Woodloch Resort Teams Up With SWB Yankees for Pro-Am Golf Event

I am the first to admit, golf is not my game.

I think I became intimidated by the sport as a 4-year-old at a very challenging course in Podunk, Mass. I picked the purple ball. My brother, Keith, the green. He teed off and knocked his first shot right into the cup.

I hit it off of the clown's nose and the ball caromed right into the drink. A one stroke penalty and a course maximum six for the hole goes into the eternal record book of miniature golf.

Traumatized, I never picked up a club again.

I am the first to admit, the Yankees are not my team.

Born and Bred Red Sox Red is my motto. I have two Red Sox tattoos and a family room dressed with more Sox memorabilia than Fenway. My least favorite people on the planet are Bucky, Boone, and A-Rod.

Call me a Homer. Homer Civin.

I am the first to admit, cancer is not my friend.

I've walked the Susan G. Komen 60-Mile Walk for Breast Cancer three times. Not because I've lost anyone to the disease, but because I don't want to.

I've met thousands of people who have been touched by the disease and I call them my friends. I think about my wife and my mom and my sister and my daughters and I don't want them to ever have to think that a lump may be a death sentence.

Yesterday, as a matter of fact, my wife lost her brother-in-law, Bill Hupfeld, to cancer.

RIP, Uncle Bill.

But, when you take golf and add Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankee players, with proceeds going to help cure cancer, you have a combination that I couldn't love more.

The Woodloch Resort, in picturesque Hawley, Pa., has done just that.

They will be hosting the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees Pinstripes Golf Classic this year at the Country Club at Woodloch Springs. The event will take place on Wednesday, May 20, with a noon shotgun start.

This is the second year of the event, according to Rory O'fee, who is the corporate services manager at Woodloch, a fellow Syracuse University grad, and my good friend.

"We have partnered up with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees this year and our tournament features a foursome, plus one Yankee playing with each team, so really a fivesome", explained O'fee, who obviously didn't know of my mini-golf trauma when he invited me to join his quartet. 

"There will be about 22-25 foursomes, all with a Yankee, plus a couple old timers as well. Eric Duncan, Ramiro Pena, maybe even Kei Igawa, plus his translator.  

"I know you're a Red Sox fan...But since you're just an overall baseball fan, you might be interested in this event."

The tournament is an 18-hole scramble featuring an amateur foursome, plus the player from the SWB Yankees with each team.

The event will kick off with lunch at the Clubhouse at Woodloch Springs and conclude with dinner. There will be awards and prizes, Yankees memorabilia, and a chance to mingle with SWB Yankees and baseball legends of the past.

The cost for each player is $250, or $1,000 for a full foursome, and many valuable sponsorship opportunities.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Northeastern Pennsylvania Affiliate, and the Penn State Hershey Cancer Center.

"There are a lot of 'new' things happening this year and sponsorships are one of them. The event was a great success previously, but we are very excited about this year's event," O'fee explained.

"We invite companies to look through our sponsorship packages that are overflowing with value and find the perfect match for them and their company."

O'fee added that the event promoters were concerned about how the economy would affect the event, but that they are pleased with the initial interest in this year's charity event.

Sponsorship information for the event is as follows:

The Grand Slam Sponsorship ~ $5,000 (Package value $6,500)

• 1 foursome to play in the Pinstripes Golf Classic
• 2 nights lodging in one of Woodloch’s immaculate Guest Homes for your foursome including dinner the night before the tournament through the tournament banquet (four meals)
• Free Annual Membership (2009 Golf Season) to the Country Club at Woodloch Springs
• The most prominent locations for your logo to be displayed on and off the course
• Hole sponsorship of any hole includes course sign and custom hole flag; any additional displays at the cost of the sponsor

The Home Run Sponsorship ~ $2,500 (Package value $3,200)

• 1 foursome to the Pinstripes Golf Classic
• 1 foursome to come for a “Stay & Play Package at Woodloch” during the season; excluding holidays. Includes full round of golf, overnight stay plus dinner and unlimited golf if staying midweek
• Prominent locations for logo display
• Hole sponsorship of any hole, includes real estate signs and custom hole flag and any display at the cost of the sponsor

The Triple Play Sponsorship ~ $1,500 (Package value $2,000)

• 1 foursome to the Pinstripes Golf Classic
• 1 foursome to come and play at any time during the season at Woodloch
• Hole sponsorship of any hole includes course sign and custom hole flag; any additional displays at the cost of the sponsor

Hole Sponsorship ~ $500

• Hole sponsorship of any hole includes course sign and custom hole flag; any additional displays at the cost of the sponsor

Fan Club Sponsor ~ Any Denomination

• Fans of the Yankees and supporters of the cause can donate in any denomination. 100% will go directly to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, NEPA Affiliate and the Penn State Hershey Cancer Center.
  
• Fan Club Sponsors will be displayed on the “Patron’s Page” in the tournament program.

The sponsorships are packed with value for you and your foursome, as well as great exposure for your company.

Call the Group Sales Office at Woodloch for more information, 800.453.8263. For information about reserving your slot in the tournament, please contact Selena McHugh. For information about sponsorships, please contact Lisa Marie Hugaboom.

For general information, contact Rory O’Fee or visit www.WOODLOCH.com

Woodloch is a four-season resort and multifunctional meeting facility, nestled in the pristine Pocono Mountains Lake Region of Northeast Pennsylvania, owned and operated by the Kiesendahl Family since 1958.

Celebrating over 50 of excellence and a tradition of warm hospitality, the award-winning resort is an oasis of recreation and relaxation for all ages.

In addition to the family-style setting of the resort, Woodloch hosts a wide range of corporate and group functions including many Fortune 500 companies.

The Country Club at Woodloch Springs is nationally recognized by GOLF Magazine as "one of the finest courses in America" and rated “4.5 Stars” by Golf Digest’s Best Places to Play.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees are the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees and are red hot after last year’s championship winning season. The Yankees season started April 9 on the road against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.

Their home opener at PNC Field kicks off Friday April 17 against the Rochester Red Wings.