1980's-1990's HIS STORIES OF MGCC by Jeff Gullett

 

Miami Golf and Country club facing the sunrise on the east, and watching as players reach their final hole at 18 green.

I grew up playing Jr. Golf in the 80’s and 90’s at MG&CC.  The Golf Professionals during those times were Don Atchison and Steve Becker.  Our golf crew was comprised of Jason Hill, Charles Haney, Michael Rapp, Brett Vaughn, Greg Smith, and me. Most if not all of us worked and played at MG&CC.  There was nothing better than heading to the Club for the day of golf, pool, and golf again.  We spent countless hours and years developing our skills and even more, our friendship.  It started with us playing Junior Golf and as we progressed it led to Junior tournaments and then the Miami High School Wardog Golf Team. 

As many of you already know the Lady Wardogs had just won a couple of State Championships in the late 80’s.  It was now 1991, and we had finally reached the High School Golf Team.  Our leader was Harley Turner, known as HT.  Coach HT was a very kind, smart, and great man. Probably exactly what we needed at the time.  We knew nothing about team golf, we had just spent the last 8 years trying to beat a Snickers and a Coke from each other in our countless individual matches.  We did our best, but our freshman year was a learning experience.  The 1991 team was composed of Steve Simpson (Senior), Jason Hill (Junior), Charles Haney (Freshman), Michael Rapp (Freshman), and me (Freshman).

I struggled a bit, but the most memorable tournament was the Pryor Invitational.  We had a true Oklahoma Spring Day; sunny, cold, rain, snow, and sleet.  I somehow plowed through this day in a solid 79 (probably the best 79 of my life) and tied for 1^st.  Nervous as could be, I somehow found a way to win the playoff for my first tournament win.  To say the least, very memorable!  We played well in many tournaments.  As a team we made it through the Regional Tournament with and were headed to State.  This is what we had been waiting for!  Shawnee Lake, the Grand Daddy of golf tournaments.  It seemed so far from MG&CC.  The one thing I can remember from that tournament was that our booster club (aka parents and club members) had purchased us matching shirts and get this:  matching Ping Hoofer Bags with a stand.  We were maybe the only team in the State with these.  Thank you all!  I think we all had high expectations but did not really know how much pressure was there and how good the rest of the teams in the state were, due to most of our competition being in the Northeastern section of the state.  We grinded through three rounds and finished in third.  Pretty good for our first year with three Freshman.  I am pretty sure if you asked all of us, we felt like we should have won the championship.

The Sophomore season was here, and again we had high expectations.  There was a group of MG&CC members that had been traveling down to Puerto Vallarta for years and had crossed paths with a golf pro and a prominent junior player, named Juan Pablo Alvarez.  The connection was made, and Juan Pablo Alvarez would be coming to live with the Hill’s and would be able to play one year of High School Golf.  Oh boy, we were excited about this.  This kid had played at World Junior and other prominent Junior events and had plenty of experience.  We were going to be good.  Although we thought we were going to be good, it seemed we may have left our game at home on tournament days as we watched Juan Pablo try to carry us as a team.  We finished a lackluster 4^th place at State and moved on to the summer months to grind on the game to make it better for the next season.  Even though we may not have played well, we did learn a lot about the game and culture, playing with a student of the game that did not know very much English when he got to Miami.  Juan was a great addition to the community and school, and I hope to see him again one day. 

         There were some influential people that were in our lives and golf games that helped mold our games and specifically mine since I am writing this piece.  I cannot speak on behalf of the others, so I will tell how it helped me find my game.  Steve Becker was the PGA Professional at MG&CC during this time, and he taught me to teach myself.  He told me what I needed to know, but more than anything taught me to have confidence in myself.  I was a shy kid growing up and never quite felt like I could or would be good enough at the game.  He taught me to be on the good side of cocky, but not arrogant.  Marshall Smith Jr., Steve Hill, Jeff Ramsey, Keith Neal, and Mitch Jones.  There were so many more, but these are ones that I either worked with or had many games within the years preceding and during high school golf.  I have always said that it is not golf course that makes the game, it is the people who you play with that makes the rounds memorable. 

