Golf

Jim Crandall, Palms to Pines Golf Association handicap chair, provided this report.

Four Idyllwild golfers won the Marty Finn Memorial Golf Tournament fundraiser for Grandfathers For Golf Saturday, April 8. The tournament was played at the Golden Era Golf Course in San Jacinto.

Pete Capparelli, Crandall, Lee Lanfried and Dave Robb teamed up in the four-man scramble format to shoot a 14-under-par 58 to win the tourney by one stroke.

In a four-man scramble, each team’s players hit from the tee box, then the team members choose the best of the four shots for the next shot. All team members then play the second shot from that location and again choose the best shot. Play continues in this manner until the ball is holed.

Sixty-eight golfers (17 foursomes) played the 9-hole Golden Era Golf course twice. The second-place team of Dennis Chavez, Dave Herrera, Louie Lara and Ran Mendez shot a 59. The third place team of Jack Conrad, Brad Haskell, Jim Lauterbach and Chip Wilson shot a 60.

The Marty Finn fundraiser is named after the late Grandfathers For Golf founder and Press-Enterprise columnist Marty Finn. The program, now in its second decade, has grown to offer free golf equipment and instruction to more than 200 kids on three golf courses in three eight-week sessions per year in the Hemet-San Jacinto area. The program is composed of  all volunteers, with more than 50 volunteer “Grandfathers” teaching the kids to play.

Grandfathers also has a weekly men’s club tourney fundraiser on Thursday mornings at the Golden Era Golf Course in San Jacinto which is open to all golfers of any skill level. The cost to play is $25 ($30 for first-timers) and all proceeds go to funding the program for the kids.

If interested in joining the club or playing as a guest, contact Crandall at jim.crandall@verizon.net or 951-265-5732, or Capparelli at pete@capparelli.com or 951-452-5552.