FORT RUCKER, Ala. (August 14, 2014) -- Fort Rucker's Silver Wings Golf Course hosts a multitude of tournaments throughout the year, but the upcoming Pro-Am Tournament offers a unique experience for golfers that they might not be able to have anywhere locally.
This year's tournament returns Aug. 22-24 and features a practice round the first day, running all day, and two 18-hole rounds of the tournament played the following two days with shotgun starts at 9 a.m., according to Chet Hallman, SWGC business manager.
The distinctive factor about this tournament, as opposed to other tournaments throughout the year, is this one will feature Professional Golfers Association professionals and mini-tour professionals who will play alongside amateurs throughout the tournament.
"These professionals will be paired with three of our amateur players for two 18-hole rounds of golf over two days," said Hallman, who is also SWGC's own PGA professional. "Typically, the tournaments people see here are individual amateur and team amateur tournaments, so this is an opportunity for our amateurs to play with a very skilled golfer."
The golf pros will be coming from all around the southeast, mainly from the Emerald Coast Tour, which mostly consists of southern Alabama, the Florida panhandle and Mississippi, he added.
What constitutes a professional golfer is any golfer who accepts prize money, said Hallman. "There are different levels of tours and professionals, but if they accept prize money from tours that they play on, they are considered professional."
The scoring for the game will be a version of the Stableford system, which is a point system.
"Each player on the team will play their own ball, and at the conclusion of each hole, they will take the best two scores of the four to determine the score for the hole," said the business manager. "Those scores will then be tallied at the end of each round."
Deadline for the signups have been extended through next week, so people can still sign up for the tournament by visiting the Silver Wings Golf Course. Cost for entry is $125 for members and $150 for non members, and includes tournament course fees, range balls, tee gifts, tournament meals and prizes.
The practice round will be held Aug. 22. The night before the tournament, SWGC will host a pairings party, during which people will be paired with their teams.
The professionals' names will be put in a hat and drawn at random to see which teams they will be paired with. The party is also a good opportunity for a meet and greet where players and professionals can get to know their teammates, Hallman said.
"This tournament is something that comes along only once a year, and it's a good, fun opportunity to play a little different format and learn from someone who knows a lot about the game," said Hallman. "The professionals are very cordial and more than willing to help with tips and encourage the amateurs on how they can get better."
For more information, call 598-2449.
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