I had the pleasure of spending the last few days playing at Ballyneal Golf and Hunt Club. My short review of the course and facilities is that it’s golf Mecca. There are no carts at Ballyneal. It’s a walking only course with a great caddy program.
Back in March, one of the caddies, Ben Cox, was paralyzed in a skiing accident. So next week on June 20th, Ballyneal member Jim Colton will play 108 holes of golf as a fundraiser to assist Cox and his family with his significant healthcare costs.
If you raise pledge at least $500, Colton will invite you out to play Ballyneal and cover your guest fees. For every $50 donated, you’ll also receive a raffle ticket. The raffle drawing will take place on July 9th and includes an amazing list of courses around the country that have donated rounds of golf.
So far Colton has raised $43,500 and counting.
Here’s how to donate:
1. Pledge a donation on a per hole or lump sum basis (payment address at the bottom of this post).
2. Participate in what I’m calling the “half-marathon” (54 holes). If you can raise at least $500 in pledges on your own, I will host you at Ballyneal on the 20th and pick up your greens fees.
3. Talk to your club pro about possibly contributing a foursome of golf to be raffled off to those who donate (see list of raffle items below).
4. Bid on one of the books up for auction (see list below).
5. Help spread the word by joining the or e-mailing this link () or one of the news items below to your golfing friends.
6. Sign Ben’s guestbook on CaringBridge and offer prayers and encouragement to him and his family.
And here are the Raffle items:
Raffle Items:
For every $50 donated, the contributors will get a raffle ticket for a chance to win one of the following golf prizes. Many thanks to those who have generously donated items to the raffle. The raffle will take place on Saturday, July 9th.
Foursomes of golf at:
- Ballyneal Golf and Hunt Club in Holyoke, CO
- Dismal River in Mullen, NE (x2)
- The Kingsley Club in Kingsley, MI
- East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, site of The Tour Championship.
- The Meadow Club in Fairfax, CA
- Galloway National in Galloway, NJ
- Chambers Bay in University Place, WA, site of the 2010 U.S. Amateur and the 2015 U.S. Open
- Sagebrush Golf and Sporting Club in Quilchena, British Columbia
- The Dunes Club in New Buffalo, MI
- Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, CA
- choice of one of five Trump National courses : Westchester, Bedminster, Colts Neck, Philadelpha, or DC
- The Yarra Yarra Golf Club in Victoria Australia
- The Paramount Club in New City, NY- The Prairie Club in Valentine, NE (includes two days of golf and one night’s accommodations)Threesomes of golf (* denotes with member-host as 4th) at:
- Hudson National Golf Club* in Croton-on-Hudson, NY
- Olympic Club (Lake Course)* in San Francisco, site of the 2012 U.S. Open. Prize also includes round at par-3 Cliffs Course, time and schedule permitting.
- Skokie Country Club* in Glencoe, IL
- Riviera Country Club* in Pacific Palisades, CA, home of the PGA Tour’s Northern Trust Open.
- Lost Dunes Golf Club in Bridgman, MI
- choice of either Kinloch Golf Club* in Manakin-Sabot, VA or Stone Eagle Golf Club* in Palm Desert, CA
- St. George’s Golf and Country Club* in Stony Brook, NY
- Ironbridge Golf Club* in Aspen, CO (includes dinner and overnight accommodations)
- Desert Mountain* in Scottsdale, AZ
- Olympia Fields Country Club*, site of the 20o3 U.S. Open and 2015 U.S. Amateur
- Pinehurst No. 2*, site of the 2014 U.S. Open
- Wolf Run Golf Club* in Zionsville, IN
- Metropolis Country Club* in White Plains, NY
- Holston Hills Country Club* in Knoxville, TN- Palmetto Golf Club* in Aiken, SC- Ballyhack Golf Club* in Roanoke, VA- The Course at Yale* in New Haven, CT
Twosome of golf (* denotes with member-host as 3rd) at:
- Merion Golf Club (East Course)* in Ardmore, PA, site of the 2013 U.S. Open.
- Erin Hills Golf Club* in Erin, WI, site of the 2011 U.S. Amateur and the 2017 U.S. Open
- Southern Highlands* in Las Vegas- Denver Country Club* in Denver- One two-man team entry in The Yucca tournament at Ballyneal in July 2012. Includes two days of golf and one night’s accommodations.- Cape Kidnappers and Kauri Cliffs in New Zealand
Other golf prizes include:
- Two nights accommodation at the Fairmont St. Andrews and one twosome of golf at The Torrance or The Kittocks
- Two pairs of TRUE Linkswear golf shoes (raffled off individually)- One custom, hand-crafted MacKenzie Walker golf bagAuction Items:
Two popular, out-of-print golf books are/will be put up for auction individually on eBay. Both items will be signed and personalized by the respective author for the winning bidder. 100% of the auction proceeds will go towards the Ben Cox fundraiser.
1. “The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses” by Tom Doak (auction ended. Click here for eBay details.)
2. “The Evangelist of Golf: The Story of Charles Blair Macdonald” by George Bahto (Auction Live Now! Click here for eBay details.)
Here’s the payment information from Jim:
Since the event has gotten so big, I’ve been working with the Cox family to get the donations set-up through a non-profit organization. Their church, Prairie Home Baptist Church in Haxtun, CO, has created a separate fund and will distribute the funds to his family over the immediate and long term as they are needed. Because of the raffle component of the event, I don’t believe that these donations are tax deductible, unless you were to opt out of the raffle.
All donations should be sent by check here:
Prairie Home Baptist ChurchP.O. Box 271Haxtun, CO 80731Memo: Cox fundraiserI would send a note along with the check saying the purpose of the funds is for the general expense fund for the Cox family.
For those that have pledged lump-sum amounts, please feel free to send in your donations right away. If you’ve pledged a per hole amount, you should probably wait until after the event because I’m going to try play a lot more than 108 holes!
