I had to show them some 'hillbilly heat,' " Vince Gill declares with a grin as he basks in the blazing sun while walking to the fourth hole.

Lining up one putt is tough enough, but Cledus T. Judd takes the scatter-shot approach.

Minutes before, a couple of Vince's golf-pro buddies were razzing him about a long drive, indicating the country crooner wouldn't be able to put the ball on the green. Unnerved, Vince, an excellent golfer with a 1 handicap, sent his ball zinging skyward. It dropped and rolled a mere six feet from the cup.

Vince and a bunch of his country music friends are in the middle of the seventh annual Vinny -- the Vince Gill Pro-Celebrity Invitational -- that raises money for Junior Golf and Tennessee youth programs for kids from all walks of life.

"I'm having the best day," says Vince, approaching the green. "I'm playing golf with some of my sweetest friends. And the weather is gorgeous.

"My team had such a great time last year, people thought we won the tournament. We're having such a blast today, folks may think we're winners again."

Thousands have come to see top golf pros and country stars at the Golf Club of Tennessee, just west of Nashville. Helping Vince draw the crowd are Kix Brooks, Chely Wright, Mark Wills, Deana Carter, T. Graham Brown, Diamond Rio's Marty Roe, Ralph Emery, Rudy Gatlin, Cledus T. Judd, Asleep at the Wheel's Ray Benson, George "Goober" Lindsey and Amy Grant.

Several of the country performers find out during the tournament they've captured CMA nominations. Vince is told of his five nominations: Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year for The Key, Song of the Year for "If You Ever Have Forever in Mind" and two in the Vocal Event of the Year category -- for harmonizing on Sara Evans' No. 1 "No Place That Far" and for his "My Kind of Woman/My Kind of Man" duet with Patty Loveless.

"All the nominations are wonderful," admits Vince, "but the one for The Key is special. I made the kind of record I wanted to make, a traditional country album, and it's great to see that the CMA voters liked what I did."

Kix Brooks, accompanied by his 10-year-old golf-playing son, Eric, exclaims, "That's cool!" when hearing of Brooks & Dunn's CMA Vocal Duo of the Year nomination.

Mark Wills is obviously excited about his three nominations -- Single, Song and Video of the Year for "Don't Laugh at Me" -- because he hits a ball to the left of the green. It zips by a couple of reporters and bounces into the trees.

"Actually, I aimed that ball," Mark confesses as he nears the green. "I figured if I could hit someone from COUNTRY WEEKLY, I'd be guaranteed a mention in the magazine!"

OK, Mark, you're in. So, how do you feel about your nominations? "They feel good. But, even before they came in, it's been a great year for me. I'm blessed to have won the ACM's Top New Male Vocalist, had three hit singles and a platinum album."

Hats off to all the golfers who signed the cap -- and helped Vince raise money for a good cause.

Mark stares at the green. "But I still can't hit the ball well enough to save my life, so I'm pretty well letting my teammates carry me. What's neat about this tournament is that we get to raise money for a great cause even if we're playing rotten."

"We just got the call," says Chely Wright of her Horizon Award nomination. "It's awesome!"

In the meantime Chely is enjoying her day on the links. "I signed up to play last year, but I was ill. So I get to be out here today and I get to ride around with these Junior Golf fellows. They're a really great group of young people."

Diamond Rio's Marty Roe hadn't heard yet about his band's nod for Vocal Group of the Year. "We're very, very happy," he says. "It's always a pleasure just to be in the hunt. We're tickled to death. We've been nominated so many times, but it never gets old.

"We've had a great year with the Unbelievable album. And when the industry notices, it's just icing on the cake."

Cledus T. Judd was happy just to be out on the course, since he's recovering from gallbladder surgery. "I feel good," he reassures his fans. "That thing was starting to bother me, so I'm glad it's gone."

The doctors left Cledus' comic skills intact. "Actually, I just putted a gallstone," he says, motioning to the green. "I painted it white!"

As George Lindsey lines up a putt, he explains, "I'm doing my part for our team. I putt and miss -- but that shows my fellow players where to putt to get the ball in the hole. Hey, if I can have a good time and the fans watching us have a good time, that's what counts."

T. Graham Brown is worried about putts, too.

"My game's been spotty," notes the "Wine Into Water" singer. "My team's been hitting the drivers good, we just can't putt. When the only putt we've made is one I made, that's not good -- because the last time I played golf was at last year's Vinny!"

Unlike T. Graham, Amy Grant is having a stressless day. "Everybody else is playing so well, I hardly feel any pressure," she confides. "But I've made a shot or two that have contributed to the team. So that's cool."

The stars save their highest praise for the tournament's host. "I'll do anything Vince wants," exclaims Asleep at the Wheel's Ray Benson. "I will go anywhere and do anything for Vince Gill. Vinny is the best!"

"I think Vince Gill has done more to give something back to this community than any entertainer I've ever met," says TNN's Ralph Emery.

As the two-day tournament ends, it's announced that $400,000 has been raised, including $70,000 in bids from a silent and Internet auction. Since its 1993 start, The Vinny has raised almost $2 million.

"We get to play the game I love, goof off and raise money for a good cause," Vince sums up. "It doesn't get any better than that."

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