Junior Golf Leader Passes Away

 By JAY ALLRED

 To say Winston Lake Golf Course professional Earnest Morris will be missed is an understatement. Morris was a quiet leader in Winston-Salem who influenced a wide variety of people.

Morris, 59, died Oct. 4.

His crowning achievement was his commitment to young people. Upon arriving in Winston-Salem he went to work as an assistant golf professional at Tanglewood Park where he worked for five years helping to develop the junior golf clinic that was sponsored by Coca-Cola and R.J. Reynolds.

After moving to Winston Lake as golf professional in 1984, he developed a first-class summer junior golf program that offered youth the opportunity to learn and play golf regardless of income, gender or race. Morris’ program used mentors who worked with the kids on each hole. Morris never sought a lot of publicity regarding his program, but it was full every year.

His goal was to teach youngsters the game in an enjoyable atmosphere and encourage them to be better people. One of his graduates to stand out is Sam Puryear Jr. He grew up in the Winston Lake program, went to college as a golfer, interned at Golf Digest and is now the Director of the East Lake Junior Golf Academy. East Lake’s program is the most recognized junior program in the nation. Now Puryear expands on the dreams and ideas that Morris started.

In addition to his junior program, he gave instruction on golf at both Forsyth Technical Community College and Winston-Salem State University. He worked with organizations in the community to provide fund-raising golf tournaments. As soon as he booked the tournament he got on the phone promoting, making sure Triad Golf Today always had it listed in the tournament listings.

Morris was a warm personable host that always made people feel welcome. At Winston Lake he worked hard for everyone to get along whether he was running a golf association tournament or the Forsyth Invitational. He expected everyone to follow the rules and treated everyone with respect.

Most conversations with Morris started with golf, but they eventually moved to his family as well as his trains. Morris was a train fanatic. He collected model trains and would stay up until the wee hours of the morning rearranging tracks and working on trains.

He will be missed at the course, train shows and, most of all, at home.

Morris is survived by his wife, Gwendolyn, and five children, Lee and Herb Fowler and Stacey M. Tracey, all of New Jersey, and Clifton R. and Earnest Jr. of Winston-Salem. He had eight grandchildren.

Memorials can be made to the Earnest L. Morris Junior Golf Memorial Fund, c/o Mechanics and Farmers Bank, P.O. Box 628, Winston-Salem, N.C., 27102.