Time to grab your golfing socks — the pair with the “hole in one” — and sign up for a team tournament the Moab Golf Club’s Charity Classic.
Formerly known as the Elks Lodge Charity Scramble, the golf tournament is being held on Saturday, Nov. 3, and Sunday, Nov. 4, at the Moab Golf Club, located at 2705 E. Bench Rd.
The tournament starts at 10:30 a.m. each day, and the $100 entry fee per player covers one round of golf, as well as dinner at the Golf Club on Saturday evening.
Proceeds from the tournament will be used to purchase food baskets for local families at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The Moab Golf Club Charity Classic is a “four person scramble.”
Moab Golf Club’s PGA Golf Professional and self-described “General Fun Ambassador” Rob Jones said everybody tees off and goes with the best shot.
“You don’t have to go to your lousy shot if your teammate hits a good one,” Jones said. “Then everybody hits from that point again. So, there’s four of you playing for one score. It is for fun, but it’s a little more of a competitive scramble.”
Jones said that one player can be a 0 to a 9 handicap, two players from a 10 to a 15, and one player must be a 16 or above.
“Handicaps work to try and make the field more competitive,” Jones said. “Let’s say you were a 10 handicap and I was a zero. I would give you 10 strokes. Let’s say you got 80 and I got 72 strokes; the 10 handicap would deduct 10 and you would win by 2.”
He added, “The neat thing is that it is a fairly competitive event and, because of handicaps, every team is fairly equal.”
Participants will play two rounds of golf, one on Saturday and again Sunday. Jones said a round will take five or six hours to complete.
Golfers from Utah, Colorado and Wyoming are signed up to play at the Moab Golf Club Charity Classic. Jones said quite a few of the golf players are associated with the Moab Elks Lodge, though association is not required to play.
Dan Stott, a Moab Elks Lodge member and key event organizer, said the tournament has been a tradition in the community for more than 50 years.
Proceeds raised at the tournament have contributed to student scholarships, food baskets and other charitable programs in the Moab area.
Stott said funds from the Moab Golf Club Charity Classic will also benefit the Warriors on Cataract program, a multi-day trip on the Colorado River for military veterans.
“Elks Lodge’s mission is to give back to the community,” Stott said.
Moab resident Ambrose Toney is competing in the Moab Golf Club Charity Classic on a team with his 12-year-old son, Wyatt, and fellow Moab locals Clay and Jared Williams.
“My son and I play a lot together,” Toney said. “We all teamed up to play in this tournament.”
Toney said this is the first year the four of them have played as a group, but it is his second year in the tournament with his son, and his seventh year overall in the tournament.
“It’s a really fun tournament,” he said, “and even better, as it is for a good cause.”
Toney praised the Moab Golf Club, and said its well-maintained course is ideal for nearly year-round golf.
“It’s a nice place to play golf,” Toney said. “We do have a good team this year. We love to compete.”
Golf tournament benefits local families and military veterans
When: Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 3-4, at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Moab Golf Club, 2705 E. Bench Rd.
Cost: $100 per player; $45 cart fee
Info: Call the Moab Golf Club at 435-259-6488 or visit moabgolfcourse.com
“There’s four of you playing for one score. It is for fun, but it’s a little more of a competitive scramble.”
