With its women's golf program on the cusp of winning national recognition and conference championships, the University of Hawai'i will hire a Hall of Famer and member of one of the state's most famous golfing families to lead it into the future.

Lori Castillo, inducted into the Hawai'i Golf Hall of Fame this year, will be announced as the new coach tomorrow. UH athletic director Jim Donovan calls her "arguably one of the top female athletes in Hawai'i golf history."

Castillo replaces Ashley Biffle, the Rainbow Wahine's coach the past 4 1/2 years. Castillo's father, Ron — also in the Hawai'i Hall — coached the women's team from 1976 to '81, with a little help from his daughter. Lori met Cindy Flom Rarick at an event on the Mainland some 30 years ago and told her to give Hawai'i a try.

Rarick, who now represents Waikoloa, went on to win five LPGA events and still plays on tour. Castillo, 47, has done almost everything in the game but take on the LPGA. All along, she thought of coaching, and UH actually approached her about applying back when the position was part-time, Castillo said.

In the past few years she came to realize coaching was what she most wanted to do.

"There's no greater joy than doing a job like this," Castillo said. "You do it because you are passionate about it. You can't do it if you're not. Look at great coaches like Dave Shoji. That's why he's so darn good."

Castillo started golfing with her brothers, all Hawai'i golf pros, at 11 and was voted captain of the Kaiser High School boys team — the only team she could play on in those days.

Her game, and the famous Castillo competitive game face, matured quickly. She won a Junior World title in 1974, then won the U.S. Junior Girls in 1978, and the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links in 1979 and '80. She is the only Hawai'i golfer to win three USGA national titles.

She played for two of the country's most successful collegiate programs, winning the 1980 AIAW team title at Tulsa and honorable mention All-America honors at Stanford, where she received her degree in 1983. She continued on the Asian and European pro tours, winning once, until injuries brought her home.

A former LPGA Class A Teaching and Club Pro who regained her amateur status, Castillo worked as a distributor in the golf industry — most notably for Ping — for most of the 23 years since she has been back and living on Maui. She worked as a realtor most recently.

Castillo has won five Hawai'i State Open women's championships, all three Hawai'i women's majors and played on the U.S. team at the 1980 Curtis Cup. She was also on the original board of directors of the Hawai'i State Junior Golf Association and a USGA committee member.

Castillo knows pretty much everyone in golf, on every island, and is acutely aware of just how much junior golf has grown here with the advent of the HSJGA and the Michelle Wie/Tadd Fujikawa era. She already knows Kelcie Kawano, UH's freshman recruit from Maui. She wants Hawai'i to get to know the rest of the Rainbow Wahine with her.

"Eventually, we can be a really, really strong team," Castillo said. "There's no doubt about that. We have one of the best junior golf programs in our backyard. Every golfer in the HSJGA should at least look at Hawai'i. They can say no, but they should at least look and know what we're all about."