Family and Golf: Danna Raube, A Bounce Back Champion

Winning three club championships in six years is an impressive feat. 

But when you dig a little deeper into Danna Raube’s story, her latest title to qualify for the PGA National Club Championship at Pinehurst Resort exemplifies how the game can provide so much more than competition and fun. 

Raube joined Westhaven Golf Club six years ago and won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018, but was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer in 2019 and had a complete thyroid removal. 

In a time of need, her club was right by her side, providing her food, love, and support. Her club and the LPGA Amateur Association truly became family and provided a silver lining on one of the most difficult times of her life. 

“During that time, the LPGA Amateur Network and my local club were there for me every day,” Raube shared in a feature as a part of the LPGA Drive On for the Future Series in 2019. “To have a national network of women to pick you up, it’s just made it all worth it... It did make me feel like I had an extra family.”

After having 59 lymph nodes and the right side of her vocal cords removed, Raube did a photoshoot for Golf Magazine just eight days later that was set up by the apparel director at Westhaven. Later that year, she was featured in the LPGA Drive on for the Future Series

Raube’s recovery culminated in 2020 with her third club championship. Not long after receiving — and drinking from — her glass trophy, it was shattered driving around the course to watch the finale of the men’s competition. 

Word spread fast and Raube became the Club Champion who “shattered her dreams.” 

For Raube, there is comedy and optimism in everything after what she has battled. And the trophy continues to serve as a symbol of her recovery, proudly displayed in a cardboard box in her garage with a bottle of glue beside it.