Chipping in for funds, fun

By Leila Wai
Special to The Advertiser

There are fund-raisers and there are fun-raisers.

"It was really good fun," said Donna Fouts of the soccer golf fund-raiser. "It was interesting to take things from other sports." Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

They called it soccer golf.

Soccer golf consists of players utilizing all parts of their feet to chip, drive and putt the ball into "holes," which, in this case, were enlarged croquet-style hoops placed around an 18-hole course at the Hawai'i Pacific University soccer field at the Windward campus in Kane'ohe.

"You don't have to be a real proficient soccer player to do this," said Donna Fouts, a member of the over-50 team and chairwoman for the tournament. "There were wide variants in age and ability."

About 70 people participated in the May 4 event.

"I thought it was the most fun fund-raiser we've ever done. Everyone seemed to like it; it didn't matter how old they were," said Linda Cox of Pupukea, who is also a member of the over-50 team. "It was new and it was a challenge, and skill level didn't matter. We tried to make some of the holes easy and some holes challenging."

Like golf, every attempt counted as a stroke. Even golf rules applied.

If a ball kicked uphill rolled back down and was trapped by the kicker, that counted as a stroke.

With holes placed all around the soccer field surrounded by hills and trees, it made for golf-like conditions.

"Some of the holes were 40 yards away; others were 40 degrees up a hill," Fouts said. "It was really good fun. It was interesting to take things from other sports. Like in golf: you need patience and the ability to read the angles and decide what is the best shot."

Competitors showed up at 9 a.m. and played all day. Some players, after seeing the scores of their friends, decided to go through another round, according to Fouts. Although the initial fee was $15, tournament officials decided to open up additional rounds for $1 apiece after receiving requests from participants.

"People got really competitive when they compared their scores with someone that they knew," Fouts said. "They wanted to go again and better their scores."

The golf tournament raised about $1,200 for a trip to the National Veterans Cup in Beckley, W.Va., in June. Men's and women's teams take part in the tournament. The 18-member over-50 team will be joined in West Virginia with an over-40 women's team from Hawai'i.

"Last year we went and experienced it and felt we could be right there with everyone else," Fouts said.

"I think we are going to have a good go at it this year. We feel pretty good about it," coach Frank Doyle said.

Doyle, who also is the coach of the Hawai'i Pacific men's soccer team, said that the golf tournament was a lot of fun.

"In fact, I think I'm going to use it for HPU. You are not only competing against yourself, but everyone else is asking what your score is, and that makes it really competitive," he said.

Next year Hawai'i will be hosting the National Veterans Cup at the Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Stadium.

For more information or donations, call Donna Fouts at 532-6749 or 261-0454.