After a two-year break due to COVID-19, the Benedictine Living Community is holding its annual Glow Golf Tournament Fundraiser this weekend at the Minakwa Golf Course to help raise funds to update and make repairs to all of the Community’s elevators. Registration will be held on Saturday, September 10, from 3:30 to 4:00 p.m., with the first nine holes beginning at 4:00 p.m. and the second nine beginning at sunset.
After the first round of nine holes of golf, all the participants will return to the clubhouse to have a meal from the Kitchen at the Kwa. While the participants eat, the Benedictine staff will go out onto the course and light up the field with glowsticks and lights for the second round of nine holes. “On Saturday, we start at 4:00 with nine holes and do one round of golf, then there’s a meal, and then once the sun sets, during our meal, our staff and volunteers go out and light up the golf course and all of the participants light up their golf carts,” Benedictine Foundation Development Director Cassie Rudie explained. “We use glow balls, and they do nine holes in the dark, and it’s a fun event, and it’s fun to be out on the golf course and see everything all lit up.” Along with having prizes for the best score, the Community is also giving out prizes for the best decorated “glow” golfer and the golf cart made with the glowsticks or any accessories the participants bring from home. “That’ll be a time for the teams to come together and socialize, and the staff and volunteers time to go out and get the course all lit up, and then those teams can decorate their carts all lit up,” said Rudie. “Most of the time, they bring in their own things. We provide some things, like the glow ball and accessories, but we’ve had some people, who in the past have gone all out, and their carts are pretty decked out. It’s always fun to see how creative people are and what they come up with when it comes to decorating their carts or themselves.” Along with the supper, the Community will also have raffle drawings for various prizes people can enter to win. The prizes include gift certificates from several local businesses in Crookston and surrounding communities and a “fun” cooler full of various liquors and drinks.
The tournament will hold 18 four-person teams, with registration costing $90 per golfer, which can be paid on-site, online, or by contacting Cassie Rudie or Tina Leach to receive a registration form. Upon registration, players will receive green fees for four golfers, supper, snacks, glow & accessories. The tournament is also sponsored by many local businesses that are sponsoring each hole the participants will play on and four-person teams that will play on the course. If a company wishes to sponsor a hole on the course, the cost for that is $100. If they want to sponsor a team, they will pay $450, which includes green fees for four golfers, supper, snacks, glow & accessories. If they wish to become a tournament sponsor, the cost is $600, and their team will receive the same benefits that a Team Sponsor but will also receive special recognition.
The Glow Golf Tournament will be held this Saturday at Minakwa Golf Course, with registration beginning at 3:30 p.m. and the first round beginning at 4:00 p.m. with a shotgun start. “The Glow Golf Tournament is a fun event, and we invite anyone to come out and participate. It’s even fun just to come out and watch. All of the money goes to a great cause, and we’re just so thankful to all of the participants and local businesses supporting this cause,” said Rudie. If you wish to rent a golf cart for the tournament and/or for the golf cart decoration contest, you can call Minakwa at 218-281-1774. For more information on the tournament or get a registration form, you can contact Cassie Rudie at 218-281-9713 or cassie.rudie@benedictineliving.org or Tina Leach at 281-1774, or you can register yourself or your team at www.giving.benedictineliving.org/.
The rules of the Glow Golf can be seen below-
