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Southwest Kansas Pro-Am celebrates 30th anniversary
Published 7/28/2009 in Pro-Am
By BRETT MARSHALL
Some memories are easy to recall. Others are difficult to remember.
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Courtesy photo — Mickey Piersall, left, of Pampa, Texas, receives the first winner's check at the 1980 Southwest Kansas Pro-Am at Liberal Country Club from Larry Burkett of Southwest Distributing Company of Dodge City.
But one thing for sure is that Southwest Kansas in general, and Garden City in particular, have many years of memories to recall and give thanks for to four visionary businessmen and golfers.
In the summer of 1979 Buffalo Dunes Golf Course was just three years old. Liberal Country Club was a 9-hole layout as was Dodge City Country Club. Southwind Country Club (now The Golf Club at Southwind) was preparing for its fall opening.
Kent Colvin, President of High Plains Pizza, headquartered in Liberal, Liberal Country Club golf pro Sam Cobb, Paul Dart of Dart-In of Garden City, and Larry Burkett, President of Southwest Distributing Co. of Dodge City, somehow found themselves sitting around a table in the pro shop at Liberal Country Club.
"We'd have some discussions in Garden City at Mary's Cellar (a restaurant on Main Street)," Colvin said. "The premise of our discussions was to create a quality golf tournament for the golfers of southwest Kansas where the amateurs could play with golf professionals. The big question we always asked was, 'How do you do this?' They were interesting discussions but we all had the same goal in mind. We wanted a tournament where the players of this area could have a lot of fun and not have to travel very far."
By 1980 with three strong-minded businessmen in the founding group area businesses were contacted for sponsorship and the Southwest Kansas Charity Pro-Am was born.
Now, 30 years later, the Pro-Am is alive and well, having found a permanent home in Garden City after the first three years of the event rotated to each of the three major communities of southwest Kansas. The first year 1980, the event was held at Liberal Country Club, then it moved to Garden City, then to Dodge City in 1982.
"We all knew we were taking a chance, but we also thought it was something that could work," said Burkett, now a salesman for Classic BMW of Plano, Texas. "We were able to put together a good enough purse and got in some good young players in those first few years and it proved to be a good community event."
Both Burkett and Colvin agreed after the initial three-year rotation, the committee sat down to evaluate what direction it wanted to take.
"I'm sure we looked at everything involved in the tournament," Burkett said. "We knew we wanted to keep it in one place and it was just easier to take it back and keep it in Garden City. They had the best facilities, and neither Dodge or Liberal had an 18-hole course and we were able to find the charity that made it have a focus. Plus, Kent and I both had business in Garden City, as did Paul, and that made it easier as well."
Colvin said in those early meetings, it had been discussed to have the Pro-Am as a three-day, three-city event, moving from one town to the next to the next.
"We realized very quickly, though, that the logistics were just going to be too difficult," Colvin said. "The number of support staff and volunteers that you would need to include all three courses the same year was just too much to take on. So, that's how we started with the rotation in those first three years."
Mickey Piersall of Dalhart, Texas, would claim that initial Pro-Am victory in Liberal. But the next two years were reserved for a pair of young Kansans — Wichitan Rod Nuckolls and Matt Seitz of Hutchinson (a native of Ellsworth) — to claim titles in Garden City and Dodge City.
"I think with those two winning, it created interest around the state," Colvin said . "It gave a local flavor to the tournament and it brought a lot of amateurs from Hutchinson and Wichita to the tournament. We were able to draw solid support and we had instate instant name recognition with those two winning."
Colvin said after those first three years that it became apparent to he and Burkett that Garden City had the right fit for the future of the Pro-Am. And thus, the decision was made. Garden City would be the permanent home to the Southwest Kansas Charity Pro-Am. All they needed to do was to find a beneficiary.
Dan McKenna was the CEO of St. Catherine Hospital in Garden City at the time and had a desire to solidfy its position not only in town but in the surrounding area .
"I think Dan knew that this could be beneficial to the entire southwest Kansas community and not just Garden City," Colvin said. "We then narrowed the focus of the benefit to the Newborn Intensive Care Unit for a variety of reasons -- first and foremost because it involved babies and we knew that this would affect so many people in the area. It proved to be one of the best decisions we've ever made."
Burkett, who sold his interest in Southwest Distributing in 1993 and moved to Texas, said he had missed the Pro-Am through the years after moving.
"It's a great project and I'm sorry that I'm not involved anymore, but it's great to know they're doing wonderful things for St. Catherine and the babies," Burkett said. "My middle daughter has been a nurse in other NBICU's so I can appreciate what the Pro-Am donations mean to St. Catherine and the Unit."
Former Pro-Am Tournament Coordinator Shea Sinclair (1995-2000) said she thought the reason for the ongoing success of the event was due to the drive of St. Catherine Hospital and the Pro-Am Committee.
"They've been innovative and changed the tournament through the years and they've gotten tremendous support from the community and for what the Pro-Am does for the NBICU and what St. Catherine does for the greater community of southwest Kansas," Sinclair said. "I think most of us know somebody who knows somebody who has had a child come through the NBICU."
Of the four men who founded the Pro-Am, Colvin is the lone remaining one to be involved today. And he plans to keep it that way.
"We lost Paul a number of years ago, Larry and Sam moved away and I've just always been committed to this event," Colvin said. "I've never taken for granted that this would be continuing for 30 years. We're only as strong as our volunteers and we have had hundreds, if not thousands, of different people help through the years. We've had quality board members, the golf pros and superintendents we've had have been terrific and everyone puts in a lot of time to keep things on track."
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, when many mini-tour events were dying due to the advent of the then Nike Tour (now Nationwide Series), the Pro-Am managed to remain alive and now flourishes as it celebrates the start of its third decade.
"Thirty years, that would have been very surprising if somebody had told me we'd still be doing this 30 years later," Colvin said. "When I look back, I still don't take it for granted. With the economy the way it has been at different times, our sponsors, our amateurs, our pros, our volunteers, all have stepped up and been committed to the event and what it does for the NBICU. I think we've been able to survive because we provide a quality event that has great value to what the people pay for. And that's for the players as well as the sponsors."
Colvin can look on the 2009 Pro-Am with a great deal of pride as virtually every portion of the tournament has a sponsor in celebrating its 30th anniversary.
"We've got sponsors for the Junior Clinic, Ladies Shootout, Men's Shootout, the Long Drive and Closest-to-the Hole contest, so we're in very good shape this year," Colvin said. "We've filled our amateur spots (265 players) so we're very pleased with that."
Colvin is anxious to spend that last week in July with friends, family and meeting the newcomers to the event as the Pro-Am approaches.
"It's all about relationships, making friends, renewing friendships and having an event that benefits a wonderful hospital that gives back to the community of southwest Kansas. "I think if Paul were still alive, he'd be happy to see what we're doing and I know that Larry and Sam would be too. I'm just thrilled to be part of it because it takes so many people to make this event work."
Find a full guide to the Southwest Kansas Pro-Am at http://www.gctelegram.com/pro-am/
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