There may be a better organization in golf than the Tin Whistles Club in Pinehurst, but if there is, someone’s going to have to point it out to me.

I can’t recall the first time I heard of the Whistles, but it was probably some 40 years ago. Frankly, my first impression was that it was probably a bunch of stuffed shirts who gathered occasionally to have a few drinks, tell some stale jokes and wonder what the poor folks were doing that day.

Over the last 15 years or so, I’ve been delighted to learn that impression couldn’t have been more wrong. During the past 12 years that I’ve been employed as the golf writer for The Pilot, I’ve been fortunate to attend many meetings held by the Tin Whistles, and the impressions haven’t been just good. They’ve been mind-blowingly spectacular.

The organization celebrated its 100th anniversary as a club a few years ago, and while a couple of Whistles (such as Colin McKenzie) may claim to be charter members, don’t believe it.

The Tin Whistles have come a long way since their origin, when the name was the Wow! Wow! Wow! Rah! Rah! Rah! Club. Wonder how many drinks had been ordered before someone came up with that name?

The club even had a theme song back in those days that went like this:

Yes we are, yes we are

Tin Whistles! Tin Whistles! Rah! Rah! Rah!

Can we golf and can we sing?

Can we make our echoes ring?

Well, we rather think we can

For the rest, just ASK THE MAN!

Yes we are, yes we are

Tin Whistles! Tin Whistles! Rah! Rah! Rah!

Does that little refrain get your adrenaline flowing or what?

Seriously, I’ve never heard that ditty sung at a Tin Whistles meeting, but then I haven’t been to all of them.

Seriously again, folks, the Tin Whistles do more good for Moore County and its residents than most people could imagine. They’re involved in helping youngsters in various ways, including The First Tee program, where former Tin Whistles president Bob Hepner oversees an annual summer tour for kids still in school.

They have adopted a highway in Pinehurst that they keep clean of litter, and they find many other ways to help the community.

But one of the most important things the club does is provide annual scholarships for outstanding students in the area. They are currently interviewing young people for the four scholarships that will be awarded this year.

The Tin Whistles Educational and Research Foundation (TWERF) was initiated in 1978 with the first grant to two students in the amount of $1,200 per year for four years.

Today that grant is $3,500 per year for four years to four students.

A total of 91 students have benefited from these scholarships with the amount of grants over the years totaling approximately $800,000, all of which has been contributed by Tin Whistles members and a few outside friends.

None of this would have been possible without the game of golf, which brought this group together and keeps members active both in the game and the community.

Golf course architect and author (among other things) Richard Mandell was the guest speaker at the Tin Whistles meeting at Pinehurst Country Club’s Members’ Clubhouse last week and entertained the large audience with tales of his latest visit to China, where he encountered problems with language communications with a taxi driver and airport personnel.

“It was a crazy day at an airport in China,” he said.

Mandell also told some stories about Donald Ross, the early days of Pinehurst and the emergence of Pinehurst No. 2 as one of the world’s great golf courses.

While it was a great evening, I did encounter one problem. I was trying to locate one of the members for some information concerning the scholarship program, and old friend Jim Jones came to my aid.

“You won’t have any problem spotting him,” Jim said. “He’s the gray-haired guy wearing a blue blazer and gray slacks.”

There must have been at least 200 guys in the room fitting that description. Thank you, Jim Jones, and pass the Kool-Aid, please.