Inductees

In the late 1940s, the family farm outside Poplar Bluff  wasn’t far from a golf course, and so 12-year-old Buddy Godwin would walk a quarter-mile and caddy for anybody.

“I grew up around the game, so very early on I realized I loved the game,” Buddy said.

Not only did he love it, but he dedicated himself to becoming an accomplished golfer across the state of Missouri and beyond. He then taught his two oldest sons, Bobby and Ben, the game.

Even better, their combined success is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted the Godwin Golf Family with the Class of 2025.

Put it this way – Buddy and Ben one of two father-son duos to win Missouri Amateurs (Buddy in 1973, Ben in 2003 & 2006). The other? That was Springfield’s Bill & Payne Stewart (MSHOF Legend 2000).

A 1955 graduate of Poplar Bluff High School who played at the University of Memphis, Buddy has won more than 100 amateur tournaments. He was an eight-time winner of the Ozark Open. Starting in 1965, he qualified for several U.S. Amateurs, reached the U.S. Mid-Am quarterfinals in 1985 and played in the 1987 U.S. Senior Open.

He later competed in PGA Senior Tour events.

Bobby was a three-year letterman at both Poplar Bluff and Arkansas State, competing on the Mules’ 1980 and 1981 state championship teams.

Beginning in 1989, Bobby qualified for seven USGA events and won numerous local, state and national amateur tournaments, including the 1999 Missouri State Stroke Play championship. He earned the MGA Player of the Year that year. He later won the 1991 Trans-Miss tournament.

Ben was a four-year letterman at both Poplar Bluff (part of the 1988 state title team) and the University of Missouri. He began winning local and state amateur tournaments in 1990, qualifying for six USGA events. He won the two-man state team event with Bobby in 1998 and won the Missouri Amateur in 2003 and 2006.

But the story all starts in the late 1940s, when a family farm sat not far from a golf course south of Poplar Bluff.

That’s where Buddy not only learned the game but, in 1953, began taking his future wife, Mary.

“We’d walk 18 holes and carry our clubs every day at a little 9-hole course with sand greens,” Buddy once told KRCG for a story on the Missouri Golf Association website.

Mary became an avid golfer, too, and took the boys on the course. And Buddy was never overly demanding.

“I just taught them the game, when to take chances and when to play it safe, and to always play within yourself and never think about winning,” Buddy said.

Bobby also thanks high school teammates for making him better.

“It was unbelievably competitive. We had six kids go on to play in college,” said Bobby, who placed third in 1981. “We all were friends but, man, we wanted to beat each other also.”

In the Missouri State Stroke Play Championship, he shot 17-under for four rounds – a record that still stands. He also has officiated high school basketball for 39 years.

Ben wasn’t far behind.

“I learned more by caddying for my father and then later for Bobby,” Ben said. “There is no better place to learn the game than by caddying for good players.”

Ben finished seventh at state his senior year, and West Point recruited him before he chose Mizzou. Of his six USGA events, the first was the sweetest. He made the cut on a 20-footer for birdie on the last hole.

When Bobby and Ben won the two-man state team event, Bobby sank a par on the last hole, winning by 1.

Bobby caddied for Ben in both of his Missouri Amateur wins.

“Bobby swears that was the round of my life in KC to win the second one,” said Ben, a football and basketball referee for 30 years. “I shot 6 under my last round on a hard golf course and beat a good player.”

All have had the support of their families, including a sister, Becky and her family. Bobby and his wife, Beth, are parents to Aaron, Austin, Sydney and John Paul. Ben and his wife, Kelly, are parents to Cole, Feddy, Rainy and Charly.

“Golf has been a huge part of my life with so many memories,” Ben said. “It has brought a lot of joy to my life and family. It is hard to imagine my life without golf. This honor is a cherry on top.”