Women’s Golf League
Camp Rehoboth’s Women’s Golf League is an eclectic mix of personalities, backgrounds, and ability levels. The nine-hole American Classic Golf Course hosts the 80-member league each Thursday evening from early May through the end of September. The league’s popularity results from members playing “for fun” but with a dash of friendly competition. Prizes are awarded each week and several individuals have turned in impressive achievements this summer.
Terry Koff, Beth Petite, and yours truly each won the Fewest Putts award with 10 this summer. Donna Dolce won twice with 11.
Lexi Gardner and Koff each won the Closest to the Pin award twice.
The team of Gardiner, Lisa Faber, Renee Guillroy, and Robin Miller hold the record for the lowest score of the summer with a five under par performance.
Claire McCracken tallied six Team Title wins playing with different groups. Fran Panzo and Angela Murray were not far behind with four team wins each.
On the last night of league play, Fran took home both the Fewest Putts and Closest to the Pin awards.
McCracken has been playing for 20 years. Her idol is Tiger Woods. She has taken about a half dozen lessons and plays two or three times a week. “I find it very relaxing and just love being able to be outside in mostly beautiful weather,” she says. “I love the challenge and the competition with the other girls in the league.”
McCracken hails from Ireland and has been to both the US and British Opens. She says the toughest courses she has played are in Ireland, particularly Portstewart Northern Ireland. Her best 18-hole round was at the Springfield Country Club in Philadelphia where she shot a 78. She lives in Lewes with her wife, Jen Leonard, also an avid golfer. McCracken also plays tennis and pickleball and loves to cook and garden.
Milton’s Panzo has been playing golf for 28 years. Nancy Lopez and Annika Sörenstam inspired her. She has taken lessons throughout the years to improve her skills because, she says, “old habits creep in.”
“Golf is my happy place, and every round is different,” she added. It is such a happy place that she travelled to Hawaii to watch a PGA tournament at the Princeville Country Club on Kauai.
She plays at least twice a week and in charity tournaments. She loves the social element of CAMP Rehoboth golf and meeting new people.
Murray started playing in her 40s when she decided she needed an alternative to mountain biking. Self-taught, Murray credits herself as her inspiration. She wants to stay active throughout her life and thinks that golf is a great lifelong sport. She plays a couple of times a week and has played world-class resorts at Hilton Head and Pebble Beach. She still bikes, kayaks, and paddle boards; she also plays tennis and pickleball. She thinks the CAMP golf league builds a bond, creates laughs, and offers good times. “Life is short,” she says. “Enjoy every minute with others and with laughter.”
Donna Dolce says that her father put a club in her hands at about age 10 but she didn’t play on a course until about age 16. She took her first lessons at the age of 40. She plays a couple of times a week but is still shooting to break 100 on a regulation course.
Koff has been playing since she was in her twenties, when her dad got her involved. She plays three or four times a week and her best score was a 92 on an 18-hole course.
The dynamo behind the Women’s Golf League is “sports gadfly-around-town” Rina Pellegrini. She is passionate about sports and has been playing golf for 40 years. It is not the only sport she plays or helps organize. She was the commissioner of the Senior Women’s Softball for six years. She is on the First State Pickleball board, and she runs the ladder leagues for them as well as the group’s website.
Pelligrini started a bowling league in Millsboro with six teams 10 years ago. Now, 17 teams compete. By the way, she was a professional bowler when she was in her 20s. She logged 2,300 games in the Women’s Professional Bowling League and averaged 224 in her best year.
Adding to her lengthy accomplishments, she runs the corn hole tournament for CAMP Rehoboth’s Women’s FEST. She has been involved with CAMP for about six years but has been playing in the league longer. She also plays in charity golf tournaments at Kings Creek and Rehoboth Yacht club.
“I love being involved with sports for women,” she says. “It is very important to keep active.”
American Classic’s Pro Instructor Sam Cresta has nothing but good things to say about the League and Pelligrini. “We enjoy having the CAMP Rehoboth golf group here at the course because they are a super-fun group and always are respectful of the course,” he said. “Everyone is friendly with our staff. Rina is awesome and does a great job organizing the league. She is one our biggest supporters!”
He also said that League members support the course outside of the Thursday night league. Many are yearly or monthly pass holders who play regularly, take lessons, or just “hang out” at the bar/café.
Cresta is hoping to organize golf clinics for CAMP members who do not currently play but are interested in learning. Last year, he become a fully certified teaching professional in the United States Golf Teachers Federation and was promoted to head golf professional last October. He teaches anywhere from 10-15 lessons per week and runs group clinics a few times a month in season. He won the Coastal Style Magazine’s “Best of” award for best golf professional in Sussex County.
“We are all about growing the game of golf here,” he says about American Classic, “and I think expanding the number of golfers within CAMP Rehoboth would be an awesome way to do that.” ▼
Mary Jo Tarallo is a former journalist and public relations professional for various non-profits including a ski industry trade association. She won a Gold Award for a United Way TV program starring Oprah Winfrey.