Birdies, Bogies, and a Half Baked Lobster at the HomeTown Heroes Golf Event

As the daughter of avid golf players, I am actually shocked myself that I have never watched a full game of golf…from hole to hole, but yesterday at the James McLean Memorial Golf Event benefiting HomeTown Heroes I did just that!

Because I do not golf, I volunteered to help out for at the event with a few other people. Bright eyed and bushy tailed, well maybe not that bright eyed…and maybe not so bushy tailed, I arrived at the golf course at 6:25 am and already Forrest and Stacey were working their own tails off to get everything set up.

People were split into teams and it was a “best ball” tournament so that each team only had one score at the end. Prior to the official start of the game raffle tickets were sold, 50/50 tickets were sold, “mulligans” were sold (if you don’t know what a “mulligan is…don’t worry – neither did I until yesterday – it is kind of like a “do-over” shot!), and the golfers and volunteers were fed coffee and Chik Fil A breakfast sandwiches. All proceeds went to help the children of HomeTown Heroes.

If you purchased a raffle ticket, you had the chance to win several prizes donated by sponsors, including, racing around a race track, shirts, mugs, pens, hotwings, and so many more it is hard to count! If you purchased a 50/50 ticket you had a chance to win 50% of what was in the pot at the end! The remaining 50% went to help the children of HomeTown Heroes.

Mulligans, mulligans, mulligans….who would not want to purchase a mulligan? I mean, how many times have you hit a ball and said, “Man I wish I could do that over!”

As the teams headed out, I hitched a ride with Rinice, neither one of us have ever driven a gold cart before and in the beginning, it was similar to “Mr. Toads Wild Ride” at Disneyland.  Catching air, blocking traffic, almost flying through the windshield, Rinice and I became fast friends!

I followed a great group of golfers out there….Edward, Richard, James, and of course the infamous Donnie Dixon himself.  I was in charge of picture taking, but honestly, the beauty of the course, the sound of the club hitting the ball, the friendships that were forming as the men played, the comedy and comradeship that was taking place on the course kind of took my mind off picture taking sometimes.

And it was at those times that I thought about why these 28 golfers were out there playing. Yes, they were playing to have fun. Yes, they might have been playing to win. But the main reason they were playing? They were playing to support HomeTown Heroes and the work they do with children and their families that have been affected by cancer.

When every team had finished playing they were treated to a southern lunch.  The scores were tallied and the first and second place teams received an award. Raffle prizes were drawn, swag bags handed out, and a great big thanks was handed down to all the sponsors, volunteers and players.

I had a great time, made some new friends, saw the beauty of giving, and am very thankful for that fateful day in December when I first met the HomeTown Heroes group.

If you are interested in learning more about HomeTown Heroes, be sure to check out their Facebook page as that is where they announce most of their events. I can’t wait for the next event!

Oh…and the half baked lobster I referred to in my title?

That would be me…….

I guess I should have put on a little sunscreen.