Not Just Another Charity Golf Tournament

Every once in awhile I talk about something that is close to my heart. Well, maybe it is more than every once in awhile. Maybe it is more like everyday I talk about the Screen Door Open.

If you have been seriously blogging the last months then you have run into the Screen Door Open blog site. If not you will now.

The Screen Door Open Charity Pro-AM Golf Tournament is one of only two PGA officially sanctioned Pro-AM charity golf tournaments. Now, before you go off with this NOT ANOTHER CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT attitude, let me tell you, the SDO is Not Another Charity Golf Tournament.

Yes, on any given day in the North Texas Area there will be at least 6 charity golf tournaments scheduled each day. But none of them hold a candle to the SDO’s organization, and uniqueness. This year will the SDO’s eight year of putting on the best charity golf tournament in the DFW area. What makes it great, unique and the best?

Now you got me started. What makes the Screen Door Open great is the people who volunteer each year to help make the SDO the unique and the best. Each year the SDO attracts men and women who want to help and they dig in because they now the SDO makes a difference in the community. What makes the SDO unique is the quality of the event.

As I mentioned, the SDO is an officially sanctioned PGA Pro-AM event. These designations do not come lightly and are not just handed out to just any event. In order to become an officially sanctioned PGS event you have to meet certain standards and purpose. In 2000 the Northern Texas PGA awarded the SDO with this designation which means it is a quality event.

If you have played the charity golf tournament circuit here in Dallas/Ft Worth like I have (it is probably the same in all of the Golf Mecca’s of the world) you know that most of the charity tournament organizers herd as many people as they can onto the golf course to maximize their fundraising efforts. Not a bad idea fro the charity fund, but a really bad idea for golf. I said people because most of the people they have signed up to play in the tournament are not regular golfers and don’t have to be since the format for these outings is the standard ‘Hit & Giggle’ Scramble.

(For you non-golfers, or golfers, not familiar with the Hit & Giggle format of golf it is a mutation of the Florida Scramble where all four person teams start at one of the 18 designated holes on the course and the members of the four person team all hit their ball and proceed to the best of all four shots for the next shot and then do it all over again until the ball is holed out. Each team does this all the way around the course until they have played all 18 holes. In the Hit & Giggle, the same format is used and the same start, but in this case, there is a minimum of two teams at each starting hole, and I have seen as many as 4 teams at a tee box. In the Hit & Giggle there is usually only one good golfer on each team that can hit the ball well enough to keep the team going. But in a few cases I have been on a team that did not have anyone who could hit the ball, including me. The other three members of the team usually only play in the tournament each year and slap at the ball with really no interest or care on where it goes since they know the ‘A’ player will bring them home. This usually provides for a lot of laughs and a round of golf that could last up 8 eight hours, thus, the Hit & Giggle.)

Now, the SDO strives to keep the pace of play at 5 hours or less and to do so they use the Shamble format of golf. And to keep with the uniqueness the SDO adds a modified Stapleforth to the scoring. This is where for every Eagle a number of points are awarded, every birdie scored gets a lesser point and for every Par there is a point. What makes it modified is the SDO does not use the original Stapleforth scoring and take points away for not making at least a PAR. The SHAMBLE is a format of golf where all of the players in the foursome hit their tee shot (In the SDO’s case, the PRO is included in the tee shot) and then proceed to the best drive. From there each player plays their own ball until it is holed out. Now, here is another unique part of the SDO, the scorecards are Scan Cards. So when the players finish the round the scorecards are scanned by a computer. The computer has their handicap registered and deducts the strokes from their Gross score. Tallies up their Stapleforth points, adds all of the points up for the team, including the PRO’s. The team with the most points is declared the winner of the Screen Door Open.

Here is another reason why the SDO is not just another charity golf tournament. The junior golfers are stationed around the course and depending on their age and skill level will be hitting a wedge shot into a par three or will be hitting a drive off of the tee of a par four. In either case the players get to take the junior’s shot if it is better than the teams. A lot of excitement here, since some of these players can use all of the help they can to get a better shot.

Now to make the SDO the Best charity golf tournament in the area, the organizers of the SDO have approved a new program where you can play in the event for FREE. The details on this program are on the SDO’s web site http://www.screendooropen.org/ Or if you will email me I can provide you more details.

There is an after event, and before dinner, cocktail hour where the players get to make bids on the silent auction items. And to cap off the annual event is one of the best awards ceremonies with the best awards buffet dinner you can image.

SO, you see why I like talking about this event???

You have got to check this tournament out, or better yet, sign-up to play and see for yourself what the SDO has to offer.

Screen Door Open Charity Golf, Inc.

A 501c3 tax-exempt non-profit organization

14232 Marsh Lane #486

Addison, TX 75001

info@screendooropen.org

http://www.screendooropen.org/

Proudly presenting the 8th Annual Screen Door Open Charity Pro-AM Golf Tournament on June 5, 2006 at the Los Colinas Country Club, Irving, TX

About The Author: As President of Innovative Business Golf Solutions, Scot Duke provides over 31 years of corporate management experience to helping small businesses improve their marketing strategies. To purchase How TO Play Business Golf visit www.innovativebusinessgolf.com or Scot can be reached by info@innovativebusinessgolf.com or 214 549-0306.