SUNDRE – For the first time since its inaugural run in 2017, a local charity golf tournament that raises funds to help lift financial barriers and ensure local youth who are so inclined have the opportunity to play sports, had a participant who scored a hole in one.
“It’s the first time ever in the Play 4 Sundre Kidz that we’ve had a hole in one,” said co-organizer Chris Vardas, whose wife Nicky helps organize the event and administer the program.
“Hole in ones are hard to come by!” he added.
The Coyote Creek Golf & RV Resort hosted on July 22 a “full house” of 144 players – including Calgary resident Brian Lydon who owns a place at Coyote Creek and won a $10,000 prize for making a hole in a one – who enjoyed some good weather and great times, he said.
“It sold out two weeks before the date,” he said.
Above and beyond ticket sales, a silent auction as well as draws raise funds for the non-profit organization, which reported an estimated $15,000 was brought in this year. Play 4 Sundre Kidz had by the end of 2022 disbursed about $58,000, with the next round of online application intakes coming up Sept. 1-15, he said.
“The organization is doing great,” he said. “We’ve given just around $60,000 to our community already before this year.”
After being forced to cancel a couple of times as a result of the pandemic, the organizers seemed pleased to have once again found their momentum. When restrictions were initially relaxed, a rush of golfers who were eager to play signed up for the charity tournament and organizers attempted to accommodate the surge that amounted to 172 golfers, he said.
But while the organizers were grateful for the enthusiasm to support their efforts, that proved to be too many golfers at once which somewhat complicated logistics and significantly drew out the day, he said.
“We kept it at capacity this year,” he said, adding everything “ran a lot smoother.”
“It was a great day and I hope that we continue on; I hope to see people out every year,” he said, encouraging anyone who wanted to play this year but missed their chance to book early in 2024.
“We put it out a couple months in advance,” he said. “So, the sooner you get your teams in, the sooner you’re in.”
Visit or follow the group’s social media page to stay up to date or apply for the program during the upcoming intake.