Around 1993, Cotton Montgomery came to the club to be the Golf Course Superintendent.  This man could grow some grass!  The greens had never been better, and the club was in the best shape since I had been there.  He also brought his son into our golf world, Brian Montgomery.  Brian had just finished up college at Oklahoma State and was preparing for the Mini Tours and Professional golf.  This really changed my game for the better.  I was challenged every time I put the peg in the ground.  I was playing Brian one day and he happened to shoot the course record, 63, and I believe I shot 71.  I got blown out of the water on our Nassau!  I learned so much watching him practice the short game and I no longer focused on a perfect swing but perfecting a good swing. 

My junior year consisted of teammates:  Charles Haney (Junior), Michael Rapp (Junior), myself (Junior), Brett Vaughn (Sophomore) and Greg Smith (Sophomore).  All of us had been playing together for the past couple of years and we thought we had the chance to finish well.  This was Charles Haney’s year, he played very consistently through the season, but he did not get much help from his team.  It was like all the preparation for the season during the summer went to waste but wait there is another year.  Sometimes what we are preparing for does not come until the right time, not our time.  (Sounds like living life with faith).  What we did get to do was go to Norman for a mid-season tournament.  That was the exposure we needed.  We went to play the bigger schools and statewide schools in the Sooner Classic.  Great tournament experience that HT and Miami High School gave to us that had been lacking the prior two seasons. 

The Senior season finally arrived!  We were missing a teammate by the time the season started, but we forged forward with the four +1 who were ready to play.  We were confident that the four regulars would put the numbers where we needed them.  I had begun practicing earlier than normal due to an ankle injury in December playing for the basketball team.  I had started my golf season about two months earlier.  It showed when we started the season with a team win at Shangri-La and I finished first place individual with 68-70.  A couple of weeks later won the Joplin Invitational at Loma Linda and I won individual with a score of 68.  We rolled this right into Regionals and won at MG&CC and went to State expecting greatness.  We played good golf instead of great, but it was the journey that was memorable.  We ended our Senior season where we began our freshman season, at Shawnee Lake.  We finished a little off the pace in 3^rd place and I put three good rounds together to finish in a tie for 2^nd (70-72-72).  Note:  won in a playoff.  As I am writing this, I don’t think I have ever lost in a playoff since high school.  On the academic side of things, Miami Boys Golf Team did win the Academic State Championship in 1994.

Post High School

I proceeded to walk on the golf team at University of Arkansas, and after a struggle with my game and adapting to college life I walked off the team later that spring in 1995.  I was at a crossroads with my golf game and did not really know what I wanted to do.  I don’t like to look back on my life and ask for a mulligan, but if I were going to go down the golf path for a career, I think I would take a mulligan on that drive.  Anyhow, I took a year off from golf and focused on school, then transferred to the University of Oklahoma and graduated in 1998 with a degree in Business Management.  I decided to go into the golf business, just like any other player, thinking I will be a golf pro and try to make it on tour.  Well, I proceeded to start working 80 hours a week and no longer played to the level that I was accustomed to, and the game fell away. 

My career path started at Bailey Ranch Golf Club, in Owasso and I worked there for 3.5 years where I learned the first part of the business.  What is a PGA Professional?  That was my training ground, and I will never forget it. 

In 2001, I went to Tulsa Country Club to work under Jeff Combe, and later received my PGA Membership in 2005.  The summer of 2005, I made the move to Boca Raton, Fl to Bocaire Country Club to become the First Assistant Golf Professional under Russell Carlson, who was previously the PGA Professional at Bailey Ranch during my time there.  He did not hire me at Bailey Ranch, but he taught me.  I have only worked for two PGA Head Golf Professionals in my career, and both had different approaches to the business, but both helped mold me into the Golf Professional that I am today.  I spent 16 years at Bocaire Country Club (12 as Head Golf Professional).  I am now at Boca Woods Country Club, a 36-hole residential club with 600 Members.  We host 60,000 rounds of golf per year and I am now going through my third golf course renovation as a PGA Member.    

