Virginia Golfer July / August 2023

“ 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 .”

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When he actually played the golf course for the first time , he recalled shooting a 133 , and loving every single stroke , every single minute .

Four years later at age 15 , he shot 75 to win the Dayton Caddie Championship . He captained his high school golf team , was runner-up in the Ohio high school state championship , and ended up playing on the golf team at Purdue University , capturing the Big 10 championship his senior year in 1955 .

At Purdue , some of his classmates included future astronauts Eugene Cernan and Neal Armstrong , the first man on the moon . A personal letter and an autographed photo from Armstrong remain among his most cherished possessions .

Benning ’ s golf game continued to flourish when he joined the Marine Corps , where he was a commissioned officer after going through the Naval ROTC program at Purdue . Benning won the U . S . Marine Championship , and after he was honorably discharged , he returned to Dayton and stayed active playing amateur golf . event at Congressional won by Ken Venturi , and the 1966 tournament at The Olympic Club in San Francisco . He missed the cut there but ran into an old high-school friend who was working the tournament for ABC .

The rest of that weekend , Benning became a spotter for ABC broadcaster Chris Schenkel ( another Purdue man ), and he did that for several years along with occasional stints as an on-course reporter for Mutual Radio .

In 1973 , Benning moved south to become the head pro at Congressional in Bethesda . He recalled once giving a lesson to then President Gerald Ford and putting his arms on Ford ’ s shoulders , a move that made nearby Secret Service agents jump out of their skins before they realized he was just showing him a proper turn .

When Benning arrived at Congressional , junior players were mostly relegated to being allowed to play only late in the day after all the adult starting times . Benning created a club junior program that soon grew to over 100 youngsters and

He suffered a particularly debilitating bout of COVID-19 that left him bedridden for 33 days in July 2022 , and recently suffered a brain bleed . That ’ s healed , but it ’ s affected his balance , making it difficult to swing a club or stand for very long on a practice tee .

Still , during an interview in late May , he and Sue were both eagerly looking forward to attending the June junior golf event named for him at Stoneleigh . And no matter where he is , sooner or later someone surely will ask him for a swing tip or two . It goes without saying , he ’ s always graciously happy to oblige .

After all , at soon to be 91 , he ’ s still touching lives , young and old .

“ 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 .”

— SUE BENNING

LOUDOUN TIMES-MIRROR ( OPPOSITE PAGE ); COURTESY PHOTOS ( 3 )

He turned professional in 1959 , and worked as an assistant pro in Dayton , Glendale , Calif ., and Caldwell , N . J . Competing in the New York area ’ s Metropolitan Open one year , he was paired one day with Claude Harmon . The summer professional at famed Winged Foot in New York , Harmon invited Benning to be his winter teaching assistant at Thunderbird Country Club in Palm Springs , Calif .

The two men became good friends , and with Harmon ’ s help , Benning was named head pro at Plainfield Country Club in New Jersey . At one point , he also had a brief run on the PGA Tour in the early 1960s . At Plainfield , he was always booked with a full schedule of lessons , but also found time to compete in local tournaments , with plenty of success .

Over the years , Benning played in two U . S . Opens , including the overheated 1964

produced a number of top Washington area golfers .

During his time at Congressional , he also met Sue . He was playing in a tournament in Baltimore , and she was helping the scoreboard keeper at the 18th hole .

“ She asked someone who I was , and I asked someone else who she was ,” Benning recalled . “ Definitely love at first sight .”

They were married in 1982 in Ayr , Scotland , with the wedding reception at Turnberry . Over the years , they ’ ve traveled countless times to play golf and see the sights all around Scotland and have particularly fond memories of staying and playing at Gleneagles , a world-famous resort where Benning also helped run an annual tournament . They now live in Ashburn .

Benning isn ’ t playing or teaching much these days , though his golf school at Stoneleigh is still offering instruction .

Mementos , from top : A Benning television appearance , a letter from Neal Armstrong , a photo of Benning with Jack Nicklaus .

vsga . org J ULY / A UGUST 2023 | V IRGINIA G OLFER

Virginia Golfer July / August 2023 | Page 13

“ 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 .”

“ 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 .”