Tournament artifacts keep arriving
Remembrances of things past keep rolling in like putts at Forest Oaks Country Club, site of one of the PGA Tour's oldest events, this week's Chrysler Classic of Greensboro.
It's fortunate the sponsoring Greensboro Jaycees chose Mike Haley as this year's honorary chairman. He's watched the tournament - known as the Greater Greensboro Open, the Kmart GGO, the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic and the current CCG - for decades. Since the Jaycees, who founded the tournament in 1938, issued a call recently for tournament artifacts, items have been arriving to join the impressive trove collected during the past two years.
Haley presented the archives this week wirh a putter embossed "GGO, 1977." That was the first year the tournament moved 15 miles or so to Forest Oaks in southeast Guilford County. It was at Sedgefield Country Club from 1961 to 1976, and before that at both Sedgefield and Starmount Country Club.
Haley, whose family started the McDonald's outlets in Greensboro in 1958 (the year Bob Goalby won the tournment), also has turned over a tournament scrapbook from 1971, the year he was tournament general chairman and the event winner was Vietnam veteran Bud Allin.
Kevin von der Lippe, a former Jaycee president who with another former president, Randy Harris, are collecting items, said the scrapbook will be scanned and returned to Haley.
The two collectors encourage others with photos and film they don't want to give up to do like Haley. Let the Jaycees scan and return them.
Another man called to say he had a watch from a GGO of long ago. He wanted to know how much it was worth. The Jaycees weren't sure what, if any value, it has. Finally the man said, "I'll just give it to you."
Von der Lippe says the Jaycees received word that an estate in Sedgefield may contribute a treasure of tournament artifacts. The Jaycees and Sedgefield Country Club are starting a tournament museum. For at least the next year, items will be placed throughout the Sedgefield Club House. The goal is to convert a nearby cottage, once the pro shop, into a permanent, public museum.
At Forest Oaks, many items are on display in a history tent that spectators must enter to get into the merchandise tent. For those who still getty dreamy eyed about the tournament's Sedgefield days will love photos that flash onto a big-screen TV showing scenes of GGOs at the old club.
Tim Crosby, a PGA official here this week who toured the tent with tournament director Mark Brazil Wednesday, said of the 16 PGA Tour events he works he's seen nothing like the CCG's history tent.
"It makes this golf tournament unique," he says. He says looking back helps tells us "we can't lose sight of what we love" about this tournament.
He loves items from golf's past and says the Jaycees have hit upon something as the tournament gets ready to move to new dates, in August, and a new name, Wyndham Championship, in 2007.
"This kind of thing tends to snowball," he said. "People start finding things in their attics."
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The year 1958 illustrates the generational connection to the tournament. Goalby, the winner that year, is the uncle of Jay Haas, who played in the tournament from 1973-2005 and now plays the Champions Tour for those over 50.
Haas's brother, Jerry Haas, now golf coach at Wake Forest, played in three CCGs. And now this year, a third generation, Bill Haas, Jay's son and Jerry's nephew, is playing. He's considered a sure bet for stardom on the PGA Tour.