On Friday, November 16, the Florida State Golf Association will honor the 2007 FSGA Hall of Fame Inductees at the Annual Dinner at Interlachen Country Club in Winter Park. Cal Korf and Jack Veghte were selected as the third class of inductees into the FSGA Hall of Fame.
After serving 25 years in the army and acting as General Manager for three army golf courses in Hawaii, Cal Korf moved to Sarasota. In 1981, he became involved with the FSGA working the summer events and quickly was hired as the Executive Director in 1982. At first, Cal was the only FSGA staff member running events and rating courses. In 1983, Florida was selected as a test state for the GHIN Handicap System which meant Cal also had to promote and service GHIN clubs. Cal was on the road a lot in the early days educating and recruiting new volunteers to help with conducting qualifiers and ratings. It was two years before he could even hire another staff member. Cal was busy working seven days a week conducting USGA and FSGA events, performing course ratings, preparing mailings and paperwork and servicing GHIN clubs. Under Cal’s direction brought many new tournaments to the state including the Mid-Senior, Mid-Amateur and the first-ever US Open Sectional Qualifying to Florida at Bay Hill. With all these new events, Cal was establishing relationships with the top clubs in the state. As the FSGA grew, Cal was able to hire a small staff. In 1984, Florida GolfWeek named Cal Golf Executive of the Year. Cal served the FSGA for 15 years and retired at the age of 65. Cal met his wife Karen at a tournament where she was the calligrapher and they now reside in Nokomis, Florida.
Born and raised in New York, Jack Veghte was introduced to golf by caddying for his father at the young age of 12. He quickly took up the game and began playing competitively. In 1953, he won the New York State High School Golf Championship and earned a golf scholarship to Florida State University. At 22, Jack won the New York State Amateur Championship and also graduated from FSU with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. After graduation, Jack remained in Florida and settled in Clearwater to open an insurance agency. He continued playing golf winning the 1968 Florida State Amateur Championship at the age of 33 and proceeded to capture the title again in 1970 and 1975. Jack also won three Florida State Senior Championships, 1991, 1993 and 1999, and the 1991 and 1992 Senior Four-Ball Championship with partner Bo Williams. Jack was runner-up twice in the Southern Amateur and finished second in the State Amateur five times. He also qualified for the US Amateur twelve times advancing to the quarterfinals in 1975 and qualified for the US Senior Amateur five times also with a quarterfinal best finish in 1990. Overall, Jack has won 165 tournaments, including Gasparilla five times, and set five course records. In 1983, Jack was inducted into the Florida State University Athletics Hall of Fame. Jack served two terms as FSGA President in the 1980's as well as served on the Board of the Southern Golf Association and Society of Seniors. Jack was also involved with the USGA as a member of the Sectional Affairs Committee. Jack and his wife Barbara still live in Clearwater.
These two gentlemen join the following individuals already inducted into the Florida Golf Hall of Fame: AC Ulmer, Jim Callender, Charlie Bedford, Carl Dann Jr., Bo Williams, Don Bisplinghoff, Bob Murphy, Gary Koch, Bob Rankin and Bill Baker.
Organized in 1913, the Florida State Golf Association is a not-for-profit organization that governs amateur golf in the state of Florida. In addition to conducting 25 championships for amateur golfers in the state, the FSGA is responsible for more than 40 qualifying tournaments for USGA National Championships. The FSGA also maintains the USGA Handicap System, performs course ratings throughout Florida and assists in junior programs and scholarships.
