When 1966 Dogwood Invitational champion Charles Harrison hits the ceremonial tee shot at the 2012 Dogwood Invitational on Wednesday, one of the country's top amateur golf tournaments will officially be under way at Druid Hills Golf Club.
Harrison, 81, no longer plays golf competitively but he does continue to make major contributions to the game. He participates in the First Tee Program at the East Lake Gold Club.
Children involved in the program listen when Harrison offers a word of advice or encouragement.
"This man is a legend," said Timothy Caraway. He says Harrison will give pointers on just about everything.
Cameron Batey says Harrison has seen it all and done it all when it comes to golf.
Batey and Caraway are both instructors at the camp. It wasn't that long ago when the two rising college sophomores were campers learning from Harrison.
"He has a way with people, but especially kids here at the First Tee. He gets them intrigued and excited," said Batey.
The 1966 Dogwood Invitational Champion played in 16 US amateurs, three British amateurs, the Masters twice, and the US Open twice. It was a US Open qualifying round at East Lake in 1965 that continues to make an impression generations later.
"I got paired with a gentlemen. I played with him and we had lunch together and we went out and played the second 18 holes together," said Charles Harrison.
The gentleman Harrison refers to is George Johnson. He became the first black golfer to play at East Lake that day. Johnson, now 73, is the head pro at the Bobby Nichols Golf Course in Louisville, Kentucky.
"The membership was upset about it and declared that they weren't going to have any more qualifyings at East Lake and I probably ought to get kicked out because I took him into lunch," said Harrison.
For the club, it was a defining moment. For Harrison, it was just a great day of golf.
"He couldn't have been any nicer. We had a good time and I qualified for the tournament. So, I was thrilled to death. It was no social agenda or anything," reflected Harrison.
Harrison continues his passion of not only teaching golf lessons, but life lessons as well.
"Right now the stories might not mean as much, but in about five years, 10 years they'll be like, ‘Wow I knew that guy.' I know exactly what he was talking about now," said Batey.
Round one of the Dogwood Invitational begins on Wednesday at Druid Hills Golf Club. If you want to go out and watch some of the world's top amateur golfers, it is free and open to the public. For more information, visit http://thedogwood.com/
Tuesday, June 18 2013 5:56 AM EDT2013-06-18 09:56:03 GMT
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1966 Dogwood Invitational champion Charles Harrison
