RDGA Hall of Fame | RDGA - Rochester District Golf Association

Honoring Legends of the Rochester Golf Community

Since its inception in 1929, the RDGA remains committed to enhancing the golfer experience in the greater Rochester area, growing and improving the game, and celebrating those who have helped to make the Rochester community among the strongest and most admired golf communities in the country, if not the world.

Each year, the RDGA, through the RDGA Hall of Fame Nominating Committee, celebrates RDGA members or organizations across the Rochester golf community who:

The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is held each year during “Championship Week” – the RDGA District Championship John H. Ryan Jr. Memorial.

RDGA Hall of Fame, Class of 2025 Induction Ceremony

On the evening of July 29, a "Who's Who" of the Rochester golfing community gathered at Cobblestone Creek Country Club to celebrate the induction of Kitty Colliflower, Terry Diehl, Denny Ferstler, Dr. Jim Infantino and the Wegman Family into the RDGA Hall of Fame. Watch the ceremony above.

RDGA Hall of Fame, Class of 2025

KITTY COLLIFLOWER

Kitty Colliflower grew up in Bath, NY, and came to Rochester to attend Nazareth College. From her early days in High School, Colliflower played many sports, eventually focusing on golf. After earning her undergraduate degree, Colliflower attended the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester, where she earned her MBA in Accounting and Finance, which eventually led to her becoming a CPA. Joining Oak Hill early in her career, Colliflower became active in the local golf community, serving as President of the WRDGA and Women’s Golf Association of WNY, as well as on several committees at her home club and volunteering as a walking scorer for several major championships. Presently, Colliflower serves as Rules & Handicap Chair for the WRDGA, as well as a lead Course Rater for the RDGA. As a player, Colliflower has become one of the most accomplished women amateurs in the Rochester area, winning the Oak Hill Women’s Club Championship 26 times; finishing runner-up in the WRDGA Championship twice; and winning the WRDGA Senior Championship in 2008; the WGAWNY Championship twice (1987 & 2005) and the RDGA Women’s Open twice (2018 & 2021); in addition to being named Women’s Senior Player of the Year in 2021. She has been selected for the WRDGA Captain’s Cup Team (an annual Rochester vs. Syracuse team competition) five times and has captained the U.S. Ada Mackenzie Matches (an upstate New York-vs.-Ontario, Canada senior women’s match play competition) since 2009. Her accomplishments have also extended to the State, National and International stages as well, winning the NYS Women’s Super Senior Amateur title in 2019, qualifying for the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur twice and U.S. Women’s Four Ball once – and competed in both the Irish and British Senior Women’s Amateurs.

DENNY FERSTLER

First elected to PGA Membership in 1982, Ferstler spent much of his career as the Head Professional and Director of Golf at Penfield CC, where his rapport with club members made him a popular go-to resource for lessons. A member of the PGA Quarter Century Club since 2007, Ferstler earned many career accolades, including the prestigious Western New York PGA Section Professional of the Year in 1995. While serving as Tournament Chairman for the WNYPGA from 1994 to 1997, Ferstler also compiled an impressive playing record that included victories in the WNYPGA Rochester Classic (1989) and the Rochester Classic Senior Championship (2004). In addition to tournament victories, Ferstler also was a WNYPGA Match Play Finalist (1994), the WNYPGA Section Championship Runner-Up twice (1983, 1999) and the WNYPGA Senior Championship Runner-Up in 2003. Ferstler also set numerous course records, including Cazenovia CC (65), Rogues Roost CC (64), Cavalry Club (63), Rhode Island CC (62), Locust Hill CC (63), and Penfield CC (66). In 2013, Ferstler was inducted into the WNYPGA Hall of Fame.

Dr. JIM INFANTINO

Born and raised in Rochester, Jim Infantino attended and graduated from the School of Dentistry at the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1963. A practicing dentist by trade – specializing in periodontics – Dr. Infantino has been at the top of his profession in the Rochester area for more than four decades. Throughout his award-winning career as a dentist, Infantino has also been a competitive golfer, rising to the top of the local golf scene in 1967 by winning the RDGA District Championship at Ridgemont Country Club. Known to friends and fellow competitors by his nickname “Driller” throughout his long career in amateur golf, Infantino has been known as a tenacious competitor, but reached a higher level after joining the senior ranks at age 55, winning the RDGA Senior Championship twice, in 1995 and 1997, before going on to win back-to-back New York State Men’s Senior Amateur titles in 1998 and 1999. To this day, Infantino remains an avid golfer and maintains a membership at Ridgemont – site of his District Championship triumph almost 60 years ago.

