A team from Copper Point Golf Club will once again be participating in the Golfathon for ALS. Five golf pros will golf from sunrise to sunset to support those living with ALS and help raise awareness. Scott McClain, Brian Schaal, Dennis Bradley, Dale Moore and Kevin Bennett will be teaming up for this year’s event.
Added up, “We’re at about 104 years of accumulated experience as professional members of the PGA,” Mr. McClain remarked. “For the ALS day, this is a great chance for us to spend a bit of time together and make some swings.”
Copper Point Golf Club has participated in the ALS Golfathon every year since 2007. In that time, they have raised $37,000 for the ALS Society of BC. In 2018, their team played 263 holes each over 17 hours and 50 minutes. They had 76 birdies, 6 eagles including one hole-in-one by Mr. Schaal, and a total of 4,158 strokes.
“We just keep moving,” Mr. McClain said when asked how they manage to keep the momentum up for that many hours of play. He said one of the tricks is they each have their own golf cart, and they bring extra pairs of shoes and socks. Fresh socks after hours of play, Mr. McClain confided, are a wonderful feeling.
But it is worth it to support the cause, he was quick to add.
“It’s a way to give back,” he said. “And I love playing that much golf, that fast. You don’t ever get to go that fast … For me personally, I love just not having to think as much, going with instinct and pulling the trigger.”
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder that affects the person’s motor neurons that carry messages to the muscles resulting in weakness and wasting in arms, legs, mouth, throat and elsewhere; typically the person is immobilized within two to five years of the initial diagnosis. There is no known cause or cure yet, but there is hope through the ALS Society of BC.
Proceeds from the Golfathon for ALS provide crucial support services to ALS patients and their families, friends, and caregivers.
To donate, go to www.golfathonforals.com.