As July rolls around each year, local golf-a-holics like myself, turn an eye toward the end of the month, and the annual Bill McKinney Memorial City Championship, at Duncan Park.

Since I am old enough, and have been playing golf long enough, I thought I might shed some light on the man for whom our Natchez City Golf Championship is now named, Bill McKinney. None of this will surprise older folks that knew him, but it might help explain why he is so revered by some of us, to those who did not know him.

Mr. Bill, as he was known, was the long time golf pro at Duncan Park and near the end of his tenure I picked up the game as a youngster. Mr. Bill must have quickly realized that I loved golf. He knew that my parents weren’t wealthy, and that I didn’t have much money for golf, so he often gave me balls and gloves and such. He even once gave me several clubs, to fill out my first mix and match set of hand me down clubs. When he would give me new balls, he would usually suggest that I use them for putting, so as not to lose them. After all, he had seen me hit, and that was good advice!

Mr. Bill loved to tell stories, and I quickly picked up that he knew what he was talking about when it came to golf. When someone noted that Lee Trevino had been in a slump, “just wait until it gets hot, Trevino is a hot weather player,” retorted Mr. Bill. Guess who won the U.S. Open that summer?

Mr. Bill retired after I had been playing golf for a couple of years, but he would often visit the Pro Shop, and always asked how my game was coming along. Then, after a lengthy illness, I was saddened to hear that Mr. Bill had died. A number of his friends got together and donated the Bill McKinney Trophy in his honor. Each year the winner of the City Championship has his name engraved on that trophy, and thus we all now compete in The Bill McKinney Memorial City Championship.

As I got older, I realized that there was nothing special about me that made Mr. Bill want to help my golf career along, other than the fact that he knew I loved golf, and so did he. And then I realized those guys bought that trophy in Mr. Bill’s honor because he had had an impact on their lives as well. And how better could men that loved the game of golf honor another man that loved the game of golf?

So that’s the short version of a much longer story, and when people ask me why I still play in the Bill McKinney Memorial City Championship, that’s why. And of course, because I love the game of golf, and it is our city championship! Some folks say they aren’t good enough to play, but the tournament is flighted so you only compete against people that shoot about what you do.

Of course I would be there anyway, but good things are now happening at the Duncan Park course, thanks to some much needed attention from Greg Brooking. The course is in a lot better shape than it has been in recent years. So come on out July 26 and 27, and support The Bill McKinney Memorial City Championship. You’ll see a lot of old familiar faces from park days gone by. And though Mr. Bill is no longer there, I’m pretty sure he will be watching to see who gets to put their name on his trophy this year. I’ll be hoping to see you there!

Chuck Fields is a Natchez resident.