Boca Woods Country club, Boca Raton, Florida

As you can see, the game of golf is a part of me, and the history of Miami Golf & Country Club molded me into who I am.  Many of my lifelong friends along with my parents’ friends were established at that club.  Although the club and course are no longer there, the games and memories I had at that club can never be taken away from me.  They are a part of me, and I still tell the stories today when I speak of the game I so love!

Jeff Gullett

 

        

2024 July THEIR STORIES

 

My husband, Jack and I celebrating the 4th of July at The Trails Golf Course.

I have reached my original goal of researching the Miami Golf and Country Club  from 1916-1984. I wish I could say there will be a book, but 100,000 words would make it the size of "Crime and Punishment" by Dostoevsky. The blog will remain online until such time that "Blogger" no longer exist. This is the basic link <https://mgcchistory.blogspot.com>

With fingers crossed and a handful of prayers, I may have an edited version of our shared history in booklet form by July 24. If I reach that goal I will bring several copies with me to sell, along with dad's bag full of antique clubs, golf books, and perhaps other golf memorabilia to share or donate to the Dobson Museum.  

Thanks to the John Burford family for donating this sweatshirt to the Dobson Museum.

 

George Coleman's vision to bring the world to Miami has been achieved and I believe with the leadership in Miami now, that folks will continue to visit a small town on Route 66 with a "Golden Coleman Theater" and history rich enough to touch the lives of people over 100 years later. 

 

Thank you to the Glassman Butterfield family for sharing this photo.

My plan is to continue adding to our shared blog about the growth and demise of the country club. The golf course continued to survive and thrive after BFG shut down in March of 1986.

MHS Hall of Fame golfers, 1989 State Champion Girls Golf team.

 

Now, Miami can be proud of the  Peoria Ridge Golf Course. I have played it several times. Some of our history was continued with the changes and new ideas grew, such as, the Dudley Cup.

From 1985---2010 will be "Their Stories". I hope you continue to follow   along in our journey to look back at where we came from and the moments in Miami, Oklahoma that defined our lives. 

 
In the meantime, you may continue to follow or look back at these stories on this link Miami Ok country club history or google "Letty Stapp Watt" or "Literally Letty."  

I hope to see many of you and your families at the reunion and Heritage Fest July 25,26, and 27, 2024 in Miami. 

 

 

 

My Story--The Fire

          It was 4am before the flames were high enough to rouse the neighbors.  Sirens rang as truck after truck sped through the streets to reach the raging fire.  The neighbors stood in nightgowns and thrown together layers of clothes, starring in awe as the 1929 Tudor structured clubhouse burned out of control like an angry lady poking a stick at mad dogs.

          With water hoses surging full blast from all angles, photographers shot pictures of the fire in the night, while word spread throughout Miami, Oklahoma that the club was burning.  Shortly after sunrise it became clear that flames had reached the fifth floor and were screaming through the roof.  Windows had exploded floor by floor, and the town had turned out to see the event, like a circus train unloading lions and tigers.

          It wasn’t known how or when the fire started on if anyone was inside.  The housekeepers from time gone by no longer lived on the fourth floor.  Cars had sometimes been left overnight by members too drunk to drive.  Had the men gone home or stayed behind to win a hand of cards?

          For me, the club was like a home, my touchstone of who I was, who I could be, and eventually who I would become.  We moved to Miami, Oklahoma in 1954 a few years after the flood of ’51.  As a child of five my greatest regret was that we missed the flood, but oh did I ever soak up the stories and seek out proof of flood lines on homes at every outing.

Ladies on the practice green on the north side of the country club.1960's

          My dad was the golf pro at the Miami, Ok. Golf and Country club  and the greatest teacher I would ever know.  In turn, I played golf and loved the fresh air, but it took hours of my life to prepare for tournaments.  Practice was my life as a teen, whereas, my sister was a natural and still has an easy flowing flawless swing. (I must confess we both worked hours on the practice tee. Golf is never easy, even for a person with natural swing.)

 

1967 South-side main entrance with our blue station wagon that would take me to college in 1967 sits to the left of the entrance.

