Roslyn (Swift) Berger
Robert Biviano
Terry Diehl
Jeff Sluman
Jean (Ramaker) Trainor
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2022
IRONDEQUOIT COUNTRY CLUB, ROCHESTER, NY
Joe Enright, Chairman
Lancaster CC
John Blain
Seven Oaks GC
Richard Galvin
Ontario CC
Andrew Hickey, Staff Liaison NYSGA
Marci Bevilacqua Fox Valley Club
Tom Reidy Elmira CC
Matt Clarke Cazenovia CC
Doug Vergith Chautaqua GC
The New York State Golf Association is a non-profit organization whose membership consists of more than 250 clubs and 40,000 individual golfers throughout New York State. The NYSGA’s stated mission is to promote and conserve the best interests and true spirit of the game of golf as embodied in its ancient and honorable traditions.
The NYSGA was slow - in fact the last - to form as a state golf association. The final push came from famed golf writer Grantland Rice who commented that New York still had yet to assemble an association to administer New York’s amateur golf championship. A group of individuals representing clubs throughout the state met at the Yahnundasis Golf Club in 1923 and unanimously approved the formation of the New York State Golf Association.
The NYSGA’s purpose has shifted from simply conducting the state’s amateur championships to providing numerous services to the association’s member clubs and working closely with the USGA to conduct championship qualifiers.
Welcome...............................
Bill Moore
Executive Director, NYSGA
Master of Ceremonies.............
Class of 2022 Inductees..........
Roslyn “Cookie” (Swift) Berger..
Robert Biviano......................
Joe Enright Chairman, NYSGA Hall of Fame
Presented by:
Andrew Hickey Asst. Executive Director, NYSGA
Richard Galvin Committee Member, NYSGA
Jean (Ramaker) Trainor.........
Jeff Sluman...........................
Terry Diehl...........................
Closing Remarks.......................
Jane Gorsline Friend of Trainor family
Dottie Pepper 2018 NYSGA HOF Class
Ben Wilson, PGA Golf Professional, Irondequoit
Bill Moore Executive Director, NYSGA
Roslyn Swift was born in Great Neck, Long Island.
She learned to play at the Glen Oaks Country Club in her late teens, and soon after became a force on the Metropolitan New York golf scene.
Her father, a dress-maker and avid golfer, told her early on when she expressed interest in playing the game “You learn to play golf on the practice tee. Not the course!”. She spent month after month with the club professional hitting shots before she could step foot on the golf course.
Her first major tournament was a surprising victory during the 1947 Metropolitan Junior Championship, since it was only her third official 18-hole round played.
She attended Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida and was a member of their women’s golf team, helping them to a team title at the Women’s National Intercollegiate Championship in 1950.
After graduating from Rollins, she returned home to Long Island and started working with golf professional “Wild Bill” Melhorn. He called her the “finest natural player” he had ever coached, and said of her, “She is capable of becoming the greatest woman golfer we have seen in many a year.”
Berger advanced to her first Metropolitan Women’s Amateur final in 1952 and lost to Marge Mason of Ridgewood, NJ.
In 1953, she won the Met Women’s Golf Association (MWGA) title at Metropolis Country Club.
Later that summer, she claimed both her first Long Island (WLIGA) Women’s Amateur title at Nassau Country Club (by a margin of 11 and 9), her first New York State Women’s Amateur title in July. She was the first to hold all three titles simultaneusly.
In the 1953 NYS final against Mrs. Mortimer May, she was trailing 1 down after 18 holes at Hempstead Golf Club, then went 3-under par in her final sixteen holes to win, 3 and 2.
She married Maxon A. Berger in April of 1954 at the Hollywood Beach Hotel in Florida, and decided they would move back to New York while spending winters in Hollywood, Fla, where her parents spent part of the year when they weren’t in Long Island.
They newlyweds moved to the Buffalo area (where Berger was from) in Eggertsville and joined the now defunct Westwood Country Club. She won Westwood’s club championship in nine consecutive years from 1959-
1967, including a course record score of 71 in the 1960 tournament. After 1967, she decided to retire from the club championship going forward so that others could have a chance to win, which demonstrated the outstanding character she had. The longtime Buffalo club closed in 2014.
