Golfer Julie Steinbauer, a South Florida native, is representing the United States at the 19th Maccabiah Games taking place July 11-30 in Israel. She is part of the five-member junior girl’s team. The Caesarea Golf Club, (built in 1958, a 7,155 yard, par 72 course which was redesigned by Pete Dye in 2009), is hosting 250 of the world’s best golfers in three different divisions (Masters, Open, and Junior). Forty five countries sent their best golfer’s to compete in this sport.
The Caesarea GC is the only 18-hole golf course in Israel and has been the site since the first Maccabiah golf matches in 1961, when the sport was introduced into the games.
“I am really excited to be representing the USA in this event,” Julie Steinbauer said in a pre-games interview. “It is an honor to be selected and an even bigger honor to be able to represent my country. I have never been to Israel, and that’s what makes it very special.”
Another note that Julie is proud of is that her mother, Jodi Appelbaum, participated in the games in tennis in 1976. Jodi won a bronze metal in singles and a silver medal in doubles.
One of the coaches for Team USA is Bruce Fleisher, who in 1969 won a gold medal at the Eighth Maccabiah Games. Other golfers who have competed are LPGA greats Amy Alcott and Morgan Pressel.
The Maccabiah Games sometimes referred to as the “Jewish Olympics,” take place every four years in Israel attracting the most outstanding Jewish athletes from around the world. Past athletes that have competed in these games include Sandy Koufax (baseball); Mark Spitz (swimming); Kerri Strug (gymnastics); Brad Gilbert (tennis), and Larry Brown (basketball).
Julie was named the Miami-Dade County High School Girl’s Golfer of the Year in 2012 and 2013, she is a four-time Miami-Dade County High School First Team member and last fall she represented The First Tee of Miami at the Champions Tour — Nature Valley Pebble Beach Open. Julie will be attending and playing golf at Rollins College in the fall.
For information on the Maccabiah Games, go to the website, www.macabiusa.com
