7 FUN FACTS
About RGI Creator,
Dori O’Rourke
FUN FACT 1 – Lee Elder
One of Dori’s favorite pictures of Lee and her playing golf together.
Dori’s stepdad is the great, barrier-breaking PGA Golf Legend, Lee Elder. Lee is most well-known as the first black man to play in the Masters and is therefore sometimes referred to as “The Jackie Robinson of golf.”
Lee was honored at the 2021 Masters as an Honorary Starter with friends and fellow golf legends, Gary Player, and Jack Nicklaus.
Lee passed away Thanksgiving weekend 2021 at age 87. Dori was very happy that she had the chance to enjoy Thanksgiving with Lee and her Mom that year, and that she had the tremendous pleasure of having Lee in the family for 30 years.
Another one of Dori’s favorite photos of Lee. Originally used for an article about Lee in Golf Digest.
Lee and Dori having fun in Northern Ireland. They were there for the Senior British Open. He was posing like the Big Kahuna.
FUN FACT 2 – Moe Norman
Dori had the great pleasure of watching Canadian Golf Legend, “Pipeline Moe” hit balls on 10 different occasions. To this day, she’s never seen anyone who could hit the ball as straight and solid as Moe could (and she’s watched a lot of awesome PGA and LPGA golf legends hit balls).
Moe and Dori got to be friends. She’ll never forget when he asked her to be his escort for one of his amazing PGA Show demonstrations. Of course, she immediately said YES!
Her favorite time was when it was just the two of them talking together at the back of the driving range while he was warming up.
If you do a search on google, you’ll see he’s known as “the greatest ball striker of all time.” After witnessing it for herself, Dori wholeheartedly agrees!
PHOTO CHALLENGE: This is a picture of the great Moe Norman hitting balls. He was one of the only golf professionals that other PGA Tour Players would stop to watch. Admiring the straightness, solidness, and uniqueness of his swing are (from left to right): Fred Couples, Ben Crenshaw, Brad Faxon, Nick Price, and Nick Faldo.
This is a picture of Moe and Dori talking on a driving range in Florida while he was hitting balls. There was a small group of teaching professionals there admiring his unbelievably straight and solid ball striking prowess.
FUN FACT 3 – Natural Athlete
Here is Dori playing tennis as a youngster. She took it up as a Junior in High School and became ranked as one of the top junior players in Northern California. Thankfully, that helped her receive a tennis scholarship to UOP.
Dori has been a natural athlete her whole life. A good friend of hers used to call her a dog because she loved chasing balls so much – softballs, basketballs, tennis balls, golf balls, soccer balls, etc.
Dori took up golf as a junior in college while on a tennis scholarship at the University of the Pacific in Stockton. The 2-week golf class was a requirement of her Sports Medicine major.
Dori got bit by the golf bug that following summer and turned in her tennis scholarship her senior year to focus on golf. Dori became a 3-handicap within 2 years and went on to turn pro shortly thereafter.
FUN FACT 4 – Favorite Sport
Dori’s inspiration – Grace Larsen of the San Diego Splash, 80+ women’s basketball team (although most of them are over 95 now). Grace didn’t take up basketball until the age of 78!
Grace turned 99 in January this year (2025), and Dori loves getting to watch her play on Sundays! It’s true to say, “It was through Grace that Dori discovered Senior Women’s basketball at age 48.”
Dori loves golf! She thinks it’s one of the greatest games ever created – for many reasons. People who know her well though, know that her favorite sport to play is basketball! She’s played it since she was a kid. In fact, before choosing to go to UOP, Dori made sure that the tennis coach would support her playing on the basketball team, too.
Dori played on the 55+ San Diego Seabyrd’s women’s basketball team in the 2019 National Senior Games (pictured on the left below). They became the top 55+ women’s team in the US after winning GOLD.
Dori’s new team, the 60+ San Diego Avalanche recently won the 2024 California State Senior Championships, which qualified her and her team to go for GOLD again this July at the upcoming 2025 National Senior Games in Des Moines, Iowa.
The 55+ San Diego Seabyrd’s win GOLD at the National Senior Games in 2019.
The 50+ San Diego Avalanche win GOLD at the Huntsman World Senior Games in 2011.
FUN FACT 5 – Ambidextrous
Dori is very ambidextrous. She became a switch hitter as a softball player. And, when she sprained her left ankle playing soccer many years ago, she started playing golf left-handed (since she couldn’t shift her weight to the left to play right-handed).
For years now, when playing in competitions, Dori has taken full swings right-handed and putted and chipped left-handed, since she believes her left-handed short game is better.
For fun, back in her 30’s, Dori played 3 rounds completely left-handed and broke 100 the 3rd time out.
FUN FACT 6 – Double Gloves
Dori likes to wear a golf glove on both hands. When people ask her about it, she usually says it’s because she’s trying to be cool like the baseball pros. Or she may say that her glove sponsor can sell double the gloves that way.
Seriously though, it all started when she was playing golf on a very hot day (many years ago), and her right hand was slipping on the club. She had a right-handed glove in her bag for when she played lefty. So, she put both gloves on and she’s been playing that way ever since.
As you can see, Dori also likes to use what is commonly called a “baseball grip” or “10-finger grip.” She has a fun story about that she often shares during her group golf classes.
FUN FACT 7 – Animals
Dori’s baby girl Charli, all warm and cozy.
Dori LOVES animals! She’s had numerous dogs and cats over the years, and she used to have a pet cockatiel that lived with her for 15 years. His name was Sir John. He flew to Dori on command, and they whistled sitting on the dock of the bay together.
Right now, Dori is co-mom to a beautiful 20-pound baby girl named Charli. Charli was rescued from a shelter when she was 1 and 1/2, and she celebrated her 13th birthday in January this year. Even though she’s an adult now, she’ll always be Dori’s baby.
She’s a mix of a Havanese and a Shih Tzu. So, people sometimes refer to her as a “Hava-Shiht” for short :).
(Havanese are originally from Havana, Cuba, hence the name. They get along great with people and animals and are sturdier than Shih Tzu’s, having a more barrel-like chest.)
Ain’t life grand!