Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SYRACUSE - What do you get when you cross "Happy Gilmore," "Caddyshack" and the Lakeland Youth Center?
The Summer Solstice Sadistic Golf Outing.
What exactly is the Summer Solstice Sadistic Golf Outing?
Eight men from the Syracuse area took to South Shore and Maxwelton golf courses in Syracuse Monday in an effort to raise money for the Lakeland Youth Center. The idea: Start when the sun comes up and finish when the sun goes down, and play as many holes as possible.
"Everybody does a scramble, the Cancer Society, the Wawasee Athletic Department," said Brian Rensberger, Lakeland Youth Center director. "We wanted to do something different. Each person was obligated to solicit pledges or donations on their own behalf. And it all goes to the Lakeland Youth Center. Most of the people who have pledged, I told them we'd play about 100 holes."
At Maxwelton, Rensberger, Brent Baker, Jason Miller and Gary Gerard completed 105 holes. According to Rensberger, the foursome started just before 5 a.m.
At South Shore, club pro Darrell Krugman, Tom Tuttle Jr., LYC board member Jeff Atwood and Wawasee High School freshman Steve Conrad, son of a board member, also got underway just before 5 a.m. They played 108 holes.
Each player asked for pledges or donations, most pledgers saying they would give a certain amount, a dime for example, for each hole.
According to Rensberger, the goal was to raise somewhere around $5,000.
"The goal was to raise $5,000," he said. "Anything above that is an added bonus. I raised, if we would've played 120 holes, around $6,000 by myself."
Though there was a competition between the two foursomes, it was apparent that they knew why they were there.
"The bottom line is all the money goes to the kids," said Rensberger. "This was a fund-raiser to create programs and update equipment and bring things up to speed."
What is the Lakeland Youth Center?
"It's a United Way, not-for-profit organization that caters to youth in the Syracuse-Milford-North Webster area," said Rensberger. "It's comparable to a boys and girls club."
According to Rensberger, the LYC has programs for youths six months old to high school students. The center has even offered health screenings and other programs for adults.
After 12 hours on the golf course, minus 30 minutes for lunch, how did they feel as they were finishing up their fifth round of golf?
"Exhausted," said Rensberger. "We're gonna feel this in the morning."
And when will they feel like playing another 18 holes?
"Not until the weekend," said Rensberger. "I think I speak for everyone on that one."
