Golfers will have the opportunity to tee-off for a good cause on Tuesday, June 14 at the annual Kissing Bridge Golf Tournament at Ariss Golf and Country Club, hosted by the BridgeKeepers of West Montrose.
The tournament, in just its second year, is the primary fundraiser for the BridgeKeepers for the continued preservation of the 130-year-old Kissing Bridge in West Montrose, a national historic site and Ontario’s last remaining covered bridge.
The group also organizes an annual carol sing each Christmas at the bridge, and participates every year in the Spring on the Trail event in the township, but with the BridgeKeepers embroiled in legal battles with gravel companies looking to extract tonnes of aggregate from farmland directly to the southwest of the bridge, the majority of the money raised will go towards paying for legal fees to try to stop those developments.
“Those are about the only real expenses we have,” said Peter Black of the BridgeKeepers. “Most of the advocates we get, professors at the universities and so on, they come because they’re dedicated to the cause, but the lawyers, of course, need to eat,” he laughed.
For as little as $130, golfers will have use of a motorized golf cart for the day as well as dinner at the golf club afterwards. There are also dinner-only options for those whose golf skills may not be up to par, or a packaged deal for up to four golfers that also includes t-shirts, hats and a mention in the program.
The organization is still looking for corporate sponsors for the silent auction or to award prizes for specific golfing feats such as a hole-in-one or closest to the pin. They are also hoping for some more golfers to round out the approximately 75 they are expecting, but organizers realize this time of year brings lots of competition on the fundraising front.
“We’re coming along pretty well considering that the Sugar Kings golf tournament is the day before, and some people don’t like to golf every day of the week,” laughed Black. “So we’ve taken a bit of a back seat to that.”
As for the weather, Tuesday is expected to be a perfect day for golf with sun and a high of 23 degrees – but Black is still cautiously optimistic, especially given the wet start to the year.
“I really don’t put much faith in forecasts,” he laughed. “Maybe I’ll check it again the night before.”
For more information on the tournament visit www.bridgekeepers.ca or to register for the event email golf@bridgekeepers.ca.
