In 2026, We the Italians celebrates “Two Anniversaries, One Heart” – the 250th anniversary of the United States and the 80th anniversary of the Italian Republic. This article is part of the “Happy Birthday USA: Unsung Italian Heroes” project, in which we share how, in every corner of the United States, an Italian has made a positive impact on their local community.

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The Italian name engraved in the history of Palm Beach golf

Palm Beach County is home to an astonishing 150 golf courses. Behind the area’s passion for this quintessentially American game, there is also an Italian name: Toney Penna, a professional golfer, designer, and sporting equipment manufacturer. His full name is still engraved on the metal of prestigious golf clubs that remain highly sought after by collectors and enthusiasts. Born in Naples on January 15, 1908, Penna brought to South Florida a distinctive personal style that combined Italian craftsmanship, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit.

After emigrating to the United States as a child, he grew up in Harrison, New York, and entered the world of golf from the bottom, working as a caddie. From those humble beginnings, he made his way onto the professional circuit and recorded five tournament victories, four of which are now recognized by the PGA Tour. In 1938, he finished third at the U.S. Open, and in 1947 he placed eighth at the Masters Tournament. A young Italian immigrant had established himself in one of the most competitive environments in American sports.

Penna also made his mark through his entrepreneurial and technical abilities. For more than 30 years, he worked with the MacGregor Golf Company, assisting some of the game’s leading professionals and developing new solutions for golf clubs and accessories – many of which still bear his signature today. He held four patents related to golf club design. He studied weight, balance, shape, and the response of materials with the precision of an Italian craftsman. He also introduced innovative colors and aesthetic details, helping transform sporting equipment into something distinctive, elegant, and immediately recognizable.

Around 1946, Penna moved to Delray Beach. His home stood along the Intracoastal Waterway, across from that of celebrated Scottish golfer Tommy Armour. According to a local story that is still remembered today, the two champions enjoyed hitting golf balls from their respective properties, sending them across the waterway. Penna also frequented the Delray Beach Golf Club, contributing to the prestige and golfing culture of the area.

He later moved to Jupiter, where he founded his own company and manufactured golf clubs under his own name. His connection to Jupiter is still visible today in Toney Penna Drive, a street bearing his name where his factory once stood.

Penna lived in the quiet and exclusive Jupiter Colony neighborhood. Stacy Sacco, the daughter of one of his neighbors, still remembers the walks her father, Penna, and singer Perry Como used to take along the beach.

“They were a golfer, a pilot, and a singer... Toney would come to my dad’s house and tap his golf club at the entrance to call him. He used the club as a walking stick. Then they would go behind his house and have fun hitting golf balls into the ocean while drinking a cocktail! I still have the clubs he gave me, signed by him, in my garage. He was straightforward, old-school, and a lot of fun.”

Penna helped make Palm Beach County not only a destination for playing golf, but also a center of innovation, manufacturing, and sporting culture with an unmistakably Italian name. He died in 1995 in Palm Beach Gardens.

In 2018, The Palm Beach Post published a profile of him with the headline, “Who was Toney Penna, the last Italian-born golfer to win a PGA tournament?” The occasion was Francesco Molinari’s victory. At 35, Molinari became only the second Italian-born golfer to achieve such a victory after Penna, approximately 70 years later.

Toney Penna clubs are no longer manufactured, but they remain a tangible reminder of an authentic unsung Italian hero – a Neapolitan immigrant who, through craftsmanship, imagination, and entrepreneurial drive, left a lasting mark on the sporting culture of Palm Beach County.