         I went to work in the golf shop at thirteen.  Tuesday through Saturday I opened the shop by sun up in those summer months.  From 2:00 till dinner I played or practiced my golf game. By the time I was a full-fledged teenager I had very little time to drag main, shop with friends, watch “As the World Turns”, or date. What I did have were the friends I made at golf tournaments in those years and the experiences of playing at the highest level of junior golf in 1960's before Title IX.

          Part of me always wanted to be like everyone else, but the other part was willing to stand alone and just be me.  I didn’t know who me was or would become.

          At nineteen, 1967, I left home for college at LSU to complete a teaching degree. Being immature, thinking I was smarter than my professors, I came home in the summer of 1968 married and left home for Ft. Hood, Texas.  Five years later I was a mother of a beautiful child, but divorced, uneducated, and alone. I left home again, and worked my way through college and degrees.  As a librarian, teacher, and mother I began to entertain and teach through storytelling and puppetry.  And we laughed.

          The stories told, laid the next layer of asphalt for the road I would take.  I found those universal truths of stories to be healing for the human spirit.  Listening to the laughter of the crowd rejuvenated me.  Listening to my daughter mimic me as she retold those stories to her dolls and friends, also made me realize how our children watch in detail our every move.

          It was the stories that led me home that weekend the club burned.  On a Sunday July 16, 1984 I drove from Norman, OK in a green Toyota loaded with kids, puppets and books and drove straight to the club.  I needed to feel the soil of my soul and show my children a part of me.  On the horizon I saw only two chimneys.  One four story chimney stood in the center of the broken brick shell, ashes smoldering, people still standing rows deep in the drive way watching. The second chimney stood alone on the west side of the building that connected the dance floor and porches to the main building.  Fire trucks and traffic blocked my entrance.

 

North-side from the putting green.

          I parked on the street and walked quietly cautiously toward the smoldering structure, my broken lady. My children ran ahead. 

 

July 23, 1984 Dad, Johnie Stapp, myself, daughter Katy Rains, and stepson Michael Watt.

     When my father saw me, the tears he had held off since the wee hours of the morning fell down his cheeks in rivulets flowing haphazardly.  The hugs and tears came from all directions.  All any of us could do was stand, stare, until at last we began to share.

          On Monday after teaching summer school at PSU, I returned to the club and parked near the yellow tape on the south side.  I followed the tape around a giant circle to the north-side and the entrance to the pro shop.  No lives had been lost, but, oh, so many memories danced in the clouds.  I stood outside the yellow tape. Then I heard a choking voice coming from the ashes that were heaped where the golf shop once stood, supporting the lofty building. From an angry grumble I heard these words,  “Where are you?  I know you’re here.  You’ve got to be here.”

          Quickly, I crossed the line and hollered, “Who are you?  What have you lost?”

          A deep angry voice returned, “It’s John.”

          “Dad?" I rushed through the door frame,  "I thought you were at home.”  

     Stepping into the ashes of golf shop door, I saw a bent over white-haired man swinging a rake wildly at a pile of ashes.  I thought for a moment his khaki jumpsuit was streaked in blood, but my imagination was vivid and dried red paint had the same effect.   Then I realized it was another man, named John, not my father. 

          “Oh my gosh, John, this is Letty Stapp, the pro’s daughter.  What have you lost?”  I asked fearfully.  He stopped, turned at me, and hollered,  “I’ve lost my putter.  She burned up, but I know I can find the mallet head.  Come here and help me, now.  You know where my bag was stored.”

          With two of us digging, and my clothes already covered in ash, we found the mallet head, no wooden shaft, no grip, nothing else to be retrieved.  With rake and mallet in hand we walked to the outside of the ropes and behind the yellow tape.  No words were spoken as we turned to look at shell.

          At last I said, “You know she was my home, my touchstone.  I can see myself and your children, all of us up there in the attic playing and spying on the world below.”

          “It was my home, too,” he replied.  “My father and George Coleman had her built.  I grew up there.  I know every nook and corner like the back of my hand.”  One by one we shared our stories through tears and laughter that spanned six decades.  Secrets had been shared.

          Then he placed his arm around my waist and said, “I’ve always said a man is just as old as the woman he’s touching.”  I laughed, for he was known to be a fox around women, but I knew that for a few moments in life we were both younger and shared a deep feeling for a burned out building called home.

