Golf in the State of Delaware
Delaware, known as the "First State" since it was first to ratify the US Constitution, lies next to the Atlantic Ocean and is bordered by Pennsylvania to the north, Maryland to the south and west and New Jersey to the east. It is the second smallest state but still boasts 41 golf courses, predominantly in the metropolitan areas of Georgetown with just under half of them. Other notable places for golfers include Wilmington and Dover.
Garrisons Lake Golf Course, Smyrna is a newly renovated championship course now with large, undulating greens. World-class championship Baywood Greens Golf Course, Long Neck, boasts magnificent landscaping and inspired gardens. Golfers of all skill-levels will appreciate Deerfield Golf Club, a well-maintained historic course in Newark. Delcastle Golf Course, a championship course in Wilmington, was voted Delaware's top public course four years in a row. Hooper's Landing Golf Course is a year-round public course in Seaford "where great golf happens every day."
Pro golfers with Delaware roots include Dave Douglas, a member of the winning American 1953 Ryder Cup team along with Fred Haas and Porky Oliver. Douglas' father Alec was golf professional at Newark Country Club and Dave followed in his father's footsteps becoming the golf pro at the St Louis Country Club in Missouri. Pete Oakley was born in Panama City, Florida and now resides in Lincoln, Delaware. He was the Philadelphia Section Player of the Year for four years during his career. Later in life he took up golf course design, fashioning The Rookery in Milton. Ed Oliver was born in Wilmington and after an illustrious career was inducted into the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in 1976.