by Bob Lepore

Planning for the ninth annual golf tournament began on a cool, rainy Saturday afternoon at the George Wright Golf Course last October 22. It was the day when the eighth annual tournament was finally held after being canceled due to rain on the 14th. Unfortunately, it also rained on the rain date. And what troopers our golfers were! They stayed out in the nasty weather to finish off the tournament in rain, wind and darkness. The warmth of the club house and a hot meal greeted them after their time spent battling the inclement weather. This year’s tournament has been moved up a couple of weeks, with the hope of better weather and of getting more golfers on board.

This year there are two event coordinators; Bob Lepore, who ran the tournament last year, and Jim D’Amato, who helped organize last year. Jim is one of the many great leaders Sacred Heart “inherited” in the merger with St. Andrew the Apostle Parish.

This year’s tournament will raise proceeds that will benefit “Project Slate,” which is a parish-wide fund-raising effort to restore and beautify Sacred Heart Church. A major piece of work under Project Slate is to repair the slate roof on the church building.

So let the fun begin! Save this date! Friday, September 29, 2006.

At 7:00 that morning, golfers from all over New England and beyond will gather at George Wright. Coffee, donuts and muffins will be served as golfers socialize and joke as to who will out do whom on the course that day. The 8:00 a.m. shotgun start will send the golfers out in their carts to their starting tees.

The tournament’s three divisions are men’s, ladies’ and seniors’. They will all compete (on the honor system) at various points on the course for “Closest to the Pin,” and the “Longest Drive,” each within their own divisions. Score cards are kept and brought back to the club house to be tallied up to see who will be awarded top prize, who will receive weeping towels, who was closest to the pin, and who hit the longest drive in each division. Just playing in the tournament is rewarding in and of itself because of the opportunity it provides to see old friends, meet new ones and have some good ol’ fashioned fun.

By 2:00 p.m., all the golfers will have made it back to the club house, will be enjoying a buffet dinner and talking about the day. Awards will be given to each division. The grand finale for the day will be a fabulous raffle, featuring some truly valuable items.

To sign up, simply go to the Sacred Heart Parish website: http://www.sh-roslindale.org and click on our golf link. There you will find a registration form (short and sweet). Sponsor a tee or green for $100. A sign will “advertise” your business at a tee or green. You will appear in our program, parish bulletin and in the follow-up to this article in the winter edition of “Heart Beats,” with a circulation 8,500.

So does it sound like we know how to have a good time? You bet we do! Whether you golf like Tiger Woods or not, live in or outside of the Roslindale community, belong to Sacred Heart or not, please come to play golf with us on the 29th of September!