TERRY DIEHL

Won the 1967 RDGA Junior Championship and enjoyed a successful junior amateur career in Rochester before attending the University of Georgia, where he earned All-American status on the golf team in 1969. As an amateur, he won the New York State Men’s Amateur Championship as well as the Monroe Invitational. After college, he qualified for the PGA Tour, where he recorded more than 20 top-10 finishes in a career that spanned from 1973 to 1983, including a win at the 1974 San Antonio Texas Open – becoming the first Rochester native since Walter Hagen to win a Pro Tour event. Following his playing career, he alternately worked for the Tour, was a TV golf analyst for ESPN, a club professional at Bristol Harbour and a financial services professional for Prudential and Morgan Stanley.

THE WEGMAN FAMILY

Known to communities from Rochester to North Carolina as one of the most influential businesses in their industry – Wegmans Food Markets – the Wegman family has also engaged in many philanthropic pursuits through the years. Perhaps the most highly recognized of these was their financial and organizational support of women’s professional golf in the Rochester area. Both Robert Wegman, as Chaiman of Wegmans Food Markets until his death in 2006, and Colleen Wegman, later as President and CEO, became leaders of the LPGA Tour stop in Rochester. The LPGA Tour was first hosted by Locust Hill Country Club in 1977, with financial backing for the annual event provided by several local and national businesses through the years – including Wegmans. However, in 1998, Wegmans stepped up to become the primary title sponsor, taking the purse from $700,000 annually, to $2 million by 2009. In 2010, Wegmans helped elevate the event to elite Major Championship status, providing a $2.5 million annual purse as it became the Wegmans LPGA Championship, one of five majors on the Tour at the time. The event continued as the LPGA Championship for five seasons – moving from Locust Hill to Monroe Golf Club in 2014 – until it outgrew the Rochester community and moved on to a rotation of host clubs in bigger metropolitan areas. Through it all, the partnership between the LPGA, Rochester – and the Wegman family – elevated women’s professional golf as much as any community in the world.

Remembering the RDGA Hall of Fame of the past

RDGA Hall of Fame Class of 2024

“On behalf of the entire RDGA and the RDGA Hall of Fame Committee, we are indeed proud and honored to pay tribute to our Third Class of Hall of Fame inductees. Each has made meaningful and significant contributions to our sport both on and off the golf course. The Thaney Family, Donald Ross, Frank Commisso, Ann Kerwick and Jim Mrva. I could not imagine a more deserving class of inductees,”.
Hall of Fame Committee Chairman Mark Battle.

FRANK COMMISSO (Teaching Professional)

Considered by many to be the “dean” of Rochester-area Club Professionals, East Rochester’s Frank Commisso began working as a caddie at Irondequoit Country Club when the club was only four years old – and he was only nine. Thirteen years later, at the height of the Great Depression and FDR’s first term as President, Commisso became Irondequoit’s Head Professional – a post he would occupy for nearly five decades and nine Presidential administrations, finally stepping down in 1980 after 48 years on the job. In the years between, he was elected President of the Western New York PGA Section, as well as National Vice President of the PGA of America and a three-time winner of the WNYPGA Professional of the Year award. On the golf course, Commisso was an 11-time WNYPGA Section Champion, an 8-time WNYPGA Senior Champion and a 2-time WNYPGA Super Senior Champion – and qualified to play in 10 PGA Championships and 8 U.S. Open Championships. In 1986, Commisso became a charter member of the WNYPGA Section Hall of Fame. Upon retirement as Irondequoit’s Head Professional, Commisso continued to work in his favorite role – as a teaching pro – introducing the game to many golfers, young and old, and helping to make the game more fun for countless others, until he passed away in 1995 at age 84. Today, an annual scholarship at Irondequoit bears his name, as does its state-of-the-art practice facility – a fact that would have, no doubt, made him smile.

