Thousands of golf fans are filling the grounds of Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh, Pa., to watch the U.S. Open this Father’s Day weekend. The best male players of the game are competing on one of the world’s most demanding courses, with the USGA making sure every element of their games will be sorely tested.
Diane Herndon of Rehoboth Beach will be there to help make sure the rules of golf keep the contest as fair as possible. She has a long and successful golf history that makes her perfectly suited to this important task.
Herndon began playing golf at 10 at Argyle Country Club in Silver Spring, Md. She played high school golf at Robert E. Peary High in Rockville – the first girl to make the varsity team.
“I played the boys’ tees with wood woods. We had a really good team,” Herndon said.
She took a slight detour after high school, opting for work at Argyle.
“After about a year-and-a-half, I decided I didn’t want to do that,” she laughed.
Herndon went to Montgomery County Community College and then the University of Maryland as an accounting major. After a stint with the federal government, she joined Ernst & Young, eventually rising to a partnership in the international tax department.
“I retired at 52. Just decided I wanted to do other things. It was nice to be able to retire that early,” Herndon said.
She kept up her avid interest in golf.
“I had my handicap down to a 2, but it usually hovered around a 6,” she said.
Herndon also began giving back to the game. In addition to being president of Argyle CC, she volunteered for the women’s division of the Maryland State Golf Association. Her services and skills in running tournaments and handling rules issues for that organization were noticed, leading to a concurrent role with the D.C. Women’s Golf Association and even longer service with the MSGA, a full 10-year commitment.
Herndon and her husband Aubrey bought a home in Rehoboth in 2001, moving there the year after.
“I changed residency about three years ago. We’re pretty much down here a lot. I do the back-and-forth thing,” she said.
Her golf contributions continued with nine years of service as a board member of Kings Creek Country Club. Herndon also helped the Delaware State Golf Association (now part of the Golf Association of Philadelphia) with rules management at its tournaments.
“I did the Delaware Open. I’ve recently signed up again for the Delaware Open and Delaware Amateur. I did the amateur at Wild Quail two or three years ago. They don’t have a lot of rules officials there. We had two at Wild Quail. They said, ‘Kevin has [hole] 7, and you have the rest of the course.’ Fun two days,” she grinned.
Herndon also assisted the USGA with its events.
“I’m doing the Adaptive USGA in Rockville at Woodmont South [in July],” she said.
At Oakmont, she will be part of a Rules Committee of about 50 volunteers to handle issues as they arise during the competition.
Closer to home, Herndon meets with the Kings Creek CC 9-Hole League to do tutorials about the rules and, as she puts it, “trying to get them past their intimidation factor. Sometimes the men join. I always think it’ll take about 30 minutes, and it goes for an hour-and-a-half. They all want to understand it.”
Herndon also helps with scholastic golf. For the last two years, she was a walking scorer for Cape during the team’s tryouts.
Local club competition results
The Mulligan’s Pointe Ladies played a three-way Nassau game June 10.
On the front nine, Terese Kane took first place, with Peggy Claussen in second and M. L. York in third. Chris Bielenda won the back nine, followed by Tammy Bresnahan in second and Debby Quinn in third.
For the overall 18, Susan Shockley finished in first, with Kathy Hudak in second and Karen Feuchtenberger in third.
The Kings Creek CC Ladies 9-Hole league played an Individual Stableford game June 5.
Lisa Travis won the first flight, with Christine Emery in second, Sandy Neverett in third and Carolyn Horn in fourth.
Kathleen Irwin won the second flight, followed by Denise Stewart in second, Cassandra Toroian in third and Chris Piasecki in fourth.
Deborah Chase won the third flight, with Patricia Magee in second, Carolyn Ortwein in third and Rosemarie Schmidt in fourth.
Sara Becker won the fourth flight, followed by Sally Chamberlain in second, Mary Lou Kupfer in third and Pamela Cranston in fourth.
The Rehoboth Beach CC Ladies League held their Opening Day Scramble tournament June 4, with net and gross categories.
Elise Coar, Kerry Lockwood, Debbie Hudson and Jena Baffone won first-place net. Kim Stockson, Jullie Burton, Meri Overeem and Trish Carroll took second net, followed by Jeanne Allan, Susan Nevins, Marcy Saliba and Priscille Desena in third.
Christina Harvey, Terri Reilly, Kim Skonieczki and Carol Wetherhold won first-place gross. Tina Desmond, Trini Crawford, Liz Hudson and Beth Forbes finished second gross.
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Fritz Schranck has been writing about the Cape Region's golf community since 1999. Snippets, stories and anecdotes from his columns are included in his new book, "Hole By Hole: Golf Stories from Delaware's Cape Region and Beyond," which is available at the Cape Gazette offices, Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, Biblion Books in Lewes, and local golf courses. His columns and book reviews are available at HoleByHole.com.
Contact Fritz by emailing fschranck@holebyhole.com.
