By Donna Lampkin Stephens

There may be no better way of traveling the 501 — as well as the 870 and 479 — than following the Arkansas State Golf Association’s tournament circuit.

Since the late 1970s, the ASGA, with offices located on the Eagle Hill Golf Course in west Little Rock, has offered golfers in Arkansas a designated tournament schedule culminating in Player of the Year awards. The circuit has grown from six or eight tournaments in one division — amateur — to 25-30 in each of junior boys, girls, amateurs (age 18 and over), mid-seniors (40 and over), seniors (55-64) and super-seniors (65 and older) in 2009.
The ASGA offers 21 sponsored tournaments from March through October, 32 amateur tournaments from April through October, 28 mid-senior events from April through September, 29 senior events from April through October, 24 super-senior tournaments from April through September, and 21 junior events from May through the first week of August.
Jay Fox, executive director of the Arkansas State Golf Association, said the sport’s popularity led to the great expansion.
“Once you got on the schedule, that was sort of the place to be,” he said. “The K.B. Rand (at Searcy Country Club) was always full; the Thomas Earl Massey (at Morrilton Country Club), the Fourth of July at War Memorial (in Little Rock) is always huge.
“It’s like the professional tour of Arkansas with a bunch of amateurs.”
Golfers are awarded points toward the Player of the Year award for their finish in the designated tournaments. Fox himself is a three-time ASGA Player of the Year, having won amateur titles in 1983 and 1989 and the mid-senior award last year.
There is competition for junior boys and girls, women, amateurs, mid-seniors, seniors and super-seniors. The circuit includes stops all over the 501 and beyond — Hot Springs, Mountain Home, Little Rock, Bryant, Pine Bluff, Jacksonville, Maumelle, Texarkana, Cabot, North Little Rock, Heber Springs, Batesville, Fort Smith, El Dorado, Jonesboro, Fayetteville, Rogers, Camden, Melbourne, Hot Springs Village, West Memphis, Russellville, Conway, Monticello, Searcy and Harrison.
Tracy Harris, 45, of Little Rock, has played the circuit for about 25 years. He was the Amateur Player of the Year in 1997.
“I’ve always enjoyed traveling, and I haven’t gone on a lot of family vacations since I’ve been out of college, so that’s always been a chance to get away and go play,” he said. “We all look forward to it. We’ll say, ‘Are you going to Batesville or Searcy or Fayetteville? Let’s go out and eat at such-and-such a place.’”
Harris — as well as most of the ASGA regulars — knows all the best places to eat in all the cities on the circuit.
“My physique shows it,” he said wryly.
Fox said although there is the occasional complaint from a club member about having his course closed for a time on a tournament weekend, there are real benefits to the circuit.
“What’s gone kind of unseen over the years is what these tournaments have done for the economy of those little towns,” he said. “All these golfers have got to fill up their tanks, eat meals, and there’s often lodging involved.
“There’s no way of knowing how much better these little towns are over the years. The city businesses are getting something out of it, I can assure you.”
Tim Cain of Conway was a regular on the circuit for about seven years before family obligations curtailed his activity — for a while, at least. He was the Amateur Player of the Year in 2002 and 2003.
“I played pretty much every weekend,” he said. “That was before I had kids, and the more kids I had, the tougher it got. I probably wouldn’t have played as much after my children were born, but after I got to winning tournaments and contending for Player of the Year, I had to twist my wife’s arm to get to play.”
He hopes to join one of the senior circuits after daughters Anna, 13; Mary Kate, 5; and son Kyle, 21 months, are older.
“If I can get some of my kids involved in golf, I’m there,” Cain said. “I still do enjoy traveling to the different golf courses around the state. It’s a nice outing to be able to get away and be with your friends. I probably never would’ve played some of the courses I’ve been able to play had it not been for the ASGA circuit. It’s just great to go to different cities in Arkansas you’ve never been to.”
Fox said through the ASGA circuit, he’s been able to meet and make friends of the idols he knew while growing up, such as Wyn Norwood, Louis Lee and the late Willis Watkins — 501 golfers well known all across the state.
“If you played well enough, you got to be paired with the Louis Lees, Wyn Norwoods and Willis Watkinses of the world,” Fox said.
Cain said although he’s now involved with his daughter playing competitive soccer, “I do miss the camaraderie and traveling across the state of the ASGA circuit.
“We’re very unique,” he said. “Some of the other states don’t have this.”
For more information on the ASGA, please go to www.asga.org or call 501.455.2742.