Duffers take a swing at downtown golf to help Red House

Local golfers putted, chipped and shanked their way through downtown Cape Girardeau on Sunday afternoon for the city's annual downtown golf tourney.

The event, officially known as the 1st Ever 11th Annual Louis J. Lorimier World Famous Downtown Golf Tournament and hosted by the city's Parks and Recreation department, is a fundraiser for the maintenance of the Red House Interpretive Center, which offers a glimpse into the lives of early Cape Girardeau residents.

Cape Girardeau County associate commissioner Charlie Herbst said the original idea for the tournament came from a joke made by former Southeast Missourian editor Joe Sullivan.

The joke implied if Lewis and Clark were to come back from the grave to visit Cape Girardeau, the mayor at the time, Al Spradling III, probably would just take them golfing.

So when the Red House needed funding, the joke spawned a charity event.

Jordan Tatum readies for a shot Sunday in front of Old St. Vincent's Church during the 1st Ever 11th Annual Louis J. Lorimier World Famous Downtown Golf Tournament in Cape Girardeau.Tyler Graef

"It's a small event," Herbst said. "But taken cumulatively over the years, it's significant."

The event typically draws between 20 and 50 participants. One year, it boasted 80 registrants.

Herbst said since the event's beginning, the Red House has received about $30,000. This money most recently has been used to fix the roof and address termite damage.

The course's "holes" consisted of artificial-turf pads with baskets in the center. Hit the pad, you made the hole. Chip it into the basket, however, and deduct the final stroke.

In lieu of actual golf balls, the tourney is played with birdieballs, which are plastic

One golfer, Andrew Essner, called the birdieballs "completely unpredictable," but his friend Charles McGinty said he was having an easier time with them.

"They have a good weight to them," he said. "But I don't think it's so much that it could break a car window or anything."

And because the course was laid out on more of a putt-putt scale, golfer Eric McGowen was able to bring along his 7-year-old daughter, Ella.

Boots Jessup, a docent at the Red House, said the event is by far the most significant fundraiser for the organization, and she looks forward to it every year.

And every year she mans the hole that runs along the water at the riverfront. She said it's breezy, with a nice view, and those birdieballs make such a nice "ploop" sound when they go in the Mississippi.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627