She claimed the Women’s Buffalo District Golf Association Amateur title in 1954 during her first attempt, defeating Mrs. Sam D. Wetlauffer of the host club, 2 and 1 in a 36-hole finale at the Country Club of Buffalo.
She won the championship a total of seven times, including six years in a row from 1961-1966.
In her 1966 victory, she defeated that year’s NYS Women’s Amateur champion and host club player Lancy Smith (2015 NYSGA Hall of Fame) in the final match at Park Country Club, 1 up.
As if her seven WBDGA titles weren’t enough, she also captured eight Women’s Golf Association of Western NY titles, including in 1954, 1957-58, 1962-66. The trophy was retired to “Cookie”, and she donated a new one the following year, deciding not to defend in 1967. Her final two WNY wins were over Jean Trainor, in ‘6566.
She qualified for a total of nine U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships, with her best finish in 1954 when she made the quarterfinals. She also participated in five U.S. Women’s Opens from 1957 to 1965. She advanced through the cut in ‘57, and finished 31st at Winged Foot’s famed East Course.
She was a member of the USGA Women’s Committee in 1968-69.
She claimed her second New York State Women’s Amateur title in 1967 at the Park Country Club (over a decade after her first). After claiming stroke play medalist honors, she became the first to also win the title, defeating Mary Dwyer, 4 and 3 in 36 holes. Besides her two state wins, she was also a runner-up to Mrs. Albert Bower in 1964, and the qualifying medalist four other times. Berger resided in Florida during her later years, and played on a regular basis as a scratch golfer. In April of 1998, she set a new women’s course record (66) at the Diplomat Golf and Country Club in Hallandale. Overall, she set the women’s course record at ten different golf courses over her playing career.
In 2000, she was inducted into the Western New York PGA’s Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.
u 2x NYS Women’s Amateur Champion (1953, ‘67)
u 1947 Women’s Metropolitan Junior Champion
u 1953 Women’s Metropolitan Amateur Champion, Runner-up in ‘52
u 1953 Long Island Women’s Amateur Champion
u Played collegiate golf at Rollins College (1949-52)
u Women’s National Intercollegiate Team Championship (1950)
u 7x Buffalo District Women’s Amateur Champion (1954, ‘61-66)
u 8x Women’s Golf Association of Western NY Champion
u 9x Westwood CC Women’s Club Champion (1959-67)
u 8x U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship Qualifier
u Quarterfinalist in ‘54, advanced to match play 7/8 times.
u 5x U.S. Women’s Open Championship Appearances (1957, ‘59, ‘61, ‘63, ‘65)
u Made cut in 1957; finished in 31st
u Member of USGA Women’s Committee (1968-69)
u Inducted into Western NY PGA Hall of Fame in 2000
u Inducted into Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2002
Robert Biviano was born in August of 1943 in Buffalo, but lived most of his life in Ontario, New York.
Bob graduated from the University of Rochester and taught English at Wayne Central High School for 30 years. He was one of the most popular teachers in the school because he could get the best from his students by showing that he cared about each of them and used humor to keep the class moving. His ability to find a humorous side to any situation could calm tensions at school and on the golf course.
He had two great loves outside of the classroom; he coached the golf team for most of those years and directed three plays followed by the first school musical at Wayne. He continued to produce and direct musicals for 27 years. He even directed summer musicals at SUNY Oswego. His love of theater and golf permeated his life.
He was married to a fellow teacher, Doreen, who was a music teacher at Wayne Central and they had two daughters, Leslie and Alison. Doreen was able to work with Bob helping with music at both the rehearsals and performances of the musicals. And, of course, she was always his favorite golfing partner.
He joined the NYSGA as a volunteer in the late 1980’s and held many offices over the following years including president in 2006 and 2007. He was an expert rules official who was always excited to help players understand the rules. He felt that if he could help one person un-
derstand the rules better than that would eventually be passed on to others. In both his career and his work in golf, working with young people was always his favorite endeavor. He always said his favorite tournaments were the junior boys and girls tournaments. Those were his best opportunities to teach the rules to young players.
