Contest challenges golfers

Thursday, August 26, 2004
Dan Nichols, Nevada, sets up for a try at a hole-in-one Tuesday morning.

By Ben Holman

Nevada Daily Mail

On Tuesday, area golfers had the chance to demonstrate their skills at the Nevada Auto Mall Hole in One Tournament. KNEM-KNMO radio, Budweiser and Missouri Eagle, and the Osage Prairie YMCA are hosting the event along with the Nevada Auto Mall.

The event, which continues through Sunday, is being held at Lyons field in Nevada.

A cup has been placed in center field and participants line up on the left field foul line, then try to land a shot as close to the hole as possible.

The event's not limited to seasoned golfers -- anyone who wishes to test their skills on the links is welcome to participate.

Alice Ochs, the representative from the national hole-in-one organization that runs the event, said that this is her third year helping out here in Nevada.

Ochs said she especially likes coming to Nevada and also mentioned that she enjoys her work, because she gets the opportunity to travel and meet many interesting people.

Tedd Maxfield, executive director of the Osage Prairie YMCA, said that the proceeds benefit the financial aid fund.

The money in the fund is used to help pay for programs and memberships for families who cannot afford to pay the full cost. This, along with the Christmas tree auction, is one of the biggest fund-raising events for the local YMCA organization.

Asked how Nevada became involved in the event, Maxfield said, "My dad was involved with a charity in Wyoming that did this, and he said that it was fun and raised some money."

He said that the hole-in-one promoters usually work through a local media outlet, so Maxfield contacted Mike Harbit at KNEM-KNMO, and with financial support from Nevada Auto Mall, Budweiser and other local businesses, the event has been a great success for the YMCA.

The qualifying rounds are being held daily, now through Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 4 to 9 p.m.

Qualifying rounds are also being held Saturday from 3 to 9 p.m., and on Sunday from noon to 4:30 p.m.

The semi-final and final rounds will also be held on Sunday at the Frank E. Peters golf course in Nevada.

"People really start to listen to the radio ... to see where they are in the standings the later in the week it gets," said Maxfield. He also mentioned that some of them will come back and try to improve their ranking is they feel they are in danger of dropping from the leader board.

"We usually get a couple hundred participants," said Maxfield.

At the semifinals, 60 people will shoot on the first hole with the six closest to the hole moving on to the final round. If anyone makes a hole-in-one during the semi-final they will win $20,000 and if anyone makes a hole in one in the final round they win $1 million. There are daily prizes for the 10 closest to the hole and prizes for the closest competitors at the semi-finals on Sunday. Every person receives four free shots per day and additional shots cost $1 for 1 ball, $5 for 6 balls, $10 for 12 balls, and $20 for 30 balls.

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