Sunshine transplant

Carolyn Creekmore lived in Arkansas and Texas long enough to have her golf exploits saluted by the sport’s halls of fame in both states. But the 2004 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion made the move to Florida nearly four years ago. “I woke up one morning about two years before I moved and thought, ‘Are you going to die in Dallas?’” said Creekmore, 71. “Because if you are not going to die in Dallas, you’d might as well move now while you are young enough to make friends, get a life and do some stuff.” Creekmore, a native of Fort Smith, Arkansas, came to the Sunshine State after 30-plus years in Texas with her own form of Vitamin D: her humor and outlook on life.

The transplantation was not only about her but her family, too. She had two sisters living in Ponte Vedra Beach, where her family had vacationed since the 1970s, and a brother and her stepmom residing there part-time. She also brought her golf talent to northeast Florida with a résumé of success in high-level amateur competition that led to induction into the Arkansas and T...