His expertise in the rules of golf gave him the opportunity to work on USGA tournaments. He was offered the opportunity but had to refuse because his father was ill at the time and family was always the highest priority for him. Eventually Bob became seriously ill with Parkinson’s disease and had to curtail his tournament work. However, even on his worst days he was ready and willing to help officials on difficult rules situations.
Bob finally succumbed to his illness on April 13, 2016 and NYSGA lost one of its finest officials.
u President, NYSGA (2005-07)
u Rules Official, USGA and NYSGA
u Chairman, NYSGA Foundation
u Golf Coach, Wayne Central High School
u President, Ontario Golf Club
u Publisher, NYSGA Newsletter (2003-15)
Terrance Diehl was born in the fall of 1949 in Rochester, New York. He grew up in a house on Pixley Road just across the street from Brook-Lea Country Club.
His father was a former pro baseball player and avid golfer, and the Diehl’s were members of the neighboring golf course. His mother was also a talented golfer and bowler in her own right.
Once Diehl began to focus on competitive golf in his early teens, competitive success came quickly to him.
His work ethic was unmatched on the golf course, spending long hours playing and practicing down the street at the club. He was once quoted in the Democrat and Chronicle newspaper that hard work to him meant… “getting to the course at 8am and leaving at dark. Hitting a couple hundred balls, playing the course, working on anything that went wrong on the golf course and then some putting and chipping practice.”
He worked at his game with his father, along with local standout club professionals Sam Urzetta of the Country Club of Rochester (2015 NYSGA HOF Inductee) and Jack Lumpkin of Oak Hill Country Club.
As a freshman in high school (age 13), he won the Rochester District Golf Association’s (RDGA) Boys’ Sub-Junior title in 1963 at Irondequoit Country Club, triumphing over Monroe’s Gregg Smith, 8 and 7.
The following year, Diehl qualified for the 1964 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship in his first attempt at age 14. He medaled in the qualifier at Locust Hill.
Merely a week later, Diehl won his first state title, the NYS Boys’ Sub-Junior at Cornell University Golf Course over Joe Russo of Syracuse, 3 and 2.
He claimed his second RDGA victory, the Boys’ Junior at the Country Club of Rochester in 1965, and retained the title in 1966 and 1967.
His second state victory came during the 1966 NYS Boys’ Junior Amateur at Moon Brook when he defeated Bob Battaglia of Buffalo, 4 and 3 in the final match. He was at this point, simultaneously the Rochester District and NYS Junior champion, and completed a sweep of local junior titles in just a few seasons of competition.
In 1967, he won the New York State Jaycee Championship (a top golf tournament in the 50s-60s) at Wiltwyck Golf Club in record-setting fashion. Two years prior, at 15, he won the Jaycee Long Drive competition with a startling distance of 330 yards. He qualified for the U.S. Junior again in 1967 and made Match Play, losing in the first round.
Diehl, one of the state’s top teenage golfers in the 60’s, also participated in basketball, swimming, baseball and football. He attended the Aquinas Institute, and graduated in 1968, sporting an athletic frame of 6-foot and nearing 200 pounds.
He added another major accolade to his amateur golf resume when he captured the Ganson Depew Cup during the 1969 NYS Men’s Amateur. His win at Elmira Country Club was against Ithaca’s Tom Cleary, who he beat 2-up, after being down 1-up through 18 holes. It was the final year of a match play format, prior to the reintroduction of it again in 1992.
He won the prestigious Monroe Invitational in 1969 over Carl DiCesare, and again in 1971 over Jim Kuntz, both times in 19 holes. He also won the Country Club of Rochester Invitational in 1968 and 1971.
Diehlmayhaveaddedevenmorevictoriestohisshort amateur career, had it not been for the fierce group of golf legends he competed against during that era including fellow Rochester area foes Don Allen, Carl Dicesare and John Calabria along with statewide stars like Bill Tryon, Nick Raasch, and John Baldwin.
