Greater Greensboro Open Blog Remembers Larry Heath

September 11th reminds us of New York City, a field in Pennsylvania and the Pentagon. That day seven years ago when we can still remember exactly what we were doing when we heard the news. September 11, 2007 is also a date friends of the tournament held in Greensboro will remember as the day we lost 1975 Greater Greensboro Open General Chairman Larry Heath.

I wanted to remember Larry for his many contributions to the golf tournament and to the community, but also for his contribution to A GGO Thing. I was fortunate enough to sit down with Larry a few short months before his passing and we talked about one of his most favorite things-the GGO. The following are excerpts from the book. I wanted to share Larry's words as we remember him and the other events on this day.

Larry Heath on the Crosby Clambake and Looking for Celebrities

During a 2007 interview, Larry Heath, the Greater Greensboro Open’s 1975 General Chairman, talked about his trips to the Clambake. Unlike the events of today, Heath said that members of the GGO Executive Committee attended the Crosby to recruit celebrities for Greensboro’s tournament, not just golfers.

" We went just about every year to the Crosby. There were a lot of celebrities there at the time. There were a lot of celebrities we could talk to. And the people at the Bing Crosby were good friends of ours, so they gave us all the credentials and everything we needed to get to the celebrities."

Among his cherished collection of photos in one of Larry standing beside John Forbis in front of the famous Lone Cypress tree also known as the Pebble Beach trademark. The same tree that is depicted on the 1970 bottle that could very well have been the inspiration for the 1972 GGO commemorative decanter that John Forbis and his committee brought to Greensboro. It was during this trip that 1972 Greater Greensboro Open General Chairman John Forbis first spotted the collectible decanters that had been produced to promote Bing Crosby’s event.

Larry Heath on 1977 Greater Greensboro Open General Chairman Wade Peoples

This portion of the GGO story begins with a 2007 interview conducted with 1975 GGO General Chairman Larry Heath as he detailed the important role 1977 GGO General Chairman Wade Peoples played in the transition from Sedgefield to Forest Oaks Country Club.

Heath said, "The year I was appointed chairman, which was ’75, I kind of thought maybe and a think a lot of other people thought that might be the year that Wade got appointed. But for whatever reason it didn’t happen and I think it turned out to be a blessing."

"Wade was our most experienced leadman that we had working with the Jaycees. He had been a leadman probably six or seven times and had worked on that tournament from every angle. So with the move coming about the way it did we were sitting there with a chairman that probably knew more about the golf tournament than anybody else could have possibly known that would have been considered at that time for it."

"Wade went to Forest Oaks and all of the sudden we had all these new issues about bleachers and roping. It was just damn lucky. Right guy, right time, right place."

These excerpts are from A GGO Thing:A Brief History of the Greater Greensboro Open Commemorative Decanters by Randy Harris