Golfers who give back are my kind of people

Recently I was asked by a colleague of mine why I tweet. She understood why Facebook was so popular, but Twitter’s value was not obvious to her. I felt that way when I first started tweeting, but decided to give it some time and it didn’t take long for its value to jump off the screen at me.

Twitter has introduced me some of the greatest people know, and not surprisingly, many of them are golfers.  Unfortunately I haven’t physically met most of them (but I’m hopeful), but I was lucky last fall to play golf with two of the nicest people you’d ever want to spend 4 hours with — Debbi amd Stuart Katz from Maui.  And all because of Twitter.

I met Debbi online after I tweeted about how excited I was to be planning my trip to Maui in the fall.  She saw my post and told me she and her husband had retired and had been living on Maui for the past 5 years.  I could feel the green monster creeping up on me when I read that, but I thought I’d swallow the jealousy and follow her to learn more about a life I could only dream about.

Anyway, it wasn’t long before we were talking about getting together for a game while my golfguy and I were on the magic isle. We did just that and it was too much fun!  Okay, maybe playing Kapalua Plantation in hurricane winds at 7 AM with rain blasting us sideways isn’t a normal person’s idea of fun, but I never said I was exactly normal 😉

It was only the 3rd time in my life that I played the Plantation Course and although it’s absolutely gorgeous, it’s definitely not for the faint of heart.  

Stuart and Debbi are members at Kapalua and it was very evident during our game that playing 150 rounds a year can go a long way to taming the Plantation Course and understanding its greens. They obviously love the course the way they played it (Thank you Stuart for reading all my putts for me ;)), but for me, it’s a beast and will always be a beast until I can retire on paradise and play 100+ rounds a year on it. Yes, I want revenge!

While playing with our new friends, we learned that Debbi is president of the Beyond the Rainbow Foundation, which helps Maui’s youth realize the promise of their future by financially supporting numerous charities on the island.  Stuart is the Chairperson of the Aloha Team Classic Golf Event – a friendly annual golf tournament now in its 5th year, that is the primary fundraiser for the Foundation. What is it about golfers and giving back?  So many give so much.  It’s quite amazing.

Anyway, last October amateurs from all over the US teamed up with a bunch of Maui club professionals and 4 LPGA players at the Aloha Team Classic. 

Kim Welsh, Champion of Big Break Ka’anapali took home low gross score among the LPGA professionals.  I wish I could have been there just to see her drive a ball.  Apparently people from the mainland come back year after year to play this event.  I’m not surprised; it’s sounds like a blast!

This year the tournament runs from Oct 17-20.  It’s a 4-day golf event for 2-person amateur teams and includes 3 rounds of golf on Maui that begins with a sunset welcome reception on Sunday evening. Also included are lunches after each round of golf, prizes, and 2 special evening dining experiences.

What a great way to meet golfers from across the country that you probably would never have a chance to meet.  Oh I wish we could go.  But unless the tournament moves to November we’re out of luck this year.  October has work commitments that can’t be uncommmitted. Sigh…

Anyway, we’re hoping to enter it in 2012, but in the meantime, why not give it a try. Maui is so much more affordable now than ever and you can get some great deals on condos and resorts and airfare.  If we had a free week in October, my golfguy and I would be there. 

So think about it and if you do go, please tell me what it was like.  I love to live vicarously through other golfers’ experiences.  And this one looks like a real winner!

Golfgal