He attended the University of Georgia from 1968-1971 and was recruited as a member of the men’s golf team with some initial help thanks to his club pro, Lumpkin, an alumnus. He earned allamerican honorable mention during his sophomore season and finished solo second in the NCAA championship. He later served as the team’s captain in his senior year. In total, he had three top-10 finishes at the NCAAs.
1969 was truly a banner year for young Diehl. As a sophomore at Georgia he earned all-american honorable mention, finished second in NCAA’s, won the NYS Men’s Amateur, and the Monroe Invitational.
He qualified for the U.S. Open as an amateur in 1970 when it was hosted at Hazeltine National.
As many accolades as Diehl racked up during the mid 60’s to early 70’s, he fell short of capturing a second Men’s Am trophy. During his title defense in 1970, he gave it a great run at Locust Hill Country Club, finishing in second and losing to the legendary Don Allen by a stroke. Diehl held a threestroke lead with a few holes to play, but stumbled on his way to the house.
Diehl joined the professional ranks in 1971 and achieved his PGA Tour Card in the fall of 1973.
During his rookie season, he won the San Antonio Texas Open and fired two 65s during the tournament. He was the first Rochesterian to win a national event since Sam Urzetta won the U.S. Amateur in 1950.
“When I won, I thought that was the thing to do. I had done it so much, I was geared to win. That’s all I knew how to do,” he said in Democrat and Chronicle quotes from April 1985.
Early in his pro career, he was called “the most talented player on tour” by legendary tour player Tom Watson.
Diehl spent a total of ten seasons on the PGA Tour, posting 21 top-ten finishes, including strong play during the following golf majors: Tied for 7th at the 1977 U.S. Open (shared the first-round lead), Tied for 10th place at 1980 PGA Championship at Oak Hill, and a tie for 32nd in the 1978 Masters Tournament.
As Diehl’s playing career was nearing its end in 1983, he was approached by PGA Tour Commissioner Dean Beman who wanted to expose the PGA Tour to corporate America. He felt Diehl could be a good fit for this position, and he inevitably worked for the PGA’s marketing department for several years, taking a major role in developing a pool of the PGA Tour’s corporate sponsors.
He later worked as a director of golf, and eventually an investment manager for a few different high-profile companies in the Rochester area.
He was able to achieve another successful career as a businessman in the decades after he left the pro ranks.
He currently resides in Victor with his wife, Laura, and has four sons and a daughter.
Amateur
u 1963 RDGA Boys’ Sub-Junior Champion
u 1964 NYS Boys’ Sub-Junior Champion
u 1966 NYS Boys’ Junior Amateur Champion
u 3x RDGA Boys’ Junior Amateur Champion (1965-67)
u 1967 NYS Jaycee Golf Champion
u 1967 International Junior Masters Tournament Medalist
u 1969 NYS Men’s Amateur Champion
u 2x U.S. Junior Qualifier (1964, ‘67)
u 2x Monroe Invitational Winner (1969, ‘71)
u 2x Country Club of Rochester Invitational Winner (1968, ‘71)
u Played collegiate golf at University of Georgia (1968-71)
u All-American Honorable Mention (Sophomore, 1969)
u 2nd Place Finish in NCAA Championship (Sophomore, 1969)
u Captain during Senior season (1971)
Professional
u Turned professional in 1972, joined PGA Tour in 1974
u 1974 San Antonio Texas Open (Valero Open) Champion
u Played in 262 PGA Tour events
u 2 - 2nd place finishes
u 4 - 3rd place finishes
u 23 - top 10 finishes
u 150 cuts made
u Has held positions in Marketing for the PGA Tour, ESPN Analyst, and Investment Manager since leaving professional golf in 1983.
Jeffrey Sluman was born in September of 1957 and raised in Greece near Rochester, New York.
He grew up playing golf at Craig Hill Country Club (now known as Deerfield) and quickly became known as one of the top junior athletes in the Rochester area. His father George, and older brother, Brad, were also low-handicap golfers, and helped guide a young Sluman during his early teenage years.
