Seventy-eight-year-old
Jimmy Howard wore a
baseball cap on a cold,
windy Friday, March 11,
and he was eager to play a
round of golf with the super
seniors at Belle Meade
Country Club.
"We're the last hurrah,"
said Howard, a 30-year
member at Belle Meade.
"You don't get promoted
after this class."
Despite 20-mph gusts that
made it seem colder than
50 degrees, eight seniors
arrived for the 11 a.m. tee
time. They have a regularly
scheduled round every
Tuesday and Friday.
They may take golf
seriously but not themselves.
When asked how long he
had been playing with the
group, Jim Park, 75, said
"too long."
Dick Cate, 69, chooses to
walk the course, apparently
for exercise, but Norris
Long, 79, said jokingly that
Cate was "too tight" to rent
a cart.
Six to 20 play depending
on the time of year and the
weather.
"We have some wimps
who can't play in the
winter," said one member
standing at the first tee.
Curl Chalker, 62, is one of
two currently employed. He
works part time with Wilson
Realty and Insurance Co.,
but he said he's semi-retired
and plays a lot of golf.
"This is a rowdy bunch,"
Chalker said.
Asked if his name
originated from having
curly hair, Chalker said,
rubbing his balding pate, "I
used to have curly hair."
Chalker is flying to
Scotland in May with seven
friends to spend a week
playing golf. That's a round
a day and twice one day.
They'll play seven rounds
on seven courses, including
St. Andrews, where they
have played the British
Open. Chalker said St.
Andrews is a public course,
and on Sundays, they allow
people on the course to have
picnics.
John Stier, whom some
thought to be close to 88,
was the oldest member of the
group, but he died recently.
The honor currently goes
to Duke Satcher, 86, but he
wasn't playing Friday. Jim
McGlauflin, 83, was the
elder statesman in the group
Friday. The group also included Jim Wood, 71, and
Clark Willingham, 74.
Willingham runs the pro
shop at Belle Meade and
had the lowest handicap at
six in the group.
The format for the round is
described as points to pull:
eight points for a hole-inone
or eagle, four points for
a birdie, two points for a par
and one point for a bogie.
After nine and eighteen
holes, the highest score in
each foursome is dropped.
They made foursomes by
one member tossing balls
out of a bucket. Daisy, a
light brown dog, is the
group's mascot and follows
them around the course.
Long said he shot a holein-
one on No. 5 about a
month ago. He couldn't
remember the exact date.
He said he's shot his age a
couple of times.
The stakes aren't high
either; the most anyone
loses is $3.
