How it all began…
The Coot Brown Golf League actually started as just a group of guys having a fall tournament at the Lake of the Ozarks. Starting in about 1975, 16 friends, featuring names like Dave & Donnie Schmidt, Mark Gardner, and Skipper Joe & friends, would gather at a course in the woods every October (they even stuck a sign in the woods saying “Future Home of the Coot Brown Country Club”). This annual Lake event eventually turned into an annual tournament in St. Louis, played at various courses.
An annual tournament becomes a weekly gathering of friends…
From an annual tournament, it became a weekly meeting of friends on a golf course on Thursday nights, still at different courses around the city. Eventually, the group would gather most consistently at the Bahn Fyre golf course off Tesson Ferry.
There’s a new course in town…
Sometime during 1986, an area club pro, Mike Murphy, approached his friend, Chris Pohrer, knowing that he played with this group of friends every Thursday night. Mike informed Chris of this new course being built in South County, asking if Chris would be interested to turn this group of friends into an actual league at this new course. This new course is what we now know as Quail Creek Golf Club. So, clearly interested in the opportunity, Chris and Kevin Gardner met Mike at the McDonald’s on 21 in late ’86 to discuss the possibility of starting a league of either 24 or 36 guys.
The birth of a league…
Chris and Kevin met at the construction trailer at Quail Creek while it was still under construction in the early spring of 1987. They had the unique opportunity to play a couple holes on the still-under-construction course before it even had any markings of a golf course! That June, the Coot Brown Golf League started as we know it now. The first season featured 6 teams each with 6 members, playing a 12-week season.
How far we have come…
A league that started as a bunch of guys playing golf in the woods is now 12 teams strong, spanning 20 weeks every spring & summer, complete with sponsors and even league apparel! The league, which is believed to be the longest running league in the St. Louis area, is bigger and stronger than ever in its 23rd season (2009).
The league has out-lived many things in St. Louis, from politicians to Blues’ playoff runs…even the old Kemp’s Bar which was the home of the annual league meetings for years on end.
On the rise…a comparative look back…
What was happening in 1987 when the league started? The President was Ronald Reagan and his Vice President was future-president, George Bush. The population was estimated at 242,288,918, with a life expectancy of 74.9 years. The Dow-Jones had a high of 2,722 and a first-class stamp was just $.22. Gas was going for about $.95/gallon. But, most importantly, the Coot Brown Golf league fees were just $540.
Things are, let’s just say, different now. We’ve seen a couple more presidents, including the historic presidency of Barack Obama. The population has increased as has the life expectancy. The cost of a first-class stamp has risen again and now costs more than $.42 (although, with email, who uses them anymore?) and gas is finally “cheap” again at just under $2.00/gallon! Up from the original fee of $540, it cost teams $1,800 to enter the Coot Brown Golf League this year!
Lord Stanley or the Green Jacket…
Each year, the winners of the league have their names added to the coveted Coot Brown Trophy, proudly on display in the clubhouse of the Quail Creek Golf Club. The awarding of this trophy is comparable to that of the famous Green Jacket! It’s not quite as old as the Stanley Cup…but we love it nonetheless!
