From Philadelphia to Vero Beach: Diane Kolo's Life at Bent Pine

Diane Kolo didn't slow down when she put away her flight attendant wings. She just moved to Vero Beach and played more golf.

She plays three to four days a week, serves as president of Bent Pine Golf Club's Ladies 18 Holers, captains the club's VAMP travel team, sits on the Greens and Golf Committees, and just won the Gorman Cup with her partner Bonnie Britt. She is also, technically, retired.

"Life's tough," she says, laughing.

Golf has been part of her life for more than forty years. She picked up the game to spend more time with her husband Don, fell in love with it almost immediately, and never looked back. She played nearly every course in the Philadelphia area, competed on club teams, and logged rounds on layovers from Bermuda to cities she can barely count anymore, while flying internationally for American Airlines for decades.

Diane once played with a single-digit handicap. While that number has inched up as seasons have passed, she now works with Bent Pine's teaching staff and her short game, she notes, is still very strong. The competitive instincts haven't gone anywhere either, as anyone who watched her and her partner win the Gorman Cup this season could tell you.

The cup is awarded to the winner of a season-long better-ball match play event but for Diane, it’s another reason to share rounds with friends and make new ones.

"It's a game you can play forever," she says. "You don't play like you used to, but you get over the ego thing. You're still out there with friends having a good time."

Finding the Right Club

When Diane and her husband Don relocated to Vero Beach and started playing their way around the area's courses, they knew what they were looking for. Their club in Philadelphia had started strong: golf-centric, welcoming, the kind of place where the game came first. Over time it had shifted toward pools and tennis courts and pavilion events, and the golf culture that had drawn them in quietly faded.

"I was looking for more along the lines of what we originally had," she says. "Which is what Bent Pine is. It's very golf-centric. And everybody probably takes their game too seriously, but don't all golfers?"

After one too many slow rounds on public courses, they joined Bent Pine in January of 2022. Within weeks, Diane had played in the Partner Better Ball with someone she'd never met. That woman is still one of her closest friends. A few days later, someone invited her to join the Tuesday group.

"From that point on, I was just in," she says. "I think that's also how I ended up as secretary the next year."

That secretary position turned into a four-year commitment, from secretary, to vice president, president, and outgoing board member of the 18 Holers. It was a trajectory she did not entirely see coming. "Little did I know," she says, with a laugh indicating she’s made peace with it.

What Women's Golf Actually Looks Like At Bent Pine

If you're a serious female golfer evaluating a club, you're not just reading the brochure. You're looking for evidence. Diane Kolo is that evidence.

The Ladies 18 Holers play every Thursday, with additional groups on Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The competitive calendar runs from November through April and includes the Pine Cone, the January Cup, the Partner Better Ball, a member-guest, and a rotating collection of mixed and women's-only events that seem to multiply each season. There's a Par 3 tournament the week of the Masters and the Hangover Open on New Year's Day that doesn't tee off until 11:30. The club also has a Three Jills and a Jack event and a scramble with the staff.

"This year there are so many events, I don’t have time to do anything else," Diane says. That is not a complaint.

The competitive depth is real. Bent Pine's women's roster currently includes several single-digit handicappers. Low gross is always part of the format. "You don't attract that many low-handicap women if you don't offer serious competitive golf," she says.

Then there’s VAMP, or the Vero Area Match Play competition, which pits Bent Pine's women against teams from roughly ten clubs across the area. She has been the team captain, handed it off, and recently had it handed back to her. "Our team doesn’t always do great," she admits, "but we have really good hors d'oeuvres and cocktails afterward. It's all about the fun.”

The instruction staff adds another layer. Teaching pros David Glenz and Wendy Ferrara split their year between New Jersey and Bent Pine, returning each November. Dave has been rated one of the top 100 coaches in the country. A lot of the women work with Wendy. "She's a fabulous pro," Diane says. "She's really improved everybody's game."

Competition and Camaraderie

The Gorman Cup is named for Bent Pine's longtime third head professional, Pat Gorman, who spent 37 years at the club before retiring. The season-long better-ball match play event is seeded by handicap, and this past season Diane and her partner Bonnie Britt captured the title.

Sixteen teams. Four matches. Including, somewhere along the way, the team that had won it the two previous years.

“It was a good win," Diane says, with a smile of satisfaction.

By the final round, there was a gallery following them around the course. When it was over, Diane and Bonnie tried to buy drinks for the losing team, but their defeated foes insisted on paying the tab. "It's just everybody goes out to have a good time, win, lose, or draw," she says. "But yeah, it was fun to win."

If you're wondering whether Bent Pine is a place where a serious female golfer can find real competition, a genuine community, and an instruction team that will take her game seriously, Diane Kolo is happy to answer that question.

"I can't say enough about the membership. I really can't,” she says. “I just think they're awesome."