Buddy Godwin

By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer

Local golfer Buddy Godwin has enjoyed his sport for many years and now he is being recognized for his accomplishments, as he was recently inducted into the Missouri Golf Association's Hall of Fame.

Godwin sees the induction as an honor.

"Certainly, I really do," Godwin said. "I won't be the only one in this area but at least we have our foot in the door."

Godwin, now 71 years old, has been around golf since he was 12 when he started being a caddie.

"I was raised on a farm behind a golf course," Godwin said. "You don't have to have a gym or field or a team, it is up to you how much you want to work in it."

Godwin won the 1973 Missouri State Amateur and finally turned pro at the age of 50 in 1987. He only turned professional at that time because as an amateur, he was playing against competition much younger than himself.

"I never felt like I was good enough (to go pro earlier)," Godwin said. "I had a wife, three children and a job."

Godwin was a player that excelled close to the pin and around the greens, son Ben said.

"He didn't ever hit very far, he had trouble with long courses," Ben said. "Dad was always beating people around the greens, he could chip and putt as well as any of them, that's what he was known for."

Naturally, Buddy's involvement in golf was passed on to his son's Ben and Bobby.

"He was very good about helping us out," Ben said. "He never pushed us or made us play but told us if we were going to play we were going to do it right and not goof off.

"When he started helping me, he'd say I'll help you work at it but we are not going to (take it lightly.)"

Godwin stopped playing competitive golf at age 52 but still plays now about three or four times a week. The key to the game is the basics, Godwin said.

"It is like anything else," Buddy said. "Like basketball, there are only so many offenses and so many defenses. The ones that do the fundamentals more consistently will be your better players."

Godwin played in the U.S. Senior Open after turning pro about 21 years ago. He takes that experience and all the others he has had with the game of golf and passes it on to other players, now often of the younger generation.

"When you get my age and you can't play as much, you help the younger ones," Buddy said. "You pull for them."

Buddy also likes golf because it helps him meet many different types of people.

"It opens a lot of doors for you," Buddy said. "You are in good places, nice places."