When it comes to charitable events involving golf, the Four Corners knows how to put on a show ... and then some.
So, when the third annual Birdie Fest was held Thursday at the Glacier Club, three local course staffs showed how professionalism works to the tune of a combined 195 birdies recorded over a day of fun competition.
The Hillcrest pros, captained by John Vickers, accumulated 64 birdies.
The Dalton Ranch pros, captained by Pier Nielson, rolled in 65 birdies.
The Glacier Club pros, captained by Luke Brosterhous, tallied 66 one-unders on the day.
The bottom line showed an amazing $25,000-plus in donations and pledges for the Adaptive Sports Association. The traveling trophy, which is an original watercolor painting by local artist Susan Tait, is the prize for the course team who raises the most amount of pledges. For the last year, this painting has been on display at Hillcrest Golf Club.
The 2014 traveling trophy, or Birdie Fest Club Challenge, goes to the Dalton Ranch Golf Club.
Thanks goes out to the Glacier Club for hosting the Fest and to both the Durango Motor Company and the R.H. Crossland Foundation for sponsoring this event.
Dalton Ranch Golf Club
The Rally for the Cure-Pink Ball tournament, two-person best ball, Sept. 3:
1. Mary Butler, Paula Okun, 65.
2. Mary Kay Aigner, Daphne D’Agostino, 66.
3. Rita Davis, Laurel Waters, 67.
4. Amy Harlow, Ariel Moody, 68.
Check out Fran Rusk’s new golf bag for closest to the pin on No. 14.
Some golfers bear-ly finished the 17th hole when a mama bear and her cub decided to traverse the fairway during the event.
Hillcrest Golf Club
The 40th annual First National Bank A-B-C-D Best Ball tournament, Sept. 6:
1. Mary Kay Aigner, Bret Jameson, Tim Sparks, Skip Vaughan, 113.
2. Russell Jones, Stephen Medill, Michael Thomas, Jo Warfield, 119.
3. Kermitt Barrett, Marcia Baxter, Robert Drum, Ariel Moody, 124.
H H H
We are moving into the final weeks of tournament action on our area courses, and the Directory Plus Fall Classic 2-Person Best Ball will be held Saturday and Sunday at Hillcrest. There is $500 in added prize purse and an entry fee of $50 per person. You can choose your own partner, provided there is no greater than an eight-stroke handicap differential between partners. The flighted event will award prizes on both the gross and net side of scoring.
You know I am a sucker for a good slap shot; the Durango Area Youth Hockey Association is hosting its inaugural Shootout on the Hill to raise money to support their growing ice hockey programs. The four-person scramble event, Sept. 20 at Hillcrest, has a unique twist to the days’ festivities. A lunch buffet will precede the tournament at 11:30 a.m., followed by tournament play at 12:30 p.m. The cost is $100 per person, which includes a cart, greens fee and the hamburger buffet.
Conquistador Golf Course in Cortez will host the Cortez Senior Championship on Saturday and Sunday.
Dave Bray has been covering the local golf scene for 33 years. He can be reached at dbray3751@gmail.com.
