The golf notebook ...
Rowan County golf lost a popular former pro last Sunday when Marvin H. (Rabbit) Smith died at the age of 83.
Smith retired as pro at McCanless Golf Club, where he had held the position from 1966 until 1989. He had previously been an assistant pro for several years to Gaither McCombs at Brookdale Golf Club, now Corbin Hills.
He loved golf and was an excellent player, but left the business after an operation for throat cancer. The operation affected his speaking skills and made it difficult to communicate, so he decided to retire.
Smith also was an avid baseball player, catching for local semi-pro teams. He was an assistant under Joe Ferebee on the Salisbury American Legion teams in 1954-55. The 1955 team finished third in the nation in the Little World Series in St. Paul, Minn.
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MITCHELL HONORED: Rockwell’s Karl Mitchell , a former East Rowan golfer and basketball player, was named Southern Conference men’s co-golfer of the week for the week ending April 4, sharing the honor with Furman’s Kirk Satterfield.
Mitchell, a senior at UNC Greensboro, finished second in the recent Bearkat Classic in Montgomery, Texas. He came from three strokes back at the start of the final round to tie Southwest Texas’ Grant Yawn at 208, forcing a sudden-death playoff. Mitchell lost out on the second hole, where Yawn made par and Mitchell made bogey.
His 208 is tied for the second-best 54-hole tournament score in UNCG history and is one off the team record set by Kevin Cartmill in 1995. His low round of 68 tied for the best score during the tourney. Mitchell plans to play on the Carolina Developmental Tour this summer.
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SENIOR GAMES: Thursday is the deadline for entering the Salisbury/Rowan Senior Games tourney, set for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 2, at Corbin Hills.
Golfers must be at least 55 years old and North Carolina residents.
The entry fee is $5 for the Senior Games and $17 for the golf tourney, a low-gross event that serves as a qualifier for the state finals, held at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons Oct. 15-16.
For more information, call Phyllis Loflin-Kluttz at 704-637-3120.
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ROTARY-SCOUT: The annual Rotary-Scout Golf Tournament is set for 1 p.m. Thursday, May 3, at Warrior Golf Club.
The captain’s-choice event is sponsored by the Rowan, Salisbury and China Grove Rotary clubs.
The entry fee is $85, which includes green and cart fees and a noon lunch. The entry deadline is April 30. The field will be limited to 28 teams.
A 2001 Buick Regal, golf vacations and golf clubs are prizes for the first hole in one on four par-3 holes. Gift certificates will be awarded to the top three teams.
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HALL OF FAME: The team of Charlie Graeber, Bud Graeber, Toby Lawson and C.D. Taylor posted a 14-under-par 58 in the Catawba Sports Hall of Fame Tournament at Crescent Golf Club on Friday. They won the Contesti Flight in a scorecard playoff over Dave Bennett, Pa Bennett, Joey Boley and Greg Payne.
Adrian Marby, Charles Parks, Ron Venable and Brian Best teamed up for a 60 to triumph in the Kochman Flight.
Clayton Gaddy Sr., Clayton Gaddy Jr., Robert Davis and Sim Gaddy took the Peeler Flight with a 62.
Walt Wagoner, Ralph Ketner, John Ellis and J.C. Ritchie teamed up for a 63 to win the Snyder Flight.
Leon Burleson and Jim Emerson won prizes for shots closest to the pinwhile Kris Ambrose had the longest drive.
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TUCKER MEMORIAL: The fourth annual Jack Tucker Memorial Golf Tournament will be played Monday, April 23, at Kannapolis Country Club.
The captain’s-choice event, sponsored by the Cabarrus County Building Industry Association, will have a noon shotgun start. The entry fee of $85 per person includes green and cart fees and dinner.
For more information, call 704-792-1133.
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COUNTRY CLUB LADIES: Betty Jean Brittain, Blanche Glover, Camille Reische and Rosemary Spain won Thursday’s captain’s-choice tournament, which opened the season for the Women’s Golf Association of the Country Club of Salisbury.
The group held a business meeting and luncheon recently. Snowbird winners were announced, with Mary Ellen Bailey, Watts, Dot Errante and Spain finishing first and Opal Ingram, Elaine Fuller, Louise Walser and Ruth Meade taking second.
A two-best-ball-of-foursome tournament will be held next Thursday. Golfers should sign up by Wednesday.
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Senior sports writer Ed Dupree covers golf for the Post.
Ed Dupree