Southwest Senior Golf Association SKED
May 16 -- Talking Stick South, Scottsdale
June 20 -- Moon Valley Country Club, Phoenix
July 25 -- Oakcreek Country Club, Sedona
Aug. 22 -- Antelope Hills North, Prescott
Sept. 12 -- Talking Stick North, Scottsdale
Oct. 17 -- Prescott Country Club, Prescott

By BILL HUFFMAN

For The Tribune

For a golf organization that requires its members to be at least 50 years old, it would seem that the Southwest Senior Golf Association would do well just to maintain the status quo.

Not so, as the SWSGA is growing like a Hale Irwin drive, according to its current tournament director and chairman of the board, Ted King.

“Right now we have in excess of 200 members, and that’s the most we’ve ever had,’’ said King of the organization that dates back to 1976, when three well-known local golf pros -- Billy Johnston and the late Gene Lesch and Jack Morris -- founded the organization.

“We play once a month, usually the third Monday, and we have anywhere from 100 to 128 players per tournament. It’s just a lot of fun, with the theme the same as it’s always been: Competitive senior golf for pros and amateurs alike.’’

And while most are single-digit amateurs or club pros with game, the SWSGA also occassionally boasts a few big hitters, like Champions Tour veterans Bruce Devlin, Miller Barber, Butch Baird and Johnston.

According to Johnston, who once played on both the PGA and Senior PGA tours, there never was any attempt to make the SWSGA a big-time, big-money circuit.

“We just wanted to get something going here in the Valley for our senior pros and amateurs,’’ Johnston said. “There was a void (left by the Southwest Section of the PGA and the Arizona Golf Association), and we tried to fill it the best way we could.’’

Obviously, the efforts of Johnston, Lesch and Morris have stood the test of time, as the SWSGA will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year. Despite the longevity, the group is not all that different than it was in the very beginning, King added.

“Originally, they played at places like Arizona Country Club, Phoenix Country Club, Pinnacle Peak Country Club and the Century Club (now Orange Tree), because there weren’t a lot of public golf courses operating back in those days,’’ King noted. “And the format was your basic pro-am with A, B, C and D players, with the pro being the A player, just like it is today.’’

Perhaps the biggest difference is the SWSGA once was a statewide organization, wheras today it is more local in nature.

“Back when, there were a bunch of members in Tucson, and we played courses down there, too,’’ King said. “But now, it’s mostly hosted right here in the Valley at some great golf courses, although we still go up on the hill (northern Arizona) in the summertime to places like Oakcreek Country Club (Sedona) and Antelope Hills (Prescott).’’

Members pay a $75 annual fee, with events costing $75 to enter. The purse pays out the top 30 percent of the field, with ususally one to three pro divisions and one to three amateur divisions based on size of field and age bracket.

“It’s all about the competition, because if you’re looking to make big money out of this and retire, forget it,’’ said King, who has led the organization for the past three years, following in the footsteps of Sue Urry, Don Karacher and Gordon Sabbot.

“I guess it’s gotten a little more complicated than it once was, because now we have a steering committee, and we do the results by computer. But anyone can still join if he’s got the right credentials and he’s 50 years or older.’’