 

*A true story by Letty Stapp Watt, as told for three decades on storytelling stages throughout the Midwest. 

**Later that week John Robinson drove to the farm where my parents lived and asked dad to remake his mallet head putter. It took a few weeks before my father found a wooden shaft that would work. 

***Sadly, my mother had finished updating the Miami Ladies Golf Association scrapbooks and delivered them to the ladies locker room a few days before the fire. Without pictures in that scrapbook I thought I had lost a part of me, but the memories floated back easily. In retirement, I took up the mantle (or mallet head) and wrote the history of my club from 1916 to 1984.

****Luckily, the club rebuilt and there are more stories to share.

1984 July 16-TIMELINE AND STORIES

The story begins,

 "These are the worst of times." 

I do believe it was true. We felt so helpless like a boat against the tide.

   We wished the winds could bring back our home.

   Our memories of yesterday will last a lifetime.

   We'll take the best, forget the rest. 

   And some day we will find that these were "the best of times."  

(Lines scrambled from the song by Styx "The Best of Times" with lyrics by Dennis Deyoung.)

1984 July 16  FIRE RAZES MIAMI CC CLUBHOUSE

 1986 July 16 "Fire Razes Miami CC Clubhouse"

Weary and grim-faced, Fire Chief Bob Turner and assistant Chief Pete Cooper spent most of the morning sifting through the rubble of what once was the clubhouse of Miami Golf and Country Club. The two men pinpointed a faulty electrical wiring conduit as the probable cause of the fire which completely gutted the stately old landmark early Sunday morning. Cooper said that it was unlikely that the State Fire Marshal's Office would be asked to investigate the fire. "At this time, I don't think there is any reason for them to."

Meanwhile, club officials were huddling to make plans for the building's reconstruction and club manager, Bob Hill Jr., voiced that the calamity would not half the clubs operation. "This has always been a great country club," Hill said this morning. "It was the day before yesterday and it still is today. 

As if in affirmation of Hill's optimism, golfers (who did not store their clubs at the clubhouse) were seen on the club's 18-hole course late Sunday morning, teeing off as the smoke still rose from the ruins and tiny flames flickered in the rubble. 

All the club's 44 battery-operated golf carts, valued at $3,000 a piece, were destroyed in the fire. When not in use the golf carts were stored in the basement connected to the pro shop. The batteries in each had been hooked up to individual chargers that were plugged into a network of extension cords, according to Turner and Cooper. 

View of the blaze in the basement containing the electric golf carts.

Golf Pro Don Atchison said 200 sets of golf clubs belonging to members also were kept in the basement. They, too, were destroyed. Atchison said the replacement value of the clubs totals $150,000. The pro shop's $25,00 inventory and about $10,000 worth of supplies went up in the flames. 

Club officials were arranging the establishment of a temporary pro shop and club office, to be located in a mobile home near the old structure. Replacement golf carts were also being ordered. Because the club's records were destroyed in the fire, the 368 members are being asked to bring their accounts up to date. 

The clubhouse was built in 1929 New Rockdale Clubhouse

 

Onlookers on the north lawn and putting green, sadly survey the skeletal remains of the fire-ravaged clubhouse Sunday morning. *News-Record photos by Ed Howard and Gerald Breeden. 

1984 July 16 "Sad Day on MCC Hill"

There were a lot of jokes about the leaky roof, the musty locker rooms, the tiny pro shop. But the old matriarch of the hill had some classic memories. The Miami Golf and Country Club burned early Sunday and the shock of loss was great. You could see that on faces in cars pulling in for lunch Sunday. They hadn't heard. Some tears were shed. 

But with the first light Sunday, golfers were trudging past the smoldering remains of at least most of the golf clubs in Miami; they were on their to No. 1 tee. Wouldn't you know it? All members clubs and the carts were in the basement of the clubhouse. 

Already plans are underway to replace the huge 19,568-square-foot structure. But Miami and visitors will miss the sentinel on the hill. 

1984 July 17

Personal photograph of Johnie Stapp, former Pro Emeritus of the Miami Golf and Country Club.

