Longtime golf writer Craig Dolch honored with the Tim Rosaforte Distinguished Journalist Award

Dolch covered golf for more than three decades and was close friend to Rosaforte

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida – Craig Dolch, who covered golf at the Palm Beach Post from 1986-2008 and has written more than 5,000 stories on the sport in his career, has been the named the 2024 recipient of the Tim Rosaforte Distinguished Journalist Award.

The award, presented at The Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, salutes the 65-year-old Dolch’s journalistic achievements with an honor named after his close friend.

“It means so much to me to be recognized with an award named after Tim Rosaforte,” Dolch said. “Not only was he a mentor, but a close friend who helped my career and personal life tremendously. Any time you’re mentioned in the same sentence as Rosie, that’s a wonderful thing.”

The perpetual award was created in 2021 by former tournament Executive Director Ken Kennerly and a newly-formed committee, and named after Rosaforte, the first recipient, who lost his battle with Alzheimer's Disease on January 11, 2022. Rosaforte covered The Honda Classic, now the Cognizant Classic, for more than three decades as part of his illustrious career, first at the Sun Sentinel and Palm Beach Post, then as a writer for Sports Illustrated and Golf World and lastly as a broadcaster for NBC and the Golf Channel.

In addition to Rosaforte, longtime golf writers Larry Dorman and Randy Mell have received the award. Dolch, who has been enshrined in both the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame and the South Florida PGA Hall of Fame, met Rosaforte early in his career in 1981 when he took a job at the Tampa Tribune and moved into an apartment where Rosaforte coincidentally was the one moving out. When Dolch moved to Palm Beach a year later to work for the Palm Beach Times and later the Palm Beach Post, the two reunited and became close friends. Dolch appeared on the Golf Channel many times with Rosaforte.

Rosaforte hosted a fundraiser for Dolch’s son Eric after Eric almost died after contracting encephalitis in 2005. Rosaforte put the entire event together, inviting legends such as Jack and Barbara Nicklaus, Nick Price, Jesper Parnevik, Olin Browne, JoAnne Carner, Tom Fazio, Dana and Brett Quigley and many others. Since 2006, Dolch has been executive director of the Eric Dolch Children’s Encephalitis Foundation that has raised more than $100,000 for South Florida charities. In 2014, Golfweek named Dolch its Father of the Year.

“Tim always taught you to do things the proper way, whether it was getting multiple sources for stories, be transparent about your coverage and look professional when you’re on the job,” said Dolch, who has been a freelance writer and broadcaster since 2008. “There have been so many times in the last two years I wanted to call Timmy to hear his thoughts on the current state of professional golf. But he lives on through this and many other awards and the impact he had on so many journalists’ lives. I’m sure I join Larry and Randy in saying having our name on the plaque for the Tim Rosaforte Distinguished Journalist Award is the highlight of our professional careers.”