Heard on the Green

LADIES' FIRST. The Cruise and Travel Connection will sponsor Aug. 9 the first-ever, one-day Women's Golf Clinic in conjunction with the 10th annual Nike Ozarks Open at Highland Springs. Registration begins at 10:30 a.m. on the main level of the Highland Springs Country Club. The $25 registration fee includes golfing instruction by local golf personality Debbie Williams and PGA pro Cathy Reynolds, luncheon at the country club and a chance to win a secret getaway for two from Funjet Vacations. For more information, contact Jill Williams, 863-7997, or the Nike Ozarks Open office, 887-3400.

THE HOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS. Registration is ongoing for the Council of Churches of the Ozarks Benefit Golf Tournament, set for Aug. 23 at Highland Springs. The four-person scramble will tee off at 1:30 p.m. and award an "Antique Golfer" traveling trophy for the championship team and individual trophies for A, B and senior flights. Four hole-in-one prizes will be provided by Vincel Buick, and the event includes a Lucky 13-Wheel of Fortune Game, unlimited mulligans, Balloon Game and more. Registration fees, which include goodie bags and lunch, are $200 per person, $800 per team and corporate packages are available for $1,000. Sponsored by Keiser Equipment Co., KTXR, KWTO and KOLR, proceeds will support cooperative ecumenical outreach through the Council of Churches. For more information, call Trudy at 862-3586, ext. 3009.

TEE FOR TECH. The Springfield Public Schools Foundation's fourth annual Technology Golf Tournament, July 19 at Highland Springs Country Club, raised $30,000 to fund computer technology in the schools, according to Paula Hopkins, foundation executive director. The event, hosted by American National Property and Casualty Co., brought in 144 golfers. A sports auction and informal banquet followed the tournament. "The cash from this goes into the bigger pot for our telethon," Hopkins said. The money raised by the tournament will be used to help fund foundation grants to local schools. The Telethon for Technology itself will be held Oct. 14. Last year, the SPS Foundation gave out 13 grants to 11 schools totaling $61,000. "Teachers and principals have to apply for the grant," Hopkins said. "The board for the SPS foundation will make the final decision. This year, Hopkins said the group hopes to give out between $80,000 and $100,000 in grants.

LOVE OF GOLF AND LEARNING. The second annual Connie Morris Memorial Golf Tournament, benefiting Ozarks Public Television, will be held Aug. 27 at Rivercut Golf Course, sponsored by the Morris family. "Connie was a great athlete who excelled at many sports, but golf was her great love," said husband Jim Morris. "She didn't have the opportunities for continuing education, so the support of Ozarks Public Television is her way of helping to ensure educational programming for our future generations." Connie Morris believed anyone could play golf if they worked hard enough, and she proved her point by winning the City of Springfield Championship seven times in the 1960s. Most recently, she was Missouri State Senior Amateur Champion 1989-1990. The memorial event includes a golf clinic, taught by Rick Grayson, for beginners, accomplished players and those who might not otherwise have the opportunity to take golf lessons. Recent repairs at Rivercut will not affect the tournament. "The course will be ready, and we'll all have a great day of golf on Aug. 27," Jim Morris said.

BURNT BIRDIE. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the closing of the former Springfield Country Club, once part of the city's first golf course near Glenstone and Portland. During its heday in the '20s and '30s, the country club was home to a number of local golf greats, including former PGA star Horton Smith. After shutting down in March of 1939 and reopening as a restaurant specializing in chicken dinners, the building was destroyed by fire. Customers to the restaurant informed an employee that "the chimney is certainly smoking." The blaze was the result of an overheated oil stove and caused $6,000 in damage, including a $1,400 chicken-frying machine. However, the Nov. 25, 1939, Leader & Press reported that another reason for the fire may have been a jinx on the building. The paper said the building had failed "as a private club, as a public golf course, as a dance hall and twice as a nightclub." Leo Haskett, who owned the building, said he would consider offering the acreage around the building for sale as residential sites. Nowadays, Springfield knows the location at the 1500 block of South Glenstone as you guessed it the Country Club Shopping Center.