SYRACUSE – The idea of golf by the lake is a beautiful thing. The idea of golf in 90 percent humidity is not. It almost makes a person not be able to breathe.
Gathered en masse Saturday morning at Wawasee Golf Club, 10 teams braved the thick summer air to take part in the third annual Goofy Golf To Sink Cystic Fibrosis, raising money to defeat the awful debilitation.
The golf itself was modified from what most fundraiser outings look like. Rather than just a normal Florida Scramble, golfers were given circumstances per hole. Instead of choosing between a six or seven iron off the first tee, golfers cracked open a fresh can of pink tennis balls and a tennis racquet and took a mighty swing to send the pink Penns down the fairway. Once on the green, keep that tennis racquet handy to putt the tennis balls in.
Having Ichiro Suzuki or Kris Bryant might have been a good idea for hole three, where baseball bats were used to tee off on the long par four, then throws were required to finish off the fairway and approach.
One of Adam Sandler’s non-flopping movies, Happy Gilmore, was the inspiration for hole four in using the running tee approach, then using a hockey stick to putt. Teeing from inside a tire met golfers on five and one-legged tees and putts were the standard on six. It wasn’t so easy to be a kid on hole eight as a junior driver had several golfers swing and miss off the tee. In standard play, many do well on Wawasee’s makeable par-five ninth, but golfers could only use one club to complete the hole. Driver off the tee, driver on the green.
“I want there to be an element of difficulty, but not that it’s difficult to the point of frustration,” said event coordinator Jace Stewart. “The tennis hole and the baseball hole are staples. We keep modifying and tweaking the tournament to keep people on their toes. I think everyone really likes the challenges the course provides.”
The outing, which has raised nearly $2,000 in its first two years and should bring in just at $1,000 this year, is to help those with CF – like New Paris sweetheart Ethan Clem – battle the daily grind.
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disorder that causes severe damage to the lungs and digestive system.
Cystic fibrosis affects the cells that produce mucus, sweat and digestive juices. These secreted fluids are normally thin and slippery. But in people with cystic fibrosis, a defective gene causes the secretions to become thick and sticky. Instead of acting as a lubricant, the secretions plug up tubes, ducts and passageways, especially in the lungs and pancreas.
“We are always wanting this to be a fun, stress-free event, and I think we achieved that again today,” Stewart said. “We also extend to the CF community and our good friends, the Clems, and why we do this for Ethan. From there, it’s kind of expanded to some outliers to introduce them to the CF community and what Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is all about and what we’re trying to find a cure for.”
Winning for the third year in a row, Stewart and teammates Todd Lovellette, Michael Goodrich and John Shock shot a one-under 34. Runners-up were the Beasley/Reel team three strokes back.
Vince Beasley won the longest drive contest on hole two and Jamie McClelland was closest to the pin on hole seven. Ultimate gift baskets were provided by Sara Schwartz and several area sponsors had a hand in making the event a continued success.
