11th Delaware Super-Senior Championship: Round 2

Hall takes title at former home

DOVER, Del. – Mike Hall’s Delaware legacy has been solidified for quite some time. 

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The three-time (1981, 1985, 1988) Delaware Amateur champion, 1991 Delaware Open and 2000 Delaware Mid-Open champion, has been a household name ever since he started playing golf at Garrisons Lake Golf Club. 

His family moved from North Carolina to Smyrna, Del. when he was five.

Hall, of Wild Quail Golf & Country Club, added to his Delaware legacy by capturing the 11th Super-Senior Championship at Maple Dale Country Club (par 72, 6,027 yards), his former club.

Liz DiNicola of Plantation Lakes Golf & Country Club won the Women’s Division on the second playoff hole and Paul Hufschmidt of the host club won the Legends’ Division.

Hall is the first champion of the Delaware Amateur or Delaware Open to win the Delaware Super-Senior.

“In Delaware, the golf tournaments are a lot of fun because everyone knows everyone,” Hall, 68, of Camden, Del., said. “It is a small state. At this point I’m sure I’ve played every course in the state and have had the privilege to win at a lot of the courses whether in club invitationals or Delaware events. I look at all of the friendships that have developed over the years. Winning is very satisfying.”

Hall’s two-round total of 2-over-par 146 (74-72) was good enough for a one-shot victory over Ocean City Golf Club’s Bryan Taylor. Round One leader David West, of Philadelphia Publinks Golf Association, shot a final-round 80 to finish third.

“Everything about Maple Dale was familiar to me,” Hall said. “How the holes looked and how the greens looked. The hole locations were a bit tougher than I remember and the greens were really good. I didn’t make much of anything for two days. I struck the ball so well. I didn’t really feel like I was in the tournament until later in the round.”

His championship push began with consecutive birdies on Nos. 14 (par 4, 339 yards) and 15 (par 4, 338 yards).

He dialed in a 9-iron from 135 yards to eight feet on No. 14 and pierced a 7-iron from 135 yards to 10 feet on the next.

With two holes to play, the final pairing of West, Taylor and Hall were tied. After West hit two tee shots out of bounds on No. 17 (par 4, 324 yards) and Taylor made bogey, Hall headed to the closer (par 5, 503 yards) with a one-shot lead after a two-putt par. When Taylor missed a 15-footer to tie on the final hole, Hall tapped in for par to secure victory.

Golf has taken a backseat for Hall due to an ailing back. He spent a majority of his recent years on the injured list and away from golf. Back injuries can be debilitating with no hope. Hall found his hope late in 2025.

“I had given up my Maple Dale membership because I just wasn’t playing enough,” Hall said. “My back was really bothering me. Then I had a couple of procedures late last year. It was an ablation. They fry some of the nerves back there to take the pain away, and it worked perfectly.”

The quiet killer smiles all throughout his trips to the golf course. Not because he knows how good he is, but because losing golf gave him a much stronger appreciation for it.

“When you get in competition, if you were in there before, the feeling sort of comes back to you,” Hall said. “One thing that helped was having our Senior Club Championship at Wild Quail two weeks ago. I won it in a really tight match in the final over Pem Rosal. I birdied the last two holes to win. Playing in that allowed me to draw on those nerves and feelings today. I am happy to be able to get the job done.”

GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The organization’s 345 Member Clubs and 140,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.