1st Annual Winter Golf Tournament
Lions Club and Children's Discovery Center
by Terry Allen
March 12, 2018
I’d heard of orange golf balls being used on snowy courses in the winter, but didn’t know the players were going to use bright yellow tennis balls for The Lions Club, and Children’s Discovery Center 1st Annual Winter Golf Tournament Fundraiser held Saturday, March 10, 2018.
The first thing I did when I walked into the clubhouse of Rendezvous Meadows Golf Course was go over to the bar to talk to some of the competitors getting fueled up. Lisa the bartender said Bloody Marys were the official drink of the tournament and she also wondered if I knew they were named after Mary, Queen of Scots? Okay, golf and Scotland go together well. Amy was sipping and listening and told me Mary was really English and the reason for the Bloody Mary name was because she didn’t give the King a male child so she was beheaded…which does sound pretty bloody. But, before she was beheaded, she was imprisoned in a Scottish castle for 19 years for plotting against the throne. During those 19 years, she invented espionage and was responsible for spilling the blood of a few others.
Mindi and Allison got everyone’s attention and recited some rules, and Mike Harker said, "Baby, let’s do it" and everyone grabbed their sleds full of balls, clubs and beers and pulled them out the doors and to four different starting T’s. There was a stiff crosswind of about 20 mph and pretty much everyone sliced dramatically right, except when the wind stopped abruptly during someone’s wind compensated swing and they hooked it into the next county. It was sort of like surprising a club carrying covey of Quail…they just scattered everywhere. Allison seemed to find a solid technique for the day. "I’m feeling pretty solid with my 5 iron," she said. "I’m hitting a pretty consistent Ice Worm Burner."
Monte used his Snow Wedge and dropped his ball right onto the Tan #4 Green.
I followed some Quail into the Warming Hut or as Jeff call’s it…The Dog House. There folks could get warm and replenish their refreshment stocks and listen to a few of Jeff’s 18,000 jokes. Jeff’s phone buzzed and he said it was from Mindi and she said I was missing a shot out on the course. I stuck my head out the flap and sure enough, Troy, Ray, Fred and Jeff were all stuck in a Snow Trap smoking Eastwood’s and dancing to Reggae.
I watched Julie swing away on her new Titanium and Porcelain hip and she said she was feeling no pain. Seemingly out of nowhere, her son Aaron ran up to a tennis ball and did what I learned later is called a Happy Gilmore. It’s like a game of golf where the rules say you can’t stop…you just have to keep moving. It’s a fast version of the game. While my mouth was still hanging open, someone said we were 100 yards away from BBQ beef sandwiches.
During the eating, prizes were awarded. The Eastwood’s won, but someone won a bottle of Cowboy Country Vodka, someone else won 3 bottles of wine, and someone won Arnie Brokling’s amazing Pine Creek photograph with the special $100 frame, and there were more donated prizes awarded.
Lined up outside were Limousines and Chauffeur’s…or as we say around here: pickup’s and designated drivers.
On the serious side of things, here are a few words from my sponsors: Mindi Crabb and Allison Long:
I asked Mindi Crabb where the idea for the tournament came from. "So the golf tournament was actually my idea as a fundraiser for the Lions Club, but we needed Allison’s golf and tournament planning expertise so decided to make it a partnership. I had seen an article in our national Lions magazine about a club in Minnesota that did an ice golf tourney and thought it might work for us. I have since heard of a Lions Club in Walden, CO that does an ice golf tourney that fills all the motels in the area and that is my goal for our future! Our local Pinedale Lions Club has been donating to all four of the major childcare facilities for a number of years; early childhood education is one of our focus areas and we know that it is impossible for them to make it on tuition alone. We also do what we can to encourage business in our community, so this event could develop into a huge win-win for everyone!"
I might be the only person in the county that didn't know The Children's Discovery Center also puts on a golf tournament fundraiser every summer, but Allsion straightened me out. "This was our first year putting on this Winter Golf Tournament. We were thankful to partner with the Lion's Club of Pinedale for this fun event. We were all a little unsure of how it would turn out, but with the help of the Lion's members, we were able to set the course and host a great tournament! We were thankful to also have Mike Looney groom our course; he really takes pride in his grooming. Next year we hope to have more teams, and make this a fun community event (even for non-golfers) by doing a costume contest. We look forward to doing it next year!"
"The Children's Discovery Center serves 41 families, 26 kids on average daily, along with 5 amazing teachers, and myself. We strive to host events that are community related, and to spread the word on how important it is to support early childhood education. Our school believes that nature is an integral, joyful part of learning and with these funds, we will be able to improve and sustain our school and its mission."
Terry Allen: txpartisan@gmail.com
If you'd like to buy some photos, I give half the money to the Lions and Children's Discovery Center.
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