ANN KERWICK (Amateur Golf)

When Ann Kerwick began her professional career as an executive at Stromberg-Carlson in the mid 1970s – and began to rise through the ranks at a time in which it wasn’t easy to do so for women – she also began to rise through the ranks of local Rochester area women’s amateur golf associations. Kerwick’s early successes in golf included winning the Durand Eastman Women’s Golf Association Championship five times in seven years, between 1969 and 1975. But it was Kerwick’s record in Women’s Rochester District Golf Association Championships that established her as a force to be reckoned with. In 1970, Kerwick won her first WRDGA Championship title, and over the next three decades she would remain among the top contenders every year, battling the likes of Anne Ralph, Tanya Durni and Tammy Blyth – eventually winning her seventh and final WRDGA title in 1999. Kerwick’s seven WRDGA Championships would remain the second most in the District’s history (second only to Jean Trainor’s 24 WRDGA titles), until that number was equaled by Christy Schultz in 2007 and bested by Jenna Hoecker just last year. In later years, after stepping away from competitive golf, Kerwick again broke barriers as she did at the beginning of her professional career, becoming the first female Club President at Brook-Lea Country Club.

THE THANEY FAMILY (Overall Contributions)

Through the years, there have been a handful of local families who have contributed to the rich tapestry of the Rochester golfing community in many ways, through leadership, generosity, activism and participation – or a combination of all those attributes. The Thaneys are one of those families. In fact, beginning with the earliest years of the Rochester District Golf Association, there have been several members of the Thaney clan who have served as President of the Association. Elmer Thaney was President of the fledgling RDGA from 1936 to 1939, followed by Ed Thaney Sr. in 1960, then William Thaney Sr. in 1977. William’s son, Bill Thaney Jr., then served as District President in 1988, and, most recently, Tom Thaney, in 1993. Ed Thaney has been an active volunteer in golf administration for many years – serving on the USGA Regional Affairs and Senior Amateur Championship Committees to this day. Among his many duties as a local representative of the USGA, Ed volunteers to help administer USGA Qualifiers held in the Rochester area each year. In 2015, Ed was recognized by the USGA with their Ike Grainger Award for service. One other member of the Thaney family who remains active in the community is Tim Thaney – a past president of Oak Hill Country Club. As an active member of the club’s Board of Governors, Tim Thaney has served on tournament committees overseeing some of the club’s most recent major championships, including the 2019 Senior PGA Championship and the 2023 PGA Championship, and led the committee in charge of the major East Course restoration project prior to the 2023 PGA Championship.

JIM MRVA (Teaching Professional)

Throughout the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, the name Jim Mrva became synonymous with Monroe Golf Club. Just as Monroe Golf Club had come to be known as one of the Rochester area’s most prestigious and sought-after private golf clubs, so too had Mrva become known as one of the most accomplished PGA Head Professionals in the country and the go-to teaching professional to fine-tune your game to its peak potential. After an early stint as Head Professional at Yahnundasis Golf Club in Syracuse, Mrva began his tenure as Head Pro at Monroe in 1983 – a title he would maintain for the next 36 years, until his retirement in 2018. During his years at Monroe, Mrva earned many professional superlatives and playing accomplishments. On the golf course, he won several top Western New York PGA Section titles, including the Western New York Open, the WNYPGA Match Play Championship (twice), and the WNYPGA Senior Championship (twice). As a member of the WNYPGA Section Board of Directors between 1984 and 2005, Mrva would serve in every leadership position, ultimately becoming Section President. As a PGA Professional, Mrva’s focus was always on the cornerstones of growth-of the-game initiatives – junior golf and education – which formed the basis for many awards over the years, including Junior Golf Promoter of the Year, the Horton Smith Award for Education (twice) and the WNYPGA Community Service Award – and eventually the WNYPGA Professional of the Year in 1998. The highlight of Mrva’s career came in 2010, when he was named the National Professional of the Year – the highest award presented by the PGA of America. In his final year as PGA Head Professional at Monroe, Mrva served as host pro for the 2018 RDGA District Championship John H. Ryan Jr. Memorial during which, he was presented with the RDGA’s Gentleman of Golf award.

DONALD ROSS (Architect / Legacy)

