Labor Day doesn’t quite seem like Labor Day to me this year.
It’s not because it fell on Sept. 1, although that timing did catch me off guard. It’s because I didn’t enter the Crowder-Dorsett Memorial 4-Ball tournament for the first time in 35 years.
This isn’t just any golf tournament. It’s special for lots of reasons.
My wife and I moved to Salisbury in 1977 shortly after graduating from North Carolina. I became aware of this popular event and set out to earn an invitation in our early years here. Jayne & Joel Hubbard, who were always faithful stewards of the invite list, were kind enough to help me out.
I will always remember watching high-quality matches in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s which included players such as John Henderlite, John Frazier III, Randy Bingham, Ed “Junior” Rabon, Gary Miller, Mallory McDaniel, Jake Alexander and many other talented players.
I was also struck by the large number of spectators who came to watch and enjoy quality golf by local amateurs.
I will never forget one particular shot with a 5-iron by Randy Bingham on the 18th hole. The tournament title was on the line, and he was near a large pine tree in the right rough approximately 175 yards from the green. Randy hit a magnificent shot to tap-in range for a deciding birdie.
Quality golf, by quality people had me hooked.
The tournament began in 1952 — three years before I was born — and was named in honor of a local popular businessman and World War II bomber pilot, Goode Crowder, who had died that July.
The men who made it happen were also special people, including A.D. Dorsett, Ken Monroe, and Harry Welch. When Dorsett passed away in 1995, the tournament committee renamed it the Crowder-Dorsett Memorial 4-Ball.
Many other special people contributed to making it a special event. While I became obsessed with Labor Day Golf in what some would call the modern era, I was fortunate to play with or at least get acquainted with many from the golden era, including Welch, Dorsett, Richard Rendleman, John Isenhour, Jr., Jim Hurley Jr., Bud Mickle and others. Jimmy Hurley and sports editor Horace Billings also made it special in The Salisbury Post.
The tradition and high visibility of our Labor Day event helped make golf significant in our area. Young boys were inspired which led to state championships at Salisbury High. Young players who won Labor Day championships include Elliot Gealy, David Goodman, Chris McCoy, Freddie Corriher and Will Collins. Many of these young men went on to play in college and beyond.
Remembering all these people who made it a special tournament made me realize its real significance. Every year we get to wind up our summer season with what has been called the Super Bowl of local golf. While the competition is great, what I’ve enjoyed the most are the relationships built.
I was fortunate to play with partner Mike Whisenant for over 20 years. Mike’s wife, Ebbie, usually came along as our caddie and cheerleader. Mike was a rodeo cowboy in his younger days, and after graduating from N.C. State in textile engineering he became a darn good manager for Cone Mills.
While it may seem odd for Carolina and State boys to be teammates, we made a pretty good team on occasion. Over the years we played in almost every flight. Our claim to fame was beating the defending champs one year. The funny part of that story was the prior year we qualified so poorly, we didn’t get to play match play. A classic case of going from the outhouse to the penthouse – at least briefly.
Win or lose, we enjoyed the competition.
But just as much, we enjoyed building relationships with other players, and those who came to watch.
I hope I will get to play again next year. But if I don’t, I will still enjoy the event — for the quality golf, and for seeing friends and rekindling relationships.
E.D. Cook lives in Salisbury.