a week. If she’s on assignment, a typical day starts with an early-morning flight and ends late into the night in a hotel room reviewing game film.
When she’s in Chicago, Niemiera can be found at Five Iron giving lessons to clients on Mondays and Tuesdays. She gained her teaching certification during the COVID-19 lockdown.
“I’m not remotely surprised by what she’s doing,” said Kindelmann, who now is director of PR and marketing for Five Iron in New York City. “I knew she had a strong athletic foundation. She’s also confident in her beliefs and a good communicator. She makes golf less intimidating for those learning the game, and she’s a strong advocate for women in golf.”
Niemiera (middle) is dedicated to helping more women enjoy golf.
In September, Sharkey was invited to play in the pro-am at LIV Golf’s Individual Championship at Bolingbrook Golf Club. Naturally, she called on Niemiera to be her caddie. It was Sharkey’s first experience in such a setting, and she was paired with major champion Bryson DeChambeau.
“It was a no-brainer to ask Lauren,” Sharkey said. “Golf is intimidating, but a professional event even more so. I was a nervous wreck on the first tee, but Lauren was a calming presence and kept me loose and laughing. I would not have made it through the day without her.”
Once the basketball season ends, Niemiera shifts her attention to golf. She said she teaches as many as four days a week at Five Iron. Niemiera treats each individual student differently and does her best to break down the barriers golf can build by not focusing instruction on swing mechanics.
“Sometimes, I’ll take the club away, and we’ll throw a football,” she said. “I want people to be athletic. Of course, we want to understand the swing, but the goal is lower scores. There are many ways to do that. I try to be creative and not so regimented. I meet my students where they are. I want to know their goals and see how we can match them to reality.”
Not surprisingly, Niemiera has a special place for women who play golf. According to the National Golf Foundation, female participation is at its highest level in nearly two decades and could reach historic levels in the coming years. Through Five Iron, Niemiera has sponsored many women-only events.
“I want golf to be more inclusive, and I see it trending that way,” she said.
Added Kindelmann, “She’s always figuring out ways to help and support women in golf.”
Although it seems Niemiera rarely takes a break from basketball and golf, she does afford herself downtime during the summer to be with her family and friends.
Looking ahead, Niemiera is positioning herself to officiate the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She has been International Basketball Federation (FIBA) certified since 2021 and plans to work international tournaments in future summers to prepare herself.
Those who know Niemiera like her odds.
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” Crosby said. “She’s highly motivated and highly respected. Nothing is too big or too small for her. I’m ever so grateful to have met her. She’s one of the best human beings I know.”
Matt Harness is a freelance journalist who writes frequently on golf.
