Glow golf tournament raises funds to support families

Glow-in-the-dark golf might not be common, but it seems to be a popular way to have a fundraising golf tournament in the Estevan area.

The Estevan Tower Wolves over-30 and over-45 recreation hockey teams hosted the third annual tournament on Saturday at the Hidden Valley Golf and RV Resort. A total of 133 golfers entered the competition, which had a Texas scramble format.

The event began with a shotgun start at 4:30 p.m. Golfers played the nine-hole Hidden Valley course, and then enjoyed a supper and a live auction. The auction featured a Connor McDavid jersey, as well as a football helmet signed by the 2014 Saskatchewan Roughriders and two tickets for a Rider game.

After the supper and the auction, golfers returned to the course and played nine more holes at night. The players used a golf ball that glows in the dark, allowing them to see the ball when it landed.

 “It was a beautiful night,” said Rob Peloquin with the Tower Wolves. “The golf course was glowing in the dark pretty well.”

The last group finished up at around 1 a.m. on Sunday, he said.

The course had a few markers so golfers could find their way around. Each tee box had two oversized, glow in the dark golf balls. Glow sticks lined the circumference of each green, and a glow stick was mounted to the flag to show its location.

Peloquin noted volunteers would help the golfers find their glow in the dark golf balls, because the balls eventually do turn off, and they are expensive to purchase. 

The tournament is used as a fundraiser for a different cause each year, and this year’s beneficiaries will be local families with autism. Peloquin noted he thought autism awareness would be a great cause after reading stories in the Estevan Mercury about Midale’s Katie Emde, who was the national leader in the Inside-Out for Autism fundraiser in the spring.

“When I read the articles … about autism, I figured that’s as good of a charity as any, so why don’t we try to help them out, and it turned out it’s an even better cause than what I thought, because a lot of them don’t get the funding that they need,” said Peloquin.

If the Tower Wolves and the supporters of the golf tournament can help local families directly, and provide these families with the funds they need to purchase items to help their children, then he believes it is a good idea to help them.

“Some families may not be able to afford those kinds of things, and we would love to help them out,” said Peloquin.

Peloquin said the Tower Wolves don’t have a final tally on how much money was raised through this year’s tournament, but he is pleased with the support they received.