Snow golf tournament nets more than $3,000 for Pine Tree Hospice

    DOVER-FOXCROFT — Six inches of freshly-fallen snow made for immaculate conditions at the 2013 Snow Golf Invitational, which was held at Foxcroft Golf Club Feb. 10 and netted more than $3,000 for Pine Tree Hospice, a volunteer hospice that receives no federal, state or insurance funding. “Revenue from fundraisers such as this is critical for us to be able to provide support to the 39 towns in our service area,” said Jane Stitham, executive director of Pine Tree Hospice.

    Twenty twosomes competed in the nine-hole scramble, in which golf balls were replaced with tennis balls, holes were replaced with hula hoops and one player per team was allowed to tee off with a tennis racket on each hole (save number two, which featured the long drive contest). Chris McGary and Dennis Aplanalp emerged from the deep and talented field of “snolfers,” shooting a blistering 34 to edge Bob Bradford and Lorne Noiles by one stroke. Doug Cummings and Deb Ladd fired a 38 to nab third.

    “Everything in the bag was working for me today,” said McGary, who also produced a Herculean effort on hole two to secure longest drive honors. “From the tennis racket I used to rocket drives off the tee to the four iron I used on my long-range fairway bombs to the four iron I used on my delicate approach shots to the four iron I used to knock down a handful of slippery putts — the gallery was really treated to a bit of magic out there today.”

    ON THE WHITE — Dr. Kathleen Thibault sizes up a hole during the Pine Tree Hospice Snow Golf Invitational on Feb. 10 at the Foxcroft Golf Club.

    McGary and Aplanalp earned a free round of 18 at JW Parks Golf Course in Pittsfield, Bradford and Noiles will enjoy nine holes at Lakeview Golf Course in Burnham and Cummings and Ladd won’t be paying for their next few $5 foot longs at Subway. Bonnie Allen ripped the longest female drive and Karen and Elise Pomeroy seized the “Most Valiant Effort” distinction with a hard-earned 66.

    Meanwhile Spring Creek BBQ bested the Nor’easter, Will’s Shop ’n Save, Milo Trade Winds and Indian Hill Trading Post in the Chili Cook-off, which was judged by Danny White (Foxcroft Academy football coach and CFO), Linda Jean Briggs (Dexter town manager) and Ed Hannon (Mayo Regional Hospital CEO), who gamely stepped in for Channel 5’s chief meteorologist Todd Simcox.

    “All the entries were excellent, but Spring Creek’s submission had a robust, sophisticated composition and a smoky, toothsome flavor that simply left us wanting more,” said White, the 2012 Little Ten Con Coach of the Year, an accomplished gourmand and just a heck of a nice guy.

    The money raised at this year’s tournament more than doubles the $1,591 netted last year. The event’s success was due to generous in-kind donations from Pine Tree Hospice supporters and crucial funding from the numerous sponsors.

    Stitham was profuse in thanking the many people who came together to make the event such a resounding success: most notably, Foxcroft Golf Course for hosting the event and going above and beyond to prepare the course after the Saturday storm; all the wonderful sponsors and chili chefs; the gracious chili judges; all the registered golfers, who didn’t skip a beat when the tournament was moved from Saturday to Sunday; the Milo and Foxcroft Academy Key Clubs, who helped set up and clean up, ran the children’s games, and took photographs; the promotional efforts of the FA communications team; and of course all the generous Pine Tree Hospice volunteers, without whom the event would not have stood a chance.

    “What an awesome day!” concluded Amy Madigan-Dube, coordinator of volunteers and client services for Pine Tree Hospice. “The weather was beautiful, and we had lots of people smiling! What more could we have asked for?”

BEST BATCH — Spring Creek BBQ in Monson took top honors during the Chili Cook-Off on Feb. 10 as part of the Pine Tree Hospice snow golf tourney.