The Democrat Golf Tourney has been blessed with some accomplished individual players over the years – winners of college, state and regional championships and numerous appearances in national events. These players have elevated the status of the tournament to one that is sold out every year and now draws players and teams from all over.

Obviously, if you have great players, you will have great teams. But it also takes a special chemistry, patience, trust, understanding of match play and overall competitive edge for a team to win the Democrat and win it multiple times. 

The Democrat’s two most decorated players – Ken Cohen and Sean Semenetz – who have combined to win an incredible 18 of the 42 Democrats played, teamed up in 2014 but did not win, losing in the finals to the father-son team of Bill and Rich Elliott. 

So a great team is more than just putting great  players together. That being said, who are the greatest teams in Democrat history...

1. The top spot has to go to Sean Semenetz and Joe Winski, winners of eight Democrat titles – double that of the next closest team. Their recipe for sustained success has been relatively simple: take the best player in the field in Sean, a regional amateur champion in Philadelphia, put him with his childhood friend Joe Winski, who flashes immense power and a deft putting touch while playing with a lot of freedom, and it’s a lethal combination.

They have taken on all challengers over the years, winning in dominating fashion with a barrage of birdies and gutting out tough matches with timely pars and clutch shots.

 They have never lost in the finals and it’s likely they will ultimately win 10 or more Democrat titles – they are still just in their mid 30s. 

2. Ken Cohen and Barry Winter. This duo combined for four titles, played in six finals in their nine appearances as a team and dominated the 90s. Cohen was a New Jersey Mid-Amateur champion and Winter a very low handicap player. 

The two mercilessly hit a lot of fairways and greens and wore teams down with consistency and very few mistakes. They were tournament-tested players who knew how to handle the pressure and thrived on the competition. 

Like Semenetz and Winski, they won matches in styles that were called for – ripping off birdies or grinding out pars. In one memorable finals in 1997, they played 9-under par to defeat a team with a very talented college player from Georgia (Paul Davis) who went six-under on his own ball.

3. Josh Goldstein/Mike Culclasure and Mark Etess/Mitch Etess. This is a tie for the third best Democrat team ever. Both won two titles together in their only two appearances as a team. So they never lost as a team. Goldstein, a former winner of the MGA Publinx Championship and multiple USGA qualifier, is another one of those acclaimed players of prominence who participated in the Democrat and was simply better than the rest of the players in the field. He also won with his father, Arthur.

The Etess brothers were unbeatable the first two years the Democrat was ever held. They obviously had a home course edge at Grossinger’s where their family owned the hotel. But they would have won anywhere those first two years. 

Mark was an accomplished amateur and Mitchell was a good player in his own right. The putted the Grossinger’s greens better than anyone and barely broke a sweat in winning the first two Democrats. Mitchell would go on to win with Ken Cohen in 1994 and also played in two other finals, the last being in 2021 with Cohen – 39 years after his first finals appearance (a record that will likely stand in perpetuity). 

4. Billy Phillips and Gregg Semenetz Sr. - One of only three teams in Democrat history to win back-to-back titles (2001-2002). Perhaps, the Democrat’s most consistent team for the past 23 years – never missing the Championship Flight over that time and also playing in three other finals. In addition, Semenetz made another final playing with his son Gregg Jr. in 1999 and Phillips did the same in 1992 playing with Eric Williams. Ironically, both lost to Cohen-Winter. Excellent putters who navigated the Villa Roma greens better than any team.

5. David Solomon-Jack Jordan. Though they only won one title together (1988 at Grossinger’s), they played in six finals, tied with Cohen-Winter for second most. Two very good players who, like Cohen-Winter, hit a lot of fairways/greens and made few mistakes. Jordan won another title at Grossinger’s with Cohen in 1987 and made the finals in 1984 with Rich Farquhar. His eight finals individually tie him for third all-time with Winski, behind Cohen (15) and Sean Semenetz (10).

  Honorable Mention – Kort Wheeler and Walter Herzog. Winners in 2015, this team has three finals appearances. Wheeler was also in back-to-back finals in 1993 and 1994, winning in 1993 with Robert Friedman and losing in 1994 to Cohen-Etess. Herzog won his other title as a teenager playing with long-hitting Gerry Garber in 1995.