Central Kentucky golfing legend Dale Moore won a lot but having fun was always his priority

If you were a central Kentucky golfer from 1975-2000, especially if you played in local invitational tournaments that were so  popular, you may have known Dale Moore of Garrard County — or at least heard about him.

He was a golfing icon in central Kentucky and impacted so many lives on and off the course in a variety of ways.

He died Monday at age 84 at his home in Lancaster. Some long-time Kentucky basketball fans might know he played at Inez High School and was on the 1954 state championship team — he’s a member of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame — and then went to Eastern Kentucky University on a basketball scholarship. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Royals but was drafted by the Army and served two years in Thailand.

Once he returned home, his father-in-law convinced him to try golf and the rest is history. He won over 100 golf tournaments statewide.

“Just an incredible legacy,” said Bruce Brown, Frankfort County Club pro and Bellarmine golf coach. “No one in Kentucky golf  history has won more championships. Only problem, he never cared or kept count. He played for fun and camaraderie. Win or lose, he never cared. He just loved playing.”

Yes he did. I played with him for many years and even got to caddy for him in several tournaments. No doubt in my mind he could have played professional golf but he never had the desire. He hit the ball incredibly long and was great with his short irons. When he was on, no one in Kentucky beat him.

I traveled to several invitational tournaments with him and as Brown noted, fun was the priority. If I didn’t play well, he always told me, “So what. You are playing golf. Just enjoy it.”

He helped my game a lot and was the biggest reason I did qualify for the state high school golf tournament and when I finished third in an invitational tournament one time only a few strokes behind him I was so, so proud.

He taught in the Lancaster school system and coached at Stanford, Paint Lick and Buckeye schools. He was the first to coach high school basketball after the consolidation of high schools in Garrard County.

He celebrated his 63rd wedding anniversary in August with his lovely bride Barbara Holton Moore, a true lady that he worshipped.

Friends had an honorary golf scramble in his honor in 2020 and his daughter, Leslie Hall of Middletown, said her father still played golf this summer “when he could in spite of battling renal and heart failure.” Just a few years ago he was also still actively helping youngsters with their golf games.

Leslie said in July he was playing golf with his grandson, Drew Moore, but only made it 17 holes due to fatigue.

“Drew was on a roll so he encouraged him to keep on playing and he shot a 65 at Dix River Country Club (in Stanford),” she said.

That’s so Dale Moore. Always encouraging and helping others.

He never liked being interviewed or having me write about him no matter how much he won. He often tried every way in the world to avoid talking about himself because he never considered himself a big deal.

“He thought the world of you,” his daughter told me. “He may have acted embarrassed when you wrote about him, but he really ate it up. Thank you for all the smiles you gave him.”

No, let’s all thank Dale Moore for all the smiles and good times he gave so many of us in so many different ways.

I just hope there is a course tough enough for him in heaven because I know he’s still hitting it long and straight.

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Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m.  Friday at Ramsey-Young Funeral Home in Lancaster with burial following at Camp Nelson National Cemetery. Pallbearers include Chris Moore, Drew Moore, Harrison Moore, Craig Hall, Dan Shook, Johnny Wilson, and Ced Leavell. Honorary pallbearers include golfers from Dix River, Old Bridge, and Lone Oak, former basketball players coached by Moore, and the many special friends who were part of his life.

Visitation will be held from 4-9 p.m.  Thursday at Ramsey-Young Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Garrard County Library, Lancaster Methodist Church, and Heritage Hospice of Danville. Friends and family may share memories or leave condolences on his tribute wall at: www.ramsey-young.com.