Hole-in-One tourney keeps golfers swinging

Though no golfer managed to sink a hole-in-one in the money round, the second annual Sisters Kiwanis Million Dollar Hole-in-One Shootout held at the Aspen Lakes Golf course last weekend was deemed a complete success.

More than 217 golfers competed in the fund-raising challenge.

During the qualification phase which took place on Friday, Saturday, and until 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, the aspiring golfers took over 7,000 shots (at $1 per shot - tax deductible) at a special hole placed 100 yards from the shooting stations.

The objective was to land within a three-foot radius around the flag in order to qualify for the semi-finals.

In spite of winds which developed on both Friday and Saturday, 86 golfers qualified for the semi-finals which were held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on Sunday evening.

In fact, during qualification, three golfers (Terry Taylor of Sisters, Ron Young of Gresham and Rick Gehrke of Bend) actually became instant "finalists" by having one of their golf balls drop into the hole.

Excitement grew at 7 p.m. that evening as the 10 finalists prepared to hit their final ball from a special tee at the Aspen Lakes hole #1 to five flag poles on the green, which were set up at a range of 150 yards.

Depending on which hole the finalists hit, they could have won the Kiwanis Million Dollar prize, a Dave Hamilton Jeep Liberty, a Bob Thomas Honda Insight, a Big Country 31-foot Holiday Rambler RV or a $7,000 cash prize.

The crowd held their breath as each finalist stepped up to take their shot.

None of the finalists were able to score a hole-in-one, but all received a number of gift certificates and other prizes for their participation.

The finalists were as follows:

First place - Ron Young of Gresham, Oregon; second -Ed Kastel of Bend; third - Fred Boos of Bend; fourth - Rick Gehrke of Bend; fifth - Buddy Peterson of Bend; sixth - Craig Forney of Prineville; seventh - Scott Tanler of Redmond; eighth - Craig Johannesen of Bend; ninth - Terry Taylor of Sisters; and 10th - Bob Kelly of Sisters.

In last year's Shootout there were 292 participants.

This year there were fewer participants primarily because the high winds of Friday and Saturday discouraged many golfers. The First Annual Shootout last year raised $10,417 for the Community Ballfield Project.

In spite of the lower attendance, this year's event raised over $10,600, thanks largely to a special contribution by Ray's Food Place of $3,000.

The Sisters Kiwanis Club plans to conduct at least three additional annual Hole-in-One events with all funds dedicated to the Community Ballfield Project.

Construction of the ball fields is expected to begin in conjunction with the new Sisters High School and hopefully should be ready for use in 2003.