Date: 9/10/03
Author: David Williams
Photos: Bill Jamison

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Wakesports/WakeWorld Golf Classic Photo Gallery

Tony Finn was obviously pleased with his team assignment

What do golf and wakeboarding have in common? Not much really. So what is the motivation for pro wakeboarders to come out and spend a day on the golf course in the middle of the wakeboarding season? Is it the camaraderie? The warm weather? The Mulligan Girls, The opportunity to hit something as hard as you can? Those cool little go-karts they let you drive wherever you want? The ready accessibility of a cooler full of refreshments? On this particular day, although I'm sure that many of the above were taken into consideration, the main reason was to benefit Camp Hope, a lakeside retreat for victims of family violence and child abuse.

Shaun Murray - dressed to swing

The concept behind the Wakesports/WakeWorld Golf Classic is simple; bring the worlds greatest wakeboarders (and possibly worst golfers) and their fans out for a day of fun that will help those that are less fortunate. WakeWorld.com hatched this plan with Southern California wakeboard shop Wakesports Unlimited and threw the whole thing together in less than two months. The result was an incredibly successful fundraiser that received overwhelming support from wakeboarding's top pros and some of the wakeboarding industry's great companies.

Big names like Shaun Murray, Darin Shapiro, Brian Grubb, Chad Sharpe, Andrew Adkison, Thomas Horrell, Danny Harf, Daniel Watkins, Melissa Marquardt, Cheryl Newton, Gretchen Hammarberg, Jeff Barton, Gerry Nunn, Tony Finn, Zane Schwenk, Aaron Reed, Jim Leatherman and Josh Sanders. came out to join golfing forces with their fans that signed up to play with them. All participants were treated to 18 holes of golf, lunch and an awards banquet that left everyone with some free shwag, plenty of Mexican food and a drink or two.

Brian Grubb

Although it was a great time for everyone out on the course, the scramble tournament was not without its problems. There is something about wakeboarders and golf carts that makes for a flammable mixture. A couple of them ended up off the beaten path (alright, they tipped over), with one of them trapping Daniel Watkins beneath it temporarily. Another, piloted by Josh Sanders, made its way toward Chad Sharpe and Brian Grubb at a less-than-safe rate of speed causing a leaping Sharpe to catch Grubb in the eye with his putter. Luckily none of these injuries sidelined any of our heroes for the Irvine Tour Stop that came two days later.

The most serious injury in this extremely dangerous sport was administered to ESPN and Pro Tour announcer Jeff Barton, buying him a free ride to the hospital. Jeff's sense of humor told him repeatedly on the day that shouting at people while they were trying to tee off would be amusing.

Corey Marotta, Jeff Barton and Josh Cantor before the "incident"

Immediately following one of many Barton-inspired shanks, the shankee, Corey Marotta, proceeded to pick up one of the tee balls (you know, that big blue thing with a big spike on it) and hurl it in JB's direction. Although the toss was not maliciously aimed, an ill-fated bounce off the turf sent said spike through the calf of our victim. A few tetanus shots later and Jeff was back by dinnertime to MC the awards banquet.

As the hosts of this fine event, Wakesports Unlimited owner Tyler Irwin and I felt it was our duty to take advantage of the golf carts provided and roam the course handing out good will. This usually came in the form of a can of beer or soda. Note to self: Bring your own beer next time. $112 for two cases of Coors Light is a tad on the pricey side.

Mulligan Girl Bethany Blair

Also strategically placed throughout the course were our other helpers. The indispensable Mulligan Girls (notice the custom tank top) helped out by selling mulligans and raffle tickets. They also kept an eye on the three holes at which golfers could win a free wakeboard boat if they sank a hole-in-one. The boats up for grabs were a MasterCraft X-10, a Malibu Wakesetter VLX and a Centurion Avalanche. Unfortunately, none of the golfers were able to take home a boat this year.

The winning team, scoring an astounding 11 under par, was made up of Shaun Murray, Chad BeMent, Neil Alexander and Tim Hunten. Finishing tied for second with a 7 under par, were two teams. One was the Spy Optics team led by Aaron Grace and the other was the team of Brian Grubb, Chad Sharpe, Justin Hopkins and Paul Williams.

MC Jeff Barton

Once the golfing portion of our program was complete, everybody happily hit the banquet room for drinks, dinner, awards and free shwag. Entertainment from the roving life-of-the-party Steve Langdon kept spirits high as everybody dug into the delicious Mexican buffet. Following dinner was the awards banquet MC'd by the now limping Jeff Barton.

In between the tossing out of freebies and the raffling off of great prizes such as a 2004 Hyperlite Parks wakeboard and an Inland Surfer Red Chubby, a special thanks went out to all the golfers, pros and sponsors that helped out our charity. There was a very special thanks to Liquid Force for their generous donation of the Trip Across America RV to Camp Hope in order to provide the camp with much-needed facilities as they get

Mission 2 Ride crew

their first year started. Liquid Force founder and senior vice president Tony Finn remarked, "I am very proud to be able to donate to such a worthy cause as Camp Hope. Giving these kids a chance to wakeboard will make their lives better and everyone at Liquid Force is happy to help!"

Camp Hope is a lakeside camp run by the San Diego Family Justice Center designed especially for victims of family violence and child abuse as well as a refuge and retreat for developmentally disabled children and at-risk adolescents. The camp experience provides "turning point" opportunities, offering parents and children a second chance to hope, to heal and to begin a new life. Camp Hope is currently working to add a wakeboarding program to its curriculum.

Bigfoot and Liquid Force rep Jason Mendes

Other sponsors of the 2003 Wakesports/WakeWorld Golf Classic include Gold sponsors Tige Boats and Titan Wakeboarding Accessories as well as Inland Surfer, MasterCraft, Newt Juice, Legend Eyewear, Paradise Ski & Marine, California Skier, Action Boats, Liquid Force, Fluid Concepts, Hyperlite, Mission 2 Ride, Vikings Extreme, Aero Design, Alliance Wakeboard Magazine, Pro Wakeboard Tour, Spy Optic, Cassette, Cadmium Productions, Sidewayz, Oakley, Rock Star, Nevin, Sobe/No Fear, 13th Floor Towers, GM/Vortec, MB Boats and Fox Racing.

The Wakesports/WakeWorld Golf Classic is an annual event, so stay tuned for information on next year's tournament so you can be included in all the fun. If you have any questions or would like to sponsor next year's event, please contact David Williams at 619-204-2885 or gobig@wakeworld.com.

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