As of this year’s induction class, famed golf course architect Donald Ross becomes the first non-Rochester native to join the RDGA Hall of Fame – but for good reason, as we shall see. Born in Scotland in 1872, Ross grew up around some of the most famous golf courses in the world, including Royal Dornoch and St. Andrews. As both a professional and a student of the game, Ross earned his credentials through hard work and study, winning several titles as a player – but eventually honing his skill as a designer of golf courses. Moving to America at the turn of the 20th Century, Ross established a portfolio of designs that resonate to this day, including many that have hosted major championships, such as Oakland Hills in Michigan and several in the Pinehurst, North Carolina area – including the famed No.2 course – host of this year’s U.S. Open. Known for using as much of the natural terrain as possible, one of Ross’ hallmarks was not “moving dirt” to create his golf course designs. Other elements of his work included elevated tees and target green complexes that required most golfers to reach the greens on the fly, rather than merely running the ball up to the green. His most widely known trademark is the crowned, or “turtleback” green, most famously seen on Pinehurst No. 2. It was during a relatively short period of time in the Rochester area that Ross designed no less than six courses that have stood the test of time: The Country Club of Rochester (Ross updated the original design in 1912); Irondequoit Country Club (1916); Monroe Golf Club (1923); Oak Hill Country Club, East & West (1924-26); and Brook-Lea Country Club (1926). Aside from the Pinehurst area, Rochester can claim the highest number of Donald Ross-designed golf courses within a single metropolitan area.

RDGA Hall of Fame Class of 2023

CHIP LILLICH (Amateur Golf)

A long-time Oak Hill Country Club member, Lillich comes from a great golfing lineage that includes his grandfather, Jim Wheldon, who won the very first RDGA District Championship in 1930. Lillich would continue – and build upon – that legacy as an 8-time winner of the RDGA District Championship, John H. Ryan Jr. Memorial, which qualifies him as the all-time leader in the RDGA’s most prestigious championship. In addition to those titles, Lillich also won the 1977 Monroe Invitational, as well as many Oak Hill Men’s Championships.

CRAIG HARMON (Teaching)

Craig Harmon comes from a great family legacy of golfing achievement, led by his father, Claude Harmon, who won the 1948 Masters before settling in as one of the most preeminent PGA club professionals of his era. Craig has carried on the family legacy, being ranked in Golf Digest’s Top-50 Teachers list along with brothers Butch and Bill. Harmon came to Oak Hill as it’s Head Professional in 1980 – and would remain in that position for the next 42 years, serving as host professional during 8 major golf tournaments, including three PGA Championships, one U.S. Open, one U.S. Senior Open, one U.S. Amateur Championship and the 1995 Ryder Cup. As a teacher of the game, Harmon has been well-decorated, earning Western New York PGA Teacher of the Year honors four times; as well as the WNYPGA Golf Professional of the Year, and the Horton Smith Award for education. Harmon was later inducted into both the WNYPGA Hall of Fame as well as the PGA of America Hall of Fame. His highest accomplishment came in 2004, when he was named the PGA of America Golf Professional of the Year.

WILSON FITCH (Administrator)

A long-time golf administrator for the RDGA – serving on the Board of Directors for more than 10 years, including the Executive Committee between 1996 and 1999, where he completed his tenure as RDGA President in 1999. Following his first stint on the Board of Directors, Fitch became the RDGA’s senior Rules official, leading the award-winning RDGA Rules team and serving as its mentor for more than 20 years. Prior to golf, Fitch was a World War II Navy veteran and a long-time school administrator in East Irondequoit. Fitch continued to serve on the RDGA Board of Directors until 2021, passing away the following year at age 94.

JEFF SLUMAN (Professional Golf)

LINDA HAMPTON (Administrator)

From her early beginnings as a Phys Ed teacher at Greece Arcadia High School, Linda Hampton probably never anticipated the career in golf that life had in store for her. Joining the staff of the 4-year-old LPGA tournament held annually at Locust Hill Country Club as a part-timer in 1980, Hampton would eventually become the face and heartbeat of the biggest annual golfing event in Rochester for the next 34 years, riding a wave of popularity in women’s golf led by Nancy Lopez. Hampton served most of that tenure as the Tournament Director, overseeing thousands of volunteers, as well as the many varied details that came with that job, including everything from parking to concessions. Working hand-in-hand with several tournament chairs through the years – including Bill Farrell, Barry York, Elmer Conway and Jerry Stahl – Hampton guided an event that rose from a $75,000 purse and one sponsor in 1980 to a $2.2 million purse with many sponsors by the time the it drew to a close in 2014.

JEAN GIAMBRONE (Media)

Widely regarded as one of the first – and most accomplished – female sportswriters, covering golf and bowling (among other sports) during a 42-year career with the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle and Times Union between 1939 and 1981. Throughout her career, she opened many doors previously unavailable to women – most notably as the first female to receive full press credentials to the Masters. She was also an accomplished golfer in her own right, winning several women’s club championships at Locust Hill and Genesee Valley.

