LASSIES CLASSIC: ANNUAL SCRAMBLE SHOWS GROWTH OF WOMEN'S GOLF IN AREA

Deanna Estes followed through on a fairway shot toward the 10th hole during the Lassies Classic.

Lisa Stanfield watched her putt on the 16th hole of the Cape Girardeau Country Club.

Beth Mapes reacted to her drive on the No. 4 tee.

For two days in July the golf course at Cape Girardeau Country Club is transformed into the course at St. Andrews in Scotland for the annual Lassies Classic women's golf scramble.

The water hazards are renamed in honor of Loch Lomond and Loch Ness lakes in Scotland. There's even a 25-foot Loch Ness monster floating in the water hazard renamed for the infamous lake.

The clubhouse is renamed "The Royal and Ancient" clubhouse for the tournament in honor of the St. Andrews golf association.

The golfers are greeted with bagpipe music in the morning, and the flags are changed to plaid tartan.

On the tournament's first night, the annual "Gathering of the Clan" banquet is held.

Deanne Fry, of Mount Carmel, Ill., called it the best tournament.

She and golf partner Kate Ackerman, also of Mount Carmel, schedule their Mount Carmel Invitational around the Lassies Classic -- so they can play in both.

They would skip the Mount Carmel Invitational if the two conflicted, Ackerman said.

Ackerman and Fry have traveled the 3 1/2-hour trip to the Classic the past six years.

"It's amazing how many people keep coming back," Marion Miles, tournament founder.

The seeds were planted for the Lassies Classic tournament on a trip to Scotland 19 years ago.

Miles went to Scotland in 1978 with her husband, Dr. H.T. Miles, and played the St. Andrews course. They loved it. Miles brought back with her an enthusiasm for the birthplace of the first women's golf association.

The first women's golf association was started in 1867 at St. Andrews. It was the Royal and Ancient Golf Club's tradition that inspired the Lassies Classic.

Back in Cape Girardeau, Miles, Beth Mapes, Marcia Wagner, Edith Lansmon, Diane Bryan and Ann Dombrowski decided to organize a women's golf tournament at the Cape Girardeau Country Club.

The Lassies Classic brings in women golfers from three states to compete in the two-day scramble.

But it is not only the Scottish favors, good food and social events that bring 200 women from three states to the Country Club each July.

"Women like to exercise and they like the outdoors and golf is a perfect match," Lola Ruble, a golfer from Farmington, said.

Women's golf has grown considerably over the past decade.

"The game is very popular, it's fun!" Lisa Stanfield, of Cape Girardeau, said.

The Lassies Classic is a true m measure of how the growth of women's golf has exploded in the past 18 years.

In the tournament's first year, 1979, 30 teams competed. Today, there is a 100-team limit with a 20-team waiting list.

Country Club pro Jack Connell said women's golf has grown for several reasons.

"From the Lassies Classic to just our normal Ladies Day Golf I've seen it grow over the past 16 years," he said.

One reason is that there are more women's tournaments. Another is that women are getting more play time as country clubs are loosening up their regulations on women's golfers.

Connell said the growth of the LPGA on television has also been a factor.

The Women's Golf Association of Cape Girardeau Country Club was established in 1951 by Verna Mae Mulkey and Erna Howell. They copied from the Carbondale Women's Golf Association that was already in place.

The association has grown from 35 members that first year to 90 members today. The association is part of the SEMO Women's Golf Association, which has 15 clubs from Farmington to Kennett.

Gary Squires, a pro at the Cape Girardeau Country Club, said, "It's a real active organization in the club here. A lot of women play a lot of ladies tournaments."

At least a dozen women from the local club travel to a tournament each week.

The number of tournaments have grown throughout the years, with the SEMO Golf Association coordinating the tournaments so that no dates conflict.

The SEMO Golf Association publishes a book listing the men's and women's golf tournaments in the area, Squires said.

Miles thinks the three best women's tournaments in Southeast Missouri are the Poplar Bluff Powder Puff, the Farmington Swingers and the Lassies Classic.

Many golfers in this year's tournament want to sign up for next year's tournament, but have to wait until April, when signups open.

The Lassies Classic draws players from Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky.