Golfers participate in a previous KSI Clifford T. Crouch Three Club Golf Tournament (Photo courtesy of KSI)
Many charitable organizations in Delaware offer golf tournaments as a way to raise funds, but Kent-Sussex Industries (KSI)’s golf tournament is not our typical day of golf. The KSI Clifford T. Crouch Three-Club Golf Tournament, planned for Friday, September 20 at Maple Dale Country Club, requires all participants to golf using only three clubs.
“A golfer will normally take every golf club available to him, and I’m not a golfer even after planning one for 26 years, but I understand there’s like eight clubs they could take out with them, or something. They have this whole bag of clubs, and each club is for a specific purpose,” Alicia Hollis, Director of Community Relations for KSI, said. “Well, in our three club golf tournament, what they have to do is they kind of strategize with their teammates, and they say, ‘okay, John is really good at that short putt. He’s not worth a dang when it comes to a long drive, but Susie is really good at the long drive. So, every time we need a shot that’s long, we count on Susie. If it’s a short little putt, we go and count on John.’ So, John is going to take a certain golf club to get that little putt, whereas Susie is going to take a different golf club for that long drive.”
According to Hollis, what this does is make a golfer focus on their strength and ability, something someone with a disability must do on a daily basis.
“Think about what the person with the disability does every day. These are my strengths. This is what I can do. And so, we do that. At this golf tournament, they are in a situation where they’ve got three clubs, or specific abilities or whatever, and maybe they would like to have used a certain club, but they don’t have it, so they are going to modify how they play,” Hollis said. “What we have seen people do is maybe there’s a big wedge club and they use that to do their putt because they didn’t have any other choice. They didn’t take a putter with them. So, I kind of like for people who are playing in the tournament to realize what someone with a disability has to do every day. “What are my strengths and weaknesses, and which club is going to help me accentuate my strengths?” And as an agency, that’s what KSI does with the people we serve. We find what their strengths and abilities are, and we focus on that.”
The Flamingo Sling is a popular event at the KSI golf tournament each year (Photo courtesy of KSI)
The tournament is named for the late Cliff Crouch who served as President and CEO of KSI until retiring in 2003. Crouch was leading KSI when the tournament began 35 years ago and, after he passed away in 2021, the tournament was renamed in his honor. Heath Chasanov, who took over as CEO about eight months ago, felt that the tournament should continue to honor Crouch.
“Our teams are full. We have 28 teams so we cannot take on anymore,” Hollis said. “I think this tournament is so unique and different, people love to participate, even those who have never golfed before. Teams do strategize what clubs they want to bring prior to the event, although those who are new to the game may just choose three clubs and show up that day.”
There are still sponsorships available for food, tee and green as well as beer cart sponsors. AT&T, Atlantic Aluminum Products, Integrity Nursing, L&W Insurance, WSFS Bank and Dover Federal Credit Union are some of the sponsors for the tournament this year. In addition to golf, other contests are added to the event, some with cash prizes and others gift cards donated by Benvenuto.
“We also have a unique contest that was started a few years ago called our Flamingo Sling. That is where we have some yard like flamingos sitting out at a certain location on the course. Golfers come up to the volunteers who are there, and the volunteers give them different sized rings to toss,” Hollis said. “So a big ring is so many points on down the line, if the golfer, who stands on one leg like a flamingo, slings that ring, and it goes around the flamingos neck, and they get so many points, the golfer who has the most points at the end of the day from that Flamingo Fling contest will win a prize from Benvenuto.”
For more information about sponsorships, contact Hollis at 302-422-4014, Ext. 3015 or email hollisa@ksiinc.org .
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