Today last chance to sign up for downtown golf

When the father of Cape Girardeau, Louis Lorimier, established a trading post here hundreds of years ago, some of his friends may have made the decision to just read about it later and that's why their name wasn't written down in history books.

Southeast Missourian editor Joe Sullivan -- also a founder -- doesn't want the same thing to happen come 1:30 p.m. June 24.

The deadline for Cape Girardeau's First-Ever Second Annual Louis J. Lorimier Memorial World-Famous Downtown Golf Tournament is today, and so far 28 have signed up.

This summer's urban course features an additional less-urban nine-hole course at Riverfont Park on the River Campus. The original course, which will be played in reverse, takes golfers through streets, alleys and buildings.

As it was written, the tournament started as a figment of Sullivan's imagination, and with help of some community leaders, became a reality in 2006.

Sullivan talked about golfing through downtown for about a decade, according to Councilman Charlie Herbst. Like the great Lorimier, Sullivan drew his inspiration from the Mississippi River, but it didn't spawn a city. Instead of visualizing the river as a trade route for years to come, Sullivan thought about driving golf balls into the water.

Herbst said he was able to make Sullivan's dream come true when he stumbled upon a Web site regarding urban golf in London, where golfers went from pub to pub hitting golf balls. Herbst's next move was tracking down the Birdie Ball, a hollowed-out plastic doughnut that stays put when it hits the ground. He then contacted John Breaker of Colorado, one of the inventors of the ball, who willingly donated enough Birdie Balls to support the tournament.

Herbst, who describes himself as an "average to below-average" golfer, said all that's needed is a 5-iron or 6-iron club to drive the Birdie Ball about 30 feet.

"Everyone's on [an] equal playing field," he said. "Last year non-golfers did well and really good golfers did not."

Proceeds of the tournament will benefit the Red House Interpretive Center. Director Jane Randol Jackson has been instrumental in working out the logistics of the tournament. About 20 volunteers from Red House will help set up the course and escort people through downtown.

Last year, 88 people participated. Herbst said people could still sign up for the tournament after today, but the sooner the better because reservations must be made for the all-you-can-eat catfish buffet, if history repeats itself.

To register, go to the Convention and Visitors Bureau on Broadway or the Parks and Recreation Department in the Arena Building.

tkrakowiak@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137