RDGA Hall of Fame Class of 2022

DON ALLEN (Amateur Golf)

Among his many accomplishments, the long-time Country Club of Rochester member won the RDGA District Championship six times and the New York State Men’s Amateur Championship six times. Additionally, Allen played on two Walker Cup teams, two America’s Cup teams, made three Masters appearances, advanced to the round of eight in the 1964 U.S. Amateur, placed third in the 1965 U.S. Amateur, and sixth in the 1966 U.S. Amateur.

WALTER HAGEN (Professional Golf)

In a lengthy career that began as a caddie at the Country Club of Rochester, Hagen turned professional at age 19, becoming an Assistant Professional in the CCR pro shop before success as a tournament golfer lured him away. Hagen won his first major championship – the U.S. Open – in 1914, followed by another in 1919. Eventually, he would win 11 majors between 1914 and 1929 (third most, all time), including four Open Championship titles and five PGA Championship titles – while at the same time, elevating the stature and prestige of professional golfers.

JOHN KIRCHER (Amateur Golf)

A long time Monroe Golf Club member, Kircher rose through the ranks of RDGA junior golf – winning the Boys Sub Junior title in 1973 – before becoming one of the Rochester area’s most accomplished amateurs. Between 1990 and 2011, Kircher won the RDGA District Championship four times, the RDGA Match Play Championship twice – and in 1985, the Monroe Invitational. He has also partnered with fellow Monroe Member Mike Mercier to win the New York State Men’s Four Ball Championship.

JIM SCORSE (Amateur Golf)

A relative latecomer to the game of golf, Scorse honed his considerable skills playing on the public links of Twin Hills Golf Club, Deerfield Golf Club and Churchville Golf Course before becoming a member of Stafford Country Club. Since finding his niche, Scorse has blitzed his way through the competition, to date winning five RDGA District Championships, nine RDGA Match Play titles, eight RDGA Mid Am titles, one RDGA Senior Championship – and no less than 15 RDGA Player of the Year honors. In 2005, Scorse won his only New York State Men’s Amateur title in a memorable final round vs. John Kircher at Ontario Golf Club.

MIKE SORCE (Administrator)

A long-time fan and advocate of the game of golf, Mike Sorce began volunteering for the RDGA in the early 1980s. Serving on the “ladder” of District offices, Sorce rose through the ranks, from Tournament Chair, to Secretary, Treasurer and Vice President – eventually serving as RDGA President for two terms. Throughout his administrative career, Sorce advocated for the development of junior golf programs throughout the Rochester area – a lifelong passion. Eventually, Sorce directed the annual Rochester Williamson Cup junior team, as well as the Rochester Interdistrict junior golf team. In recent years – along with serving as a highly rated senior RDGA Rules Official – Sorce has served as President of the RDGA Foundation, tasked with leading fundraising efforts to support the many junior golf programs administered by the RDGA.

JERRY STAHL (Administrator)

As a lifelong golf enthusiast and local business owner, Jerry Stahl joined Oak Hill Country Club early on, eventually serving as Club President. It was during his tenure there that he was tasked with co-chairing (along with Allen Brewer) the 1984 U.S. Senior Championship and later, the 1989 U.S. Open and 1998 U.S. Amateur Championships, all hosted by Oak Hill. His experience there led him to serve on the Executive Committee of the USGA for many years, eventually rising to the office of Secretary. In the late 1990s, he turned his attentions to the long-running LPGA Tour stop in Rochester, the Rochester International hosted by Locust Hill Country Club, serving many years as Tournament Chairman. Throughout the years, Stahl has been a strong advocate for the RDGA both locally and nationally, including serving on the RDGA Foundation Board of Directors. Stahl is also recognized as an accomplished – and highly-rated – USGA Rules official. In that capacity, he has administered the Rules of Golf in many major amateur and professional championships, including the U.S. Open and Masters.

JEAN TRAINOR (Amateur Golf)

SAM URZETTA (Teaching)

“Class” is the word that best describes this long-time PGA Head Professional, who called the Country Club of Rochester home between 1956 and 1993. Although noted as being one of the finest instructors the game has ever known during his tenure as CCR’s head pro, Urzetta was also a very accomplished player, having won the New York State Men’s Amateur Championship once, the RDGA District Championship twice, the Monroe Invitational three times and the U.S. Amateur Championship once – all between 1947 and 1950. Following his success as an amateur, Urzetta tried his hand on the pro tour circuit before settling in as CCR’s resident pro in 1956.