“He told me to stop killing every one of them and at times to use one club less than I’d like to hit. It worked. And my brother has been helping right along, too,” Sluman said in a quote to the Democrat and Chronicle, 1975.
Sluman won the Rochester District Golf Association’s (RDGA) Boys’ Sub-Junior Championship in 1971 at Durand Eastman Golf Course. He was also an impressive bowler in his youth, having competed in Rochester Junior Bowling Association leagues and received recognition at as young an age as eleven. At fourteen, he recorded his first hole-in-one at Ridgemont Country Club.
He qualified for the 1975 U.S. Junior Amateur, which was his first golf tournament on the national stage and flew down to Nashville, Tennessee to the Richland CC. He successfully qualified for match play after posting 77-77 to make the cut by five strokes but lost to David Abell of Fort Pierce, Florida in the first round, 3&2.
After graduating from Greece Arcadia High School in 1975, Sluman attended Monroe Community College. As a freshman, he helped lead his team to a Region 3 Junior College Golf Championship and first National Junior College Athletic Association Championship appearance. He finished 11th overall as an individual and achieved second team All-America status in 1976. His success at Monroe Community College set him up to play college golf for Division 1 program Tennessee Tech on scholarship. The college, shortly thereafter, yielding to pressure from other intercollegiate sports, cut the golf program to redistribute the athletics budget elsewhere.
Although he was on a hiatus from the collegiate ranks due to his ill fortune with Tennessee Tech, he continued to compete and face plenty of talented local foe at state and district amateur events in the late 1970s, including the likes of NYSGA Hall of Famers Don Allen, Joey Sindelar, Alan Foster, and Bill Tryon.
During the summer of 1977, he placed third in the NYS Men’s Amateur at Albany Country Club, four strokes
behind winner Rich Serian. A couple of weeks later, he breezed to a nine-shot victory over three rounds at Irondequoit Country Club to win the Rochester District Men’s Amateur title.
The following summer, the NYS Amateur was contested at Moon Brook Country Club in Jamestown. 20-yearold Sluman was four shots back entering the final round of the 1978 tournament and posted 4-under 68 to win by three (75-71-79-68). He was the only player in the field to shoot a tournament round in the 60s, and was two groups ahead of the 54-hole leader on the final day. His final round consisted of three birdies, an eagle and one bogey. He holed out from 130 yards on the 10th hole with a 9 iron for his eagle, just before rain moved in causing a 1-hour rain delay. When he restarted, he missed the next three greens in regulation, but was confident in his ability to finish strong and maintain momentum. He finished the championship with another highlight on the eighteenth; a 40-foot putt for birdie.
This was his third attempt at the Ganson Depew Cup. In the RDGA District Championship following his state title, he posted a runner-up finish while trying to defend his title.
Sluman soon landed at Florida State University to finish his collegiate golf career with the Seminoles. He’d met head coach Don Veller during the 1977 NCAA Championship at Colgate University’s Seven Oaks Golf Club, even though he wasn’t competing in the tournament. Veller was impressed by the young Rochesterian and invited him to join the team the following season. While at Florida State, the diminutive 5 foot 7, 130 pound Rochesterian’s highlights included finishing
2nd at the 1979 Metro Conference Individual Intercollegiate title during his first season with FSU, and winning the Metro Conference title the following year in 1980. The team competed in the NCAA Championship during his senior year at Ohio State’s Scarlet course where he finished tied for 76th as an individual. The transition from upstate New York, where he was only able to practice and play six months out of the year, to four seasons of practice in Florida helped him continue to elevate his game.
He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance in the spring of 1980 and began looking forward to the professional ranks.
He’d qualified for the U.S. Open as an amateur that May, but failed to survive the cut at Baltusrol. In June, he captured the 1980 Monroe Invitational in Rochester. In his last state amateur attempt in 1980 he battled with other college talents from the Empire State, Joey Sindelar and Jim Roy. He held a lead of two strokes through 54 holes at Vestal Hills Country Club, but was unable to post a strong final round and finished as the runner-up to future NYSGA Hall of Fame Inductee, Sindelar.