 

After this photo was taken, Dad drove home and changed into his farm overalls. He then returned to the scene and began sifting through the rubble. I saw tears streaming down his face that afternoon. 

1984 July 18--23 Adds such as this one appeared daily in the Miami News-Record. The story was covered in detail through the state and four-state area.

 **Thirteen days later the club began to operate using the new mobile home parked on the practice tree grounds West of the clubhouse circle drive. 

**John Finley recalled that he had a set of Hogan irons that he enjoyed hitting and then a brand new-Hogan bag that he won at Baxter Springs, the week before the fire. " I lost it all. It was a sad day for all of us. The replacement clubs came in within a couple of weeks. The new Hogan tour irons were not forgiving. They had a sweet spot the size of a dime."

We rented a trailer and turned the back bedroom into a card room for and a bar for the men. It was a 15x60 foot trailer with inside bathrooms and air-conditioning.  

1984 July 29 "Ladies Golf Notes"

Wednesday's Ladies Golf Association will resume play with an 8:00 shotgun start. They will play for points. 

Tee #: 1--Faye Berentz, Jean Ann Blue, Gail Beck, Millie Burford; 2--Melba Cordell, Neeta Couch, Ruth Heyburn, Marian Richards; 3--Geneva Ramsay, Janie Clay, Ruie Lucas, Virginia Sapp; 4-- Beverly Jackson, Noma Newman, Pattye Moores, Jerry Ramsey; 5--Claire Oliver, Carla Roller, Penny Ramsey, Rosie Womastek; 6--Billie Pace, Fern Toye, Pat Platt, Ann Chancellor; 7-Lavon Young, Yvonne Temple, Laverne Munson, Pauline Taylor; 8--Aileen Bradshaw, Lottie Mae Russell, Dorothy Hester; 9--Carol Jones, Virginia Heydt, Joanie Jones. 

Afternoon pairings will be made at the tee. Those players include Candy Couch, Dede Martin, Ann Foster, Marji Grayson, Judy Grissom, Marilyn Hill, Judy Kemper, Sue Riley, Coweta Scoggins, Carolyn Anderson, Liz Follis, and Nadine Paul. 

A business meeting will be held at 1:00 at the Continental Restaurant. 

1984 August 5 "Youth Golf"

The Miami Country club Junior Championship will be held Friday beginning at 8:00 with the 18-hole players:

18-holers--Steve Becker, Matt Brady, Marshall Smith; Richie Lillard, Steve Hill; Ron Coker, Robert Elmburg, Scott Kreeger; Steven Long, B.J. Mann, Howard Condren; Jeff Goodrich, John Molinar, Sherri Atchison, Christy Smith. 

9-holers (9:00am) Kevin Collingsworth, Michael Fitzgibbon, Richard Stewart; Jimmy Rutter, Allen Douthitt, Eric Elmburg; Brandon Farris, Erin Fitzgibbon, Jimmy Green; Daryle Gee, John West, Bobby Homer; Chad Davis, Scott Mann, Donald Wilson; Bobby Seybolt, Chris Bourne, Robin Orcutt, Paige Parrott, Lori Lillard, Melissa Molinar; Kari Swogger, Shauna Fitzgibbon, Peggy Shelton.

2-holers (9:30)--Shawn Delmer, Aaron Sedberry, Charlie Haney; Shadd Delmer, Tony Atchison, Greg Smith; Shane Fitzgibbon, Ryan Gatewood, Bobby Green; Drew Austin, Jeff Gullett; Shane Delmez, Haley Finley, Chelsea Levo, Meagan Winters; Mary Rutter, Angela Barr; Linda Gray, Leslie Harmon, Shannon Kerr.

4-holers (10:00) Scott Spetich, Jason Winters, Adam Jones; Ray Shelton, Alex Edwards; Chris Paul, Greg Painter, Ben Brady; Evan Eatman, Greg Fitzgibbon, Larry Heard; Jason Hill, Frank Spetich, Corbin West; Gavin Finley, Tom Wilson, Cindy Shelton, Kasie Sly, Amanda Long; Jennifer Gatewood, Julie Jeffries; Jera Wyrick, Amy Smith, Michele Jones. 

