His No. 1 fan! Joel Dahmen’s wife, Lona Skutt, was by his side when he decided to shock his golfing career back to life in 2014 — and she’s never stopped rooting for him.
The pair met in 2012, one year after Dahmen overcame testicular cancer. The twosome’s meet-cute included a long line at a pizza place in Arizona followed by a BBQ group date.
“While being squished into a small space together waiting Joel struck up conversation and said he would buy Lona a slice if she got up the line faster than him,” the couple wrote on their Knot wedding website of their origin story. “Probably the best pickup line for Lona because she loves food and would take that challenge any day!”
Before getting to the front of the line, Skutt “boldly suggested” that the athlete take her number even though she was planning to move to New York City in four months.
“While Lona thought she would never hear from Joel again he ended up asking her out a week later. After meeting for a happy hour and going to a friend’s BBQ (Which could have possibly been a test to see how well Lona could hang with all Joel’s friends) we have been together ever since!” the pair wrote. “As they say, the rest is history!”
Shortly after connecting, Skutt played a role in getting Dahmen back into the golf game after a disappointing winter 2013-2014 season. The University of Washington alum was given a push from his then-girlfriend to get back on the course in summer 2014 after choosing to not play the game for “about a month and a half” and instead staying at home.
“My now-wife gave me $200 to go get a lesson and it kind of kick-started my 2014 [winning streak] and now the rest of my career,” Dahmen recalled to Golf.com in May 2019.
He previously told the Seattle Times in August 2016 that his partner motivated him to start anew. “She’s been with me at my lowest and my highest,” Dahmen said of Skutt. “She is a big reason I am where I am, always supporting me, but also kicking my butt when I need it.”
In February 2023, fans got an even bigger glimpse into the couple’s partnership as part of Netflix’s docuseries Full Swing. During the “Imposter Syndrome” episode, Skutt was shown working out with her husband, whom she wed in 2018, which Dahmen revealed is their norm.
“My wife and I had worked out together for the last three years probably. We have the same trainer. It’s easier to just wake up and go to the gym,” he told GQ in February 2023, noting that once Skutt got pregnant in 2022 their workouts shifted. “My wife would be doing sled pushes — it’d be more CrossFit type stuff for her. But with the kid, the gym workouts really slowed down.”
The duo, who welcomed their first child in January 2023, don’t live as lavish of a lifestyle as some professional golfers, but Dahmen said they are doing alright.
“We are wildly more successful than my wife and I ever thought that our lives would be. We’re doing well financially. We don’t drive the Honda that is in the show. That is one of the producers’ cars,” he joked while speaking with GQ about his earnings. “I drive a 2017 Ford Explorer. It’s a baller car. But my wife does drive a BMW, so we have a nice X5 as well. We are building a new house. But we still save a ton of money. We always want to save for the future and make sure we have set for retirement whatever.”
Dahmen continued: “[Norwegian golfer] Viktor Hovland said famously when he turned pro that he could get extra guac or double meat in his Chipotle and that was a big deal. I would compare us to that. We don’t have to worry about paying our bills every month, but we’re also not jet-setting across the country.”
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Scroll down to see some of Dahmen and Skutt’s sweetest couple moments:
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