Meet Sue Zankowski

October 12, 2009

Dataw: Congratulations on your Dataw Island Ladies Club Championships. Tell us more about the championships and has anyone else accomplished your feat of seven consecutive titles?

Sue: It was a great thrill to win the 2009 Dataw Island Ladies Club Championship. Winning my seventh consecutive tournament (from 2003 to 2009) has been a big thrill in my life. Another Dataw member, Bernie Messina, also has seven titles but not in a row like mine.

D: What is your favorite memory from any of the championships?

S: To have all my friends (especially my twin sister and husband) watch me win! I love the fact that people come out to watch the tournament and support the golfers for reaching the finals of the Club Championship.

D: What is the strongest part of your game?

S: My iron shots, especially around the greens.

D: How do you prepare for the Club Championships?

S: I work extra hard on my short game and then worry about the whole tournament.

D: Do you compete in tournaments other than the Dataw Island Club Championship?

S: Yes but since I work full-time, I haven’t been able to participate very often. Last year, I came in third in a South Carolina tournament at Hampton Hall and five years ago, I won the South Carolina Tournament of Champions tournament up in Pawleys Island, S.C.

D: How long have you been playing golf?

S: I started playing golf at around 14 years of age and continued until around the age of 21. I took a hiatus and returned to the game about 25 years ago.

D: How did you get introduced to golf?

S: My mom wanted to learn how to play golf since our Dad played. She thought it would be neat to take golf vacations with him once he retired. So she took my twin sister, me and our younger sister to Springdale Golf Club, in our hometown of Princeton, New Jersey. She taught us the rules of golf and the etiquette (very important as a teenager to make sure we didn’t commit a faux pas) and the club pro taught us about the skills of the game. We quickly started hitting it longer than our Mom but she was always down the middle of the fairway - plop, plop, plop!! Dad was always our biggest cheerleader.

D: When did you move to Dataw?

S: My husband, John, and I moved to Dataw, full time, in September 2005 when he retired. But, we bought our land and golf membership back in 1999.

D: What is your favorite aspect of living at Dataw?

S: The people! It is such a great community with everyone ready to help out anytime and do anything necessary to help your neighbor! Of course, I love our golf courses and the people who have committed to make Dataw a wonderful place to live.

D: What do you do when not playing golf?

S: I work at Munich Re America Reinsurance Company. It is a full-time job but I work out of my home and travel to our client’s locations. I am often away two out of four weeks a month. I also enjoy cooking gourmet meals and reading mysteries when off the golf course.

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