Photo by Matthew Schulze
In one of the highlight events of the Sun Mountain Skills Challenge, golfers must hit a shot over a wall. With local amateurs teamed along side the professionals this year, the wall may be lowered to six feet.

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Sun Mountain finals should be a fan favorite

Before the professional golfers tee things up for a chance to win the Greater Richmond Golf Classic August 13-15 at Richmond Country Club, a select few will face a different kind of challenge. As the host site for the finals of the Sun Mountain Challenge, four of the Duramed FUTURE Tour’s top golfers will lead teams of local amateurs in an event organizers hope will quickly turn into a fan favorite.

  Last year RCC was host of the semifinals of the Sun Mountain Skills Challenge, but the event went largely unnoticed due to its newness. “Not enough people knew what it was last year,” said tournament director/RCC pro Matthew Schulze.

  This year publicity and public awareness should combine to create a festive atmosphere for the Challenge finals.

  “We think it will be really, really cool,” Schulze said. “It’s just a different dynamic to the event to do it at six o’clock on Thursday night before the tournament starts.”

  The Sun Mountain Challenge runs throughout the course of the Duramed tour season, starting with over 30 professional golfers and gradually narrowing the field to four finalists. And those who watched last year’s challenge semifinals will see a different dynamic with the championship because each of the four finalists will be teamed up with a group of four amateurs.

  Each team will make their way through five skill stations that will test their abilities. The stations include hitting a pitch shot, a chip shot, a bunker shot, and a putt before capping things off by attempting to hit the ball over a wall. The players will get three shots at each station and points are accessed on the best ball from each.

  “The amateurs hit the same shots as the girls,” Schulze said. “It’s a ‘Big Break’ type of scenario where essentially every station is a challenge.”

  Schulze said the exact specifications of the challenge have yet to be designated because they will want to access the abilities of the amateurs involved first. “That’s when I think it will get interesting is when we try to nail down what they’re going to do,” Schulze said. “The bunker shot’s not very easy- It’s not just one of those splash it up on the green a hope. You’ve got to hit it across 15 yards of grass before you get to the green. I’m not sure how that one’s going to change but it will make it fun.”

  Even the wall, the best known feature of the challenge, may change. “The wall was eight feet last year but it might come down to six feet just because it will make it a little easier,” Schulze said. “Some of our tour players couldn’t hit it over the wall (last year). That’s the neat one because that the one they all see on TV. Everybody wants to do it but it can be a very embarrassing situation.

  “The whole idea is to make it a fun event,” Schulze said. “Golf is a fun thing. We don’t want somebody out there beating their brains in trying to hit it over a wall and they’re never going to be able to do it.”

So far two of the four amateur teams have been taken up. One by tournament sponsor Eagle Construction and the other going to members of RCC. The final two teams are still up in the air. “We’ll let our members go first then if we can’t fill it up we’ll go outside and kind of see who wants to be part of it,” Schulze said.

Classic provides opportunity for high school golfers

  When the Duramed FUTURES Tour comes to Richmond Country Club August 13-15 it will not only provide an opportunity to see some of the country’s best golfers but for some it will be chance to walk side by side with them.

  Volunteers comprise a majority of tournament work force, something that the event can always use more of. But some of the volunteers who enjoyed the experience the most during last year’s tournament were local high school golfers from Goochland, Douglas Freeman and St. Christopher’s. Last year between 20 and 30 of the high-schoolers spent the tournament working closely with the professionals doing driving range maintenance, setting up practice balls or acting as standard bearers walking the course along side the professionals.
  Tournament Director and RCC pro Matthew Schulze said because of their involvement word has spread. “This year’s been kind of cool because we’ve gotten a lot of emails from parents saying, ‘I heard Jimmy from Freeman did this and my son wants to do it was well.’”

  High school golfers as well as adults looking to volunteer can email Matthew Schulze, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call the Richmond Country Club Pro Shop at (804) 784-3120.