Chipping for charity: athletes to benefit

Dozens of people gathered at the Glenrock Golf Course on an early beautiful Saturday morning this past weekend. Golf carts lined the course entrance, and the concession stand was booming with customers purchasing their beverage of choice.

The golfers were there to compete in the fifth annual Herder Basketball Golf Tournament. The tournament is a partnership between the golf course and both the girls and boys basketball teams to raise money for expenses such as equipment and travel costs the team may run into over the course of the season. In the past it has been used to fund camps for the team, as well as buy practice jerseys. 

This year they won’t have any team camps because of COVID-19, but the money will roll over into the season and be able to be used for travel costs and meals for the team. 

This year’s tournament set a record for participation, according to boys basketball head coach Shawn Huxtable. 

“We had 48 players this year which is 10 more than we ever had,” Huxtable said. “The first year we did it we had around 30 players, and it has grown steadily since then, but this year was the biggest jump we’ve had.”

The tournament was a scramble, with 12 teams of four competing against each other. In a scramble each member of the team gets to hit a tee shot, and then the team decides which shot they like best to continue the hole with. The first team teed off at 8:30 a.m. and the last team didn’t finish until after 4 p.m.

Along with the $50 buy in from each participant, the teams did a silent auction of items donated to them and allowed local businesses to sponsor certain holes. Rounds of golf at Paradise Valley and Three Crowns Country Clubs in Casper, an excursion to Deadwood, South Dakota, that came with a round of golf and other prizes were part of the silent auction. 

All in all, the two teams made over $2,000 a piece, according to Huxtable. 

“We had a great day with the most golfers we’ve ever had,” Huxtable said. “The community is always really big with stepping up and helping out with sponsorships and donations. We’re really appreciative, it’s a great thing,”