Hall of Fame

Roslyn Swift was born in Great Neck, Long Island.

She learned to play at the Glen Oaks Country Club in her late teens, and soon after became a force on the Metropolitan New York golf scene.

Her father, a dress-maker and avid golfer, told her early on when she expressed interest in playing the game “You learn to play golf on the practice tee. Not the course!”. She spent month after month with the club professional hitting shots before she could step foot on the golf course. 

Her first major tournament was a surprising victory during the 1947 Metropolitan Junior Championship, since it was only her third official 18-hole round played.

She attended Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida and was a member of their women’s golf team, helping them to a team title at the Women’s National Intercollegiate Championship in 1950.

After graduating from Rollins, she returned home to Long Island and started working with golf professional “Wild Bill” Melhorn. He called her the “finest natural player” he had ever coached, and said of her, “She is capable of becoming the greatest woman golfer we have seen in many a year.”

Berger advanced to her first Metropolitan Women’s Amateur final in 1952 and lost to Marge Mason of Ridgewood, NJ.

In 1953, she won the Met Women’s Golf Association (MWGA) title at Metropolis Country Club.

Later that summer, she claimed both her first Long Island (WLIGA) Women’s Amateur title at Nassau Country Club (by a margin of 11 and 9), her first New York State Women’s Amateur title in July. She was the first to hold all three titles simultaneusly.

In the 1953 NYS final against Mrs. Mortimer May, she was trailing 1 down after 18 holes at Hempstead Golf Club, then went 3-under par in her final sixteen holes to win, 3 and 2.

She married Maxon A. Berger in April of 1954 at the Hollywood Beach Hotel in Florida, and decided they would move back to New York while spending winters in Hollywood, Fla, where her parents spent part of the year when they weren’t in Long Island. 

They newlyweds moved to the Buffalo area (where Berger was from) in Eggertsville and joined the now defunct Westwood Country Club. She won Westwood’s club championship in nine consecutive years from 1959-1967, including a course record score of 71 in the 1960 tournament. After 1967, she decided to retire from the club championship going forward so that others could have a chance to win, which demonstrated the outstanding character she had. The longtime Buffalo club closed in 2014.

She claimed the Women’s Buffalo District Golf Association Amateur title in 1954 during her first attempt, defeating Mrs. Sam D. Wetlauffer of the host club, 2 and 1 in a 36-hole finale at the Country Club of Buffalo.

She won the championship a total of seven times, including six years in a row from 1961-1966. 

In her 1966 victory, she defeated that year’s NYS Women’s Amateur champion and host club player Lancy Smith (2015 NYSGA Hall of Fame) in the final match at Park Country Club, 1 up.

As if her seven WBDGA titles weren’t enough, she also captured eight Women’s Golf Association of Western NY titles, including in 1954, 1957-58, 1962-66. The trophy was retired to “Cookie”, and she donated a new one the following year, deciding not to defend in 1967. Her final two WNY wins were over Jean Trainor, in ‘65-66.

She qualified for a total of nine U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships, with her best finish in 1954 when she made the quarterfinals. She also participated in five U.S. Women’s Opens from 1957 to 1965. She advanced through the cut in ‘57, and finished 31st at Winged Foot’s famed East Course.

She was a member of the USGA Women’s Committee in 1968-69.

She claimed her second New York State Women’s Amateur title in 1967 at the Park Country Club (over a decade after her first). After claiming stroke play medalist honors, she became the first to also win the title, defeating Mary Dwyer, 4 and 3 in 36 holes. Besides her two state wins, she was also a runner-up to Mrs. Albert Bower in 1964, and the qualifying medalist four other times.

Berger resided in Florida during her later years, and played on a regular basis as a scratch golfer. In April of 1998, she set a new women’s course record (66) at the Diplomat Golf and Country Club in Hallandale. Overall, she set the women’s course record at ten different golf courses over her playing career.

In 2000, she was inducted into the Western New York PGA’s Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.

Cookie Berger’s Career Highlights