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October 24, 1973
Orlando, FL
Course 1

Warren Morris – Putt-Putt Golf Course Owner

Warren Morris started his association with Putt-Putt Golf in Jacksonville, Fl
at the Arlington Road Course in 1962 as the manager of the course. A few
years later he was the course owner of the Putt-Putt Golf Course in Orlando,
FL on Colonial Dr; however, during the weekday he was still working as a
glass glazier. Morris helped start the Florida State Putting Tour, commonly
called the Gator Trail Tour. He was a very active player and won tournaments
at the local, state, and national level. He was known by his fellow
competitors as the “Southern Gentleman” – and he was instrumental with the
development of such players as Mike Pfeiffer (TV contestant), Gary English
(TV contestant), Joe Marazzito (Runner-up National APA Championship),
Dale Fuhr (World Qualifying Tournament winner), John Rankin (World
Qualifying Tournament winner) and Dan Anders (PPA Player of the Year). It
was Warren Morris who called over to a little league baseball player as he
was looking at the tournament scoreboard from a previous tournament and hollered, “Hey runt!” The
little league baseball player knew he was the runt, he turned around and walked over to the clubhouse
and looked up at Morris and replied, “Yes sir?” Morris proceeded to tell the little league player about
Kiddies Day and held up a trophy that was to be awarded every Saturday. The runt was fascinated with
winning the 4-inch trophy that resembled the robotic monster in the original movie, “The Day the Earth
Stood Still.” He returned, and returned, and returned...eventually becoming the runner-up in the 1975
World Putting Championship.

Course 1 on Colonial Drive had wood rails and was comprised of the typical Putt-Putt hole designs of
the 1960s. Cool weather could easily influence the golf ball's response off the wood rails and the hole
designs were long. The weather for the night that Morris shot the 18 was no different than any other
fall evening in central Florida. By tee-time the temp was 69 degrees with a light breeze, and by the end
of the night it would drop to 67 degrees. Morris was not even planning to play the event. He was
preparing the score sheets and making sure the carpets were clean for the players. Fellow professional,
Jim Craig, talked him into playing because they needed an additional player to complete the pairings
with 3 players in each group. That evening, there were 18 players in the tournament. Having just