If Pete Vukson
isn’t the county’s
most ardent amateur golfer, he must be close. He shot a 31 on the No
1 nine at Blackhawk at age 75 – and that was after undergoing
major surgery the year before. Most men 50 years younger would trade
their best set of clubs for that score. Age didn’t dim Pete’s
enthusiasm or skill at his favorite game: he won the B&W Gold League
championship six times, including a final triumph at age 68 when he
was the oldest linksman to turn that trick. He also won the 72 hole
tournament at Rolling Acres at age 64. A Pittsburgh native,
Pete came to Beaver County to work at the Curtiss-Wright plant in Vanport
and won its first and only plant title in 1941. He had gotten his
start in golf as a teenage caddy at the Shannopin Country Club and
set course records at Blackhawk, Ohioview, Raccoon, and Coraopolis
Heights. His Blackhawk record of 63 was set in 1953 on the long
course, which has since been shortened. His 1958 record at
Coraopolis Heights was 61 and included seven birdies and an eagle.
He broke the course record at Raccoon twice, hitting a 65 in 1962
and a 64 in 1965. Pete had the dubious distinction of almost
single handedly wrecking the Beaver County Industrial Golf League
during the four years of its existence by winning 37 of its 40
matches while playing for the B&W team. He later starred for the
Rochester Turners golf team and helped it win a national title.
If Pete Vukson
isn’t the county’s
most ardent amateur golfer, he must be close. He shot a 31 on the No
1 nine at Blackhawk at age 75 – and that was after undergoing
major surgery the year before. Most men 50 years younger would trade
their best set of clubs for that score. Age didn’t dim Pete’s
enthusiasm or skill at his favorite game: he won the B&W Gold League
championship six times, including a final triumph at age 68 when he
was the oldest linksman to turn that trick. He also won the 72 hole
tournament at Rolling Acres at age 64. A Pittsburgh native,
Pete came to Beaver County to work at the Curtiss-Wright plant in Vanport
and won its first and only plant title in 1941. He had gotten his
start in golf as a teenage caddy at the Shannopin Country Club and
set course records at Blackhawk, Ohioview, Raccoon, and Coraopolis
Heights. His Blackhawk record of 63 was set in 1953 on the long
course, which has since been shortened. His 1958 record at
Coraopolis Heights was 61 and included seven birdies and an eagle.
He broke the course record at Raccoon twice, hitting a 65 in 1962
and a 64 in 1965. Pete had the dubious distinction of almost
single handedly wrecking the Beaver County Industrial Golf League
during the four years of its existence by winning 37 of its 40
matches while playing for the B&W team. He later starred for the
Rochester Turners golf team and helped it win a national title.