Goofing For A Good Cause
SYRACUSE — The temperature may have been a little high and the breeze may have been a no-show, but the goal of having fun was still easily obtained Saturday morning at Wawasee Golf Club.
It was the fourth annual Goofy Golf To Sink Cystic Fibrosis, a fun event focused on taking down a serious debilitation.
The event has raised over nearly $3,000 in its first three years and, despite a smaller turnout this year, still pulled in around $700 to go to the cause. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disorder that causes severe damage to the lungs and digestive system.
Goofy Golf is just what it sounds like. For all intents and purposes, it’s goofy. Themed holes highlight the annual event. Holes five and six had participants hitting tee shots while standing in a tire and balancing on one leg, respectively. While holes two and seven were more traditional (longest drive and closest to the pin), eight had golfers teeing off with a youth driver while nine had each player on the team using one club of their choice for the entire hole.
Four had plenty of people screaming, “Fore!” as tee shots were to be taken with a running start, a tip of the cap to Adam Sandler’s unorthodox golfing character, Happy Gilmore. Golfers finished that hole by using a hockey stick to putt the ball in.
Last, but certainly not least, everybody’s favorite staples returned on holes one and three. The first hole had golfers use nothing but a tennis racquet and ball to hopefully finish with a par score of four. On three participants broke out the baseball bats for their tee shots. After the cherry bomb start, the golf ball had to be thrown until it was on the green where players could putt out in the traditional fashion.
A crisis was thankfully averted towards the end of the tournament thanks to the super sleuth skills of Cameron Beer. After both baseball bats disappeared from the tee box on No. 3, an extensive search began to find the missing bats. The bats were picked up by a group that was not part of the outing and retrieved by Beer after he sternly asked, “Do you have a bat?” His legend will live on in Goofy Golf lore for generations to come.
Jace Stewart, who has organized the event every year, saw his team take first place for the fourth year in a row. While winning was certainly a goal of Stewart’s, the outing is a lot bigger than bragging rights.
“It’s so rewarding to do this,” remarked Stewart. “It doesn’t feel like its a lot of work because it just feels like a bunch of friends and family coming together and having a good time, and, oh by the way, we raised some money for an awesome cause.”
The event has been held at Wawasee every year and the continued support and hospitality of Head Golf Professional Matt Maloni is the biggest reason why.
“Matt’s the best,” said Stewart. “He and Green Golf Partners (Wawasee’s managing company) are very gracious and helpful with all of this. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I love playing all the other 18-hole courses in the area but this place is special. The giving heart that Matt has and the nature of the course, lends itself to goofy golf. For my money, there’s no other nine-hole course in this part of the state, maybe the whole state, that’s kept up as well as this one. Credit to Matt and Green Golf Partners for the product that they’ve put out there.”
Ultimate gift baskets were provided by Sara Schwartz and several area sponsors had a hand in making the event a continued success.