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A Lifetime of Lessons
Longtime teaching professional Bob Benning ’ s legacy lives on at Stoneleigh Golf & Country Club by LEONARD SHAPIRO
The letter was dated June 5 , 2018 , and came to then octogenarian and widely admired teaching professional Bob Benning at Stoneleigh Golf & Country Club in Round Hill , where he had opened his School of Golf twenty years earlier . It was written by a high school senior , and it came from her heart .
“ As I graduate ,” she wrote , “ I fondly remember all the lessons I have been taught over the last 11 years . It is especially during this time that I recall all those who have touched my life , and you , Mr . Benning , have most certainly done that ,” she said .
“ I greatly appreciate your kindness and instruction . Along with teaching me the game of golf , you were an incredible example of patience and courtesy … There are so many things that I learned from the game that are applicable to other areas of life … Thank you for all of your lessons . I carry them with me now , and forever .”
Over his many years as a premier golf instructor , there have been scads of other letters and emails , warm embraces , and verbal thank-yous to Benning , who will turn 91 in September .
“ Not only does he teach his students how to play , he teaches them life lessons that have little to do with golf . That ’ s the kind of person he is ,” said Sue Benning , his wife of 41 years and his proudest cheerleader .
This past June , Benning presided over the annual Bob Benning Middle Atlantic Junior Golf Tournament he started at Stoneleigh many years go . More than a hundred youngsters were entered , and Benning recalled that when he held his first junior tournament there in the early ‘ 90s , only a few players signed up and 96 was the winning score .
“ I ’ m very proud of the tournament ,” he said . “ We ’ ve definitely come a long way .”
Benning with champion
Catherine Qiu in 2020 .
And so has Bob Benning . He became enamored with golf at age 11 when he began caddying at the Miami Valley Golf Club in his hometown of Dayton , Ohio . His first club was a wooden shafted 7-iron he fooled around with in the caddie yard .
Benning with the top three boys finishers in 2021 , from left : Paxton Ihm , Jeremy Bershak , and Benjamin Chamberlin .
10 V IRGINIA G OLFER | J ULY / A UGUST 2023