Sluman turned professional and after a successful run at PGA Tour Qualifying School in the fall of 1980 became a member of the PGA Tour until 2007 when he became eligible for the PGA Tour Champions and still competes today.
The highlight of his professional career came in August of 1988 when he won his one and only major, the PGA Championship at Oak Tree Golf Club in Oklahoma. Sluman shot a final round 65 (-6) to win by three strokes over the 36 and 54-hole leader, Paul Azinger. He entered the final round trailing his former college teammate by three. This also marked the first of Sluman’s six career victories on the PGA Tour.
During the first round of the 1992 Masters Tournament, he recorded a hole-in-one on the fourth hole at
Augusta, which is the only ace on that hole in Masters history.
He was inducted into the Florida State University Hall of Fame in 1989.
He won the 2001 B.C. Open (held from 1971-2006) in his home state at En-Joie Golf Course in Endicott. His victory came in a playoff against Paul Gow of Australia, after both finishing at 22-under. He previously finished runner-up in this PGA Tour event in 1994, and 1987 (to Joey Sindelar).
Sluman, now in his mid-60s, has been competing on the PGA Tour Champions since turning 50 in 2007. He’s won six events since joining the tour, his first having been in 2008 during the final Bank of America Championship. Since then, he’s won the First Tee Open at Pebble Beach three times.
In 2019 he joined a group of 21 players who’ve played in 1,000 PGA Tour events, with famed players like Arnold Palmer, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Hale Irwin, and Tom Kite. He competed in 700 events on the PGA Tour and has surpassed over 300 on the PGA Tour Champions. Sluman resides in Chicago, Illinois and Naples, Fl. with his wife Linda. They are parents to a daughter, Katherine, who like her father is a graduate of FSU. His nephew Trevor, who grew up in Rochester, won the NYS Men’s Amateur in 2015 at Turning Stone’s Kaluhyat Golf Club. When Sluman isn’t playing golf, he’s following one of his favorite sports teams, FSU, the Chicago Bears, Bulls or Cubs, and has season tickets to the Bulls. He also enjoys Formula One racing, and is a collector of rare, fine wines.
Career Highlights
Amateur
u 1971 RDGA Boys’ Sub-Junior Champion
u 1975 U.S. Junior Qualifier: Advanced to match play, lost in first round
u 1977 RDGA Amateur Champion
u 1977 U.S. Amateur Qualifier: Advanced to match play, lost in third round
u 1978 NYS Men’s Amateur Champion, ‘80 Runner-up
u 1980 Monroe Invitational Champion
u 1980 U.S. Open Qualifier: As an amateur, missed 36-hole cut.
u Played collegiate golf for Monroe Community College (1976-77)
u Second Team All-American (1976)
u Region 3 Junior College Golf Champions, First NJCAA appearance
u Played collegiate golf for Florida State University (1978-80)
u 1980 Metro Conference Individual Champion, ‘79 Runner-up
Professional
u Turned professional in 1980, on PGA Tour until 2007.
u 6x winner on PGA Tour, 6x winner on PGA Champions Tour
u 1988 PGA Championship Winner
u Best finishes in other major championships:
u US Open: 2nd (1992)
u Masters: T-4 (1992)
u British Open: T25 (1990)
u Inducted into Florida State University Hall of Fame in 1989
Born Jean Ramaker in 1917, she was raised in Rochester, New York on Wilshire Road.
Jean was a natural athlete and took an early interest in sports such as basketball and tennis at Allendale Columbia School.
The family owned a summer home on Lake Ontario, where a young Jean could spend her days swimming, boating and riding horses. As golf became more popular, the Ramaker family decided to take up the game, soon joined Monroe Golf Club after deciding to sell their lake house.
Trainor first learned the game at the age of 13, alongside her brother Jack, and her parents, who were all becoming avid golfers themselves. She won a Monroe women’s club championship at the early age of 15 in 1934.
As a teenager, she was known for being a long-ball hitter, which helped her set the early women’s course records at her home club first in 1936 (83), and then again in 1937 (81). She was an elite junior golfer long before there were opportunities and programs established for girls.