Persons unable to play should call Connie Swogger, 540-1667 or Sandy Hunt, 542-6270. Scorers will be notified by phone.

1984 August 8 "Lietzke to Hold Clinic Saturday"

Professional golfer Bruce Lietzke will present an exhibition and golf clinic Saturday at the Miami Country club, 1915 Cleveland, as a fund-raising benefit for a new clubhouse. 

Lietzke's clinic is scheduled from 4:30-5:15. A nine-hole exhibition is scheduled from 5:35 to 7:30pm. Playing with him will be his brother, Brian Lietzke, club pro Don Atchison, and club champion Mike Craig.

Tickets are $5 per person. 

1984 August 8 "MCC Handicap Title Claimed by Jim Riley"

 Firing rounds of 63 and 62, Jim Riley captured the MCC handicap championship. Riley's two-round score of 125 was seven strokes better than second place finisher Mike Glasman, who had rounds of 63-69. 

There was a three-way tie for third between John Robinson Sr., Bob Haney and John Daugherty, all with scores of 133. 

The men's scratch championship phase of the tournament continues this weekend. The current leader is John Daugherty with gross rounds of 70-73. Dr. W.D. Jackson is second with 144, John Robinson Jr. holds down third with 147.

The men's horserace is scheduled for Friday at 5pm. The MCC long drive contest and club throwing contest will be held following the horserace. 

1984 August 12 "Youth Golfers Claim Honors"

Winners in nine divisions of play were decided Friday during the youth club championship at MCC. Claiming honors in each division were:

18-hole girls--1st Sherri Atchison; 2nd Christy Smith.

18-hole boys A Flight--1st Marshall Smith; 2nd Richie Lillard.

18-hole boys B Flight--1st Steven Long; 2nd Howard Condren.

9-hole girls--1st Kari Swogger; 2nd, Paige Parrott.

9-hole boys--1st Michael Fitzgibbon, 2nd Kevin Collingsworth.

4-hole girls--1st Jennifer Gatewood; 2nd, Cindy Shelton.

4-hole boys--1st Chris Paul; 2nd Jason Hill.

2-hole girls--1st Angela Barr; 2nd Mary Rutter.

2-hole boys--1st Shane Delmez; 2nd Jeff Gullett. 

1984 August 13 "Lietzke Fires 33 in Exhibition Here" 

 Bruce Lietzke capped off an outstanding evening of swing demonstration, close-up personal information and playing ability by firing a 3-under-par 33 at the back nine during a fundraising event for the Miami Country Club's new clubhouse.

Throughout the evening and especially during the swing demonstration, the personable 10-time tour winner furnished the crowd with interesting information regarding his tournament preparations, playing philosophy, future plans, favorite events and coping on the tour.

Lietzke, the playing pro from Shangri-la Resort, donated his time, for which he normally receives $3,000, to help raise money for the new clubhouse. 

1984 August 15 "Craig Captures 3rd MCC Championship"

Mike Craig parred the fourth hole of a sudden death playoff against John Robinson Jr. and captured his third straight MCC Championship. Craig shot rounds of 73,79, 77 and 73 while Robinson turned in scores of 73, 75, 75, 79. 

Third place went to John Daugherty with a 363 total. Ed Schmidt was fourth with a 308. There was a tie for fifth between Bill Harsch and Dr. W.D. Jackson, both finishing with 310s. 

1984 August 19 "Hattie Wall Handicap Tourney"

The annual Hattie Wall handicap tournament will be held Wednesday and Friday at the MCC. Twenty-two women have signed up to play. 

1984 August 19 "Foursome Captures Horserace"

Marshall Smith, Jim Rutter, George Couch, and Lloyd Cowgill combined to capture top honors in a four-man horserace in conjunction with the men's Fall Festival. 

George Foster, Pat Wilson, Jim Hill, and Dick Seybolt were second while Bob Thompson, Don Barr, Jim Thompson, and Jeff Smith placed-third.

