“ It was so much fun . I said , OK , now I know what I need to work on . I put in a lot of hours practicing as much as I could ,” he said via telephone in February the day after he celebrated the one-year anniversary of his retirement as a safety manager at Newport News Shipbuilding .
Riefler spent the first 36 years of employment building aircraft carriers .
After Riefler found that initial success in 2011 , he tried his hand again in 2012 and 2013 but failed to reach match play either year .
He overcame a couple of health issues and in 2014 he reached the quarterfinals .
“ The next year my game felt really good . I had no idea I ’ d finish where I finished because it was beyond my wildest dreams . I had a lot of confidence in my game ,” he recalled .
Riefler didn ’ t make match play in 2016 or 2017 in the Senior Am . He had hip replacement surgery in 2019 and returned to VSGA events in 2022 at the Super Senior Stroke Play ( 65-69 age group ) and the Super Senior Amateur where he qualified for match play but lost in the first round .
Having so many age group opportunities in Super Senior events has inspired him to work on his game .
“ I love the game , but I also love competing and being able to compete . Once you ’ ve had success , you keep wanting to have success .”
✱ MARY BETH HUNEKE One lesson sparks a passion
The golf bug bit Mary Beth Huneke hard .
Huneke was 55 years old when she and her husband , Peter , were introduced to golf by her cousin Karen Rhodes and her husband Rich .
The longer I play golf , the more I want to improve and appreciate the process along the way .”
— Mary Beth Huneke
The Rhodes took the Hunekes to their home club , The Club at Viniterra in New Kent County , gave them a 45-minute lesson and played Captain ’ s Choice for nine holes .
“ My brain was spinning with everything there was to learn — the grip , stance , ball position , putting , etc ., etc .,” Huneke recalled . “ Sometimes my brain still spins with everything there is to learn .”
After nine holes , the Rhodes loaned their clubs to the first-timers to finish the round .
“ Little did I know at the time , I was embarking on a life journey / passion / obsession called golf . When Peter and I got home that evening after our first nine holes , we pulled out plastic cups and began practicing putts in our den ,” Huneke said .
Fast-forward to last August ’ s VSGA Super Senior Women ’ s Amateur at The Homestead ’ s Old Course . Huneke , then 66 , stood over a four-foot putt on the 18th hole to even her opening match in the First Flight .
“ I lined up my putt , made the best stroke I could and missed it . I conceded my competitor ’ s two-foot putt and we shook hands . I immediately noticed that the sky had not fallen even though I missed a four-foot putt . I also realized how much I had enjoyed playing one of the best rounds of my life in competition with a thoroughly delightful person ,” she said . “ I played against an equally enjoyable person the following day and , while losing this earlier in the match , I was still elated from playing golf in a tournament .”
Soon after those early days of chipping wiffle balls in the den and back yard , a friend told the Hunekes about The First Tee of Greater Richmond which was 15 minutes from their house . Their jobs required sitting at a computer all day so First Tee was a good place for a technology break .
Huneke bought her first set of new clubs , joined Viniterra , got up the courage to join the club ’ s ladies group and joined the Peninsula Ladies Golf Association for strokeplay tournaments . She loves her lessons at GolfTec .
“ The longer I play golf , the more I want to improve and appreciate the process along the way ,” said Huneke , who made her first hole-in-one ( No . 13 at Brookwoods ) last March , won the Brookwoods Ladies Golf Association championship and the Viniterra women ’ s championship and was the winning captain for Viniterra ’ s home and away matches with Piankatank and Indian Creek CC in 2022 .
Huneke , who turned 67 in February , is retired and currently in the middle of her latest golf adventure . She is an assistant coach for the St . Catherine ’ s School golf team under the direction of renowned teacher and coach Janet Phillips ( July / August 2021 issue of Virginia Golfer ).
COURTESY MARY BETH HUNEKE ; BEN WALLS
In 2022 , Mary Beth Huneke made her first hole-in-one at Brookwoods ( left ) and competed in the VSGA Super Senior Women ’ s Amateur .