In 1935, she reached the semifinals of the Women’s Golf Association of Western NY championship, losing to Betsy MacLeod of Park Country Club, 2 up.
Trainor captured her first of many Women’s Rochester District titles in 1937 at Brook-Lea Country Club. She entered the final as a young underdog taking on the defending champion, Mrs. Walter W. Lyons of Oak Hill Country Club. She defeated Lyons, 3 and 1, in the championship match. Not only did the 19-year-old from Wells College become the youngest winner at the time, she set the course record in the process with an 80.
That same month, she was one of the favorites in the
NYS Women’s Amateur at Onondaga, but lost in the quarterfinals, 6 and 4, to the eventual winner, Marion Turpie of NYC.
Jean earned medalist honors during the 1937 Women’s Golf Association of Western NY Championship, firing a 79 at Oak Hill Country Club to break the women’s course record by four strokes.
She broke through and claimed the WNY title in 1941, and a total of four times with her last victory in ‘69.
She married fellow member and a top player of Monroe Golf Club, Dr. George McCague Trainor, who was a resident physician at the Rochester General Hospital. George hailed from New Castle, PA but attended Amherst College and eventually moved to Rochester.
Jean and her husband George were the club championss in 1940, her last time holding the title prior to leaving for Oak Hill and the Country Club of Rochester.
Mrs. Trainor, having won two more WRDGA titles in 1939 and 1940, had a daughter Anne in 1942, and was unable to win during the early stages of raising her young child. Once Anne was in Kindergarten, it allowed Jean more time to practice and compete. She won the WRDGA again in 1947 and went on to win thirteen consecutive titles.
She finished runner-up in the NYS Women’s Amateur twice in the mid-1950’s. In 1954, the first year the event changed to a stroke play format, she fell second to three-time champion Barbara Bruning of White Plains at Saranac Lake, but fired a tournament-low 3-over 77 in the final round. In 1956, she fell short to Naomi Venable at Cortland Country Club, 2 up. The championship format was match play that year.
In 1962, the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship was hosted by Trainor’s home club, Country Club of Rochester. Both she and her daughter Anne qualified for the championship, then faced each other in the Round of 32 after winning in the first round of match play.
Their meeting was their seventh overall in match play, with mom (Jean) winning each time, whether in WRDGA or club championships. She defeated Anne once again, 4 and 3, before losing to defending champion Anne Decker, 3 and 2. It was the only Mother-Daughter match in the history of the championship to date.
In fact, when she claimed her thirteenth straight Rochester District win in 1959, it was against her daughter, who was 17 at the time. She beat her 5 and 4 on the
course where her love of competitive golf began, Monroe.
She rattled off another streak of eight district victories from 1962 to 1969 to bring her total to 24, (a record that will likely never be broken) and helped dub her as the perennial queen of Rochester golf. She won her final WRDGA title in 1969 at age 51, which was 33 years after she claimed her first in 1937 as a teenager. Trainor continued to compete in the WRDGA until the early 1990s and into her 70s against much younger competition.
“She had such a good swing, good tempo, smooth,” her daughter Anne said was the biggest key to her mother winning district titles in four decades. “I’ve never seen a swing as good as that,” said Sam Urzetta, legendary golf professional at CCR in a Democrat and Chronicle article.
Anne Ralph, her daughter, won the WRDGA title a total of six times between 1973 and 1994. Naturally, she needed to defeat her mother (the 24-time champion) during the semifinal en route to winning that first title.
Trainor qualified for a total of seven U.S. Women’s Amateurs in 1936, followed by 1949, 53-54, ‘59, ‘62-63. She competed in the 1953 U.S. Women’s Open and finished in 23rd.
She was also a five-time U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Qualifier in 1972-75 and ‘77. Her best finish was T5 during her first appearance in 1972, and she never finished worse than 20th in this championship (during stroke play era).
The Trainor family was selected by the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association as the inaugural Golf Family of the Year in 1963. The trophy was to be presented to “the outstanding golfing family carrying on the best tradition of the game.”