1984 August 20 "Team No. 9 Uses Rally to Claim Fall Festival"

Team No. 9 consisting of Bill Harsch, George Myers, Frank Remiss and Ken Grissom, rallied to finish with 313 points on Sunday to capture the honors of the annual Fall Festival at MCC. Team #17 finished in second with 301 points. That team consisted of George Foster, Pat Wilson, Jim Hill and Dick Seybolt. 

Third went to team #13 which consisted of John Heyburn, Bob Temple, Lynn Davis, and Max Dull with 299 points.  

Individual point winners were George Myers and Jerry Mustain who tied with 85 points. Don Cherry took third with 84 points while fourth went to Schooner Schmidt at 83 points and Jim Hill was fifth with 82 points.

 Winning the Lame Duck consolation flight open to the bottom 10 teams was Team #14 of Jack Doan, Steve Cherry, Lou Mirjanich and Rick Wright with a one-day score of 153 points.

1984 August 22 "Twilight League Title Claimed"

The foursome Jim Riley, Jim Hill, George Couch, and Larry Gatewood finished with 23 point to nose past the team of Tim Eatman, Mike Sexton, John Finley, and Leroy Collins for first place. 

Pat Wilson took individual low gross honors with 37. He and Jerry Gullett shared low net kudos with 36 strokes. Low putts went to Gary West. Highest score on a hole went to Al Goforth, who scored an eight on #1.

 1984 August 30 "Grayson Third in Golf Tourney"

Marj Grayson competed in a statewide golf tournament for employees of the Oklahoma State Employment Service. The tournament, which was for both men and women, was held last weened in Shawnee, Ok. 

Mrs. Grayson placed third in her flight and was awarded a trophy. Mrs. Grayson is an interviewer in the Miami office. 

1984 September 2 "Ladies Golf Notes"

Claire Oliver breezed to the title of the Hattie Wall Handicap golf tournament which wrapped up earlier this week. Oliver had a 54-hole score of 297 to outdistance runner-up Faye Berentz who carded a 212. 

Placing third was Ruie Lucas, Melba Cordell claimed fourth and Millie Carter was fifth. Aileen Bradshaw was first in the nine-hole division. Wednesday's play will be an 18-hole "Upside Down Clubs" scramble. Tee time will be at 8 a.m. with pairings made at 7:45. 

The monthly MLGA meeting will be held at the home of Mrs. George Newman. All morning and afternoon players are encouraged to attend.

Winners of last week's play for low gross were Faye Berentz, championship flight; Ann Chancellor, A flight; Ruie Lucas, B flight; and Carol Jones, 9-hole flight. 

1984 September 11 "2-Man, 4-Man Best Ball Competition"

 Mark and Greg Riley won two-man honors and there was a tie for first for the four-man honors Sunday during the competition at the MCC. The Riley's shot a 19-under 53 (net) to win the title over John and James Heyburn with a 55. There was a tie for third at 56 between Phil Follis and Tim Eatman, and Greg Riley with Steve Sly. Sharing fifth at 57 were the teams of Don Barr-Al Moffatt, John Heyburn-Steve Cherry, James Heyburn-Don Cherry.

In the 4-man best ball the teams of Eatman, Renegar, Follis and Schliep tied with Greg Riley, Mark Riley, Dull, and Sly by shooting 51s. Dull won the horserace Friday night at MCC. Renegar was second while Bill Sommerfield claimed third.  

1984 September 19 "A Proper Grip"

A proper grip on the golf club is vital, MCC pro Don Atchison tells Miami High School Shelly Kraus. Atchison is volunteering his time and talents to teach golfing fundamentals to members of Kris Morgan's P.E. classes. 

Morgan said that Atchison's participation is on of the multi-faceted concept designed to give students an insight to so-called "lifetime sports." Classes in archery and rifle shooting will be taught by other experienced volunteers, Mrs. Morgan said.

 1984 September 23 "Ladies Club Championship

Taking honors in the MCC women's club championship were from left, Ruth Heyburn, second in the championship flight; Pat Platt Championship Flight winner; Rosemary Womastek, first in A flight; Ruie Lucas, first in B flight, and Carol Jones, 9-hole flight winner. Not shown are Laverne Munson, second in A flight, and Neeta Couch, second in B flight. 

 Our Tribute to those who loved the game.