CVCC crown is golfer’s first
By: Bob Nuse
When Peggy Ference first joined Cherry Valley Country Club four years ago, she considered herself a pretty good golfer.
But she was nowhere near the golfer she has become since those early days at the club.
"When I joined Cherry Valley, my handicap was 18 and now it is down to a six," said Ference, who saw her improvement come full circle Sunday when she captured the Ladies Club Championship with a 6 and 4 win over Susan Sardi. "I had a goal to win the club championship. It took me four years, but I did it. Allan (Bowman) and Jim (Vernon) took me on as their project. Allan worked on my swing and Jim taught me how to putt. I spent a lot of time working on my game."
And that work resulted in her winning the club championship for the first time. She had been close before, losing to Colleen Cosgrove in the final two years ago on the 18th hole, but this time she was able to come away with a win.
"Sunday was a challenge because I was playing against my very good friend, and that made it difficult," Ference said. "She’s a very close friend and we play a lot together. I knew she wanted to win and she knew I wanted to win. Sue is one of my closest friends and she has been working on her golf game a lot.
"To get ready for the tournament, the two Fridays before at night I had Allan take me out on the course and he gave me a couple of playing lessons. We talked about shots and strategy. That turned out to be very valuable. Between Saturday and Sunday I played my best on the back nine. On Saturday, I had four birdies and shot a 32 on the back nine."
Ference reached the final with a win over Bev Toto on Saturday. Even though she had already won the match, the two played out the final few holes so Ference could get in some extra practice time. Plus, she was playing very well as her 32 on the back nine showed.
"I wanted to keep on playing because I needed the practice and Bev didn’t mind," Ference said. "I thought it was a very good tournament for the women. Rather than just having the championship flight, we also had a first flight as well. It was a good field in terms of numbers and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. The theme for the Women’s Golf Committee this year was ‘Let’s Have Fun.’ I think everyone who played had fun."
Ference has always had fun and enjoyed playing golf, but her improvement over the last four years has made the sport even more enjoyable for her.
"I’ve been playing since I was 8," she said. "I played a lot as a kid at my club back then. I won some junior club championships. But then I went without playing for a pretty long period of time. Before I joined Cherry Valley, I had not played for eight years. Work got in the way and I wasn’t able to play.
"Working with Allan and Jim has helped me so much. Both of them have taught me so much. Even though I have been playing since I was 8, I didn’t really know anything until the two of them started mentoring me. I’ve learned more about golf the last four years than I ever knew before. It is such a mental game. I never had the appreciation for what it takes mentally to put the ball in the hole. And I think that has also helped translate over to business as well. There is so much thought that goes into whatever you do."
A busy work schedule has kept Ference from playing as much as she would like. But with the time she does have, she gets in as much time on the course as possible.
"A couple of years ago, I played 100 rounds of golf when I was between jobs," said Ference, who is general manager at Ingenix, a health education company in Basking Ridge. "This year I’ve played 25 rounds. I leave for work at 7 in the morning and don’t get back until 7 at night. So I don’t get out much during the week.
"I really hadn’t played in eight years other than two or three times a year, which really isn’t playing. Before I came to Cherry Valley, my best round ever was an 82. I had never broken 80. My game has just improved so much."
And now she has a club championship to show for that improvement. And winning that title is something Ference has been working on for four years.