In her first year playing at the NYS Women’s Senior Amateur in 1968, she won the championship by seven strokes at Midvale Golf and Country Club.
She claimed her eighth NYS Women’s Senior Amateur title in 1982 at the popular Whiteface Inn Club in Lake Placid winning by three strokes. She was 64, still
competing against players as young as 50. She gave it another run in 1983, and won the title a final time at age 65 before retiring from state competition. In all, she captured seven of nine state senior titles in Lake Placid, between Whiteface Inn GC and Lake Placid Club.
At the club level, she compiled five club championships at Monroe Golf Club, twelve at Oak Hill Country Club and a remarkable twenty-three at Country Club of Rochester, collectively from 1934-1989. She broke each of their women’s course records on several occasions, often bettering a previous score of her own and setting the new mark.
In an article from the Democrat and Chronicle from 1963, she was the holder of course records at nine country clubs in Rochester and Buffalo.
During their later years, Jean and her husband George worked on committees for the USGA, NYSGA and RDGA.
She was a Women’s Officer for the Rochester District Golf Association. As a committee member for the NYSGA, she was an active part of the Women’s, Junior and Senior tournament committees for many years. She was on the NYSGA Executive Committee throughout the 1960s and ‘70s, including terms as Secretary (1966’67) and 1st Vice President (1972-’73).
As a volunteer for the USGA, she was on the Girls’ Junior Committee for two decades from 1955-75, and then later served on the Women’s Committee from 1970-79.
She was not only a role model, but a “mother” figure for junior girls in Rochester and Western New York and would travel to bring local youth on trips to different tournaments.
In 2001, at age 83, she passed away from lung cancer. Beyond her golfing abilities, she was known for her patience and modesty. She was once quoted in the Democrat and Chronicle saying in regards to herself, “she wasn’t so much good as she was lucky”.
Later that year, she was inducted into the Western New York PGA Hall of Fame.
As a Player
u 9x NYS Women’s Senior Amateur Champion (1968-69, ‘71, ‘76-78, ‘81-83)
u 24x Women’s Rochester District Champion (1937-65)
u 13 consecutive titles from 1947-59
u 4x Women’s Golf Association of Western NY Champion (1941, ‘50, ‘53, ‘69)
u 7x U.S. Women’s Amateur Qualifier (1936, ‘49, ‘53-54, ‘59, ‘62-63)
u 5x U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Qualifier (1972-75, ‘77)
u Finished in top-20 all five times during stroke play era
u Top 25 finish in 1953 U.S. Women’s Open
u 2x NYS Women’s Amateur Runner-up (1954, ‘56)
u 21x CC of Rochester Women’s Club Champion (1952-89)
u 12x Oak Hill CC Women’s Club Champion (1949-67)
u 5x Monroe GC Women’s Club Champion (1934-35, ‘37, ‘39-40)
As a Contributor
u 1963 Golf Family of the Year - Metropolitan Golf Writers Association
u Member of USGA Committees
u Girls Junior (1955-75), Women’s (1970-79)
u Member of NYSGA Committee
u Secretary (1966-67), 1st Vice President (1972-73)
u Served on Junior, Women’s & Senior committees throughout the years
u Women’s Officer, Rochester District Golf Association
u Inducted into the WNY PGA Hall of Fame in 2001
The NYSGA Foundation (501c3) provides support for two important initiatives: The NYSGA Scholarship Fund and Youth on Course.
The NYSGA Scholarship Fund awards scholarships each year totaling $30,000 to exceptional high school students who are employed by NYSGA Member Clubs. These students are united by their impressive academic achievements, need for financial support, and passion for golf.
Youth on Course is a national program that connects junior golfers with access to play participating golf courses for just $5 per round. These juniors also have access to unique work and leadership opportunities, and college scholarships.
The support of these programs is not possible without the support of our members and their clubs.
If you’d like to make a tax-deductible donation, please visit nysga.org/donate.
Special thanks to Irondequoit Country Club for hosting the 2022 NYSGA Hall of Fame Dinner & Induction Ceremony