Hunting for balls in the Wild Woods of North Florida with clubs and wedge in hand and a few traps in sight.

Fore years while traveling the wonderful country side in Wakulla County Florida, on Hwy 98 to St George Island or some of the other beautiful beaches along the Big Bend coastline, I have driven past the Wildwood Golf Course and never stopped or even wondered what may lie beyond the seemingly unassuming marque, its buildings or water feature that quietly announces the presence of one of the very few golf courses in that area. 

While being invited to cover the Big Bend Hospice Wakulla County Charitable Golf Tournament held at Wildwood Country Club on October 30th we had the pleasure of experiencing the warmth and true southern hospitality bestowed upon us by the Big Bend Hospice (BBH) staff, members of the board, volunteers, golfers participating in the tournament and those who worked at the Country Club.

[Members and Volunteers of Big Bend Hospice seen in the photos above registering golfers before the event.]

[Members and Volunteers of Big Bend Hospice along with some of the golfers seen in the photos above at lunch.] 

I gladly accepted this invitation to find a way to say thanks and give something back to the many men and women who dedicate their lives unconditionally every day to assist not only those in medical or circumstancial needs but others who willingly welcome and embrace the pain and suffering associated with being a caregiver. I am one of those fortunate individuals who through the love and kindness from Big Bend Hospice provided me with a place of refuge and consolation to handle the unknown and emotional chaosassociated with caring for a dying loved-one. Thanks very much Big Bend Hospice for all you do and all that you are. 

Following the tournaments commencement  address from Pam (BBH), Wakulla County's Sheriff Harvey, the Sheriff Dept's. Chaplin and Paul the course manager, a BLAST! erupted nearby that crackled the air around  us (and frightened the living daylights out of all us unsuspecting souls) which signified the start of a two best scores per hole SHOT GUN tournament. (And I mean a blast which felt like a cannon to me.)

Golfers in the photos below calm their anxiety and wait patiently for the cannon to go off to begin a great day of golf with friends in the cool weather to raise funds and awareness for a very valuable cause.

As golfers traveled to their various tee locations throughout the golf course, we accompanied Sheriff Harvey's and a few other teams for the first part of the tournament to capture a few golfing moments on the course: 

Here is Sheriff Harvey's team on their first hole (#10 - par 5) of the tournament. Steve, seen in the photo below, with a great first drive.

Sheriff Harvey with his iron on the fairway for an approach shot onto the green  

Rick with a great chip shot (b-l) which earned him a birdie and Steve congratulating the Sheriff on  making an eagle on hole #10.

Then it came time to shadow the team to beat but we didn't know it at the time. Coach Mike Smith and members of his Wakulla High School Golf Team exhibited some well delivered shots. Their technical abilities on the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th holes was impecable and we had the pleasure of watching these well mannered, very polite young men display their true talent and passion. Below Conner (t-l) gets out of the bunker flawlessly and Coach Mike (t-r) makes his putt on the 10th hole. 

Also William (b-l) makes a putt and Jeremy (b-r) lines up his successful birdie putt on the 11th hole. 

Now! this is where the fun begins.

Take a look at the power generated by these guys as they almost drive the color off the golf balls.

Here is Conner with his drive on the 11th hole's tee box.

This is Jeremy with his drive on the 12th hole's tee box.

Conner seen below with his iron on the 13th hole's tee box. Wow Conner.

Jeremy seen here also with his iron on the 13th hole's tee box.  

What was so refreshing to observe regarding these golfers play, was how different their styles and swings were yet how similar they all are. The had the same attention to detail. They were all very technical in their approach. Very focused. Embraced the challenge. Extremely analytical in their critique and an acute sense of purpose to achieve excellence. Well done gentlemen; you deserve to be the best! Thanks for letting us be inspired by watching you play.  

Another interesting group of golfers we shadowed were the ESG Public Works Team which consisted of Cleve, Mark, Brent and Dwyane (l-r) seen in the team photo below. 

We captured a few tee box moments that they all should be very proud of since their efforts reaped great results down the middle of the fairway on the par 5, hole #6.

Here is Mark's drive.

And Dwyane with his drive.

Brent having a little fun with his team-mates on the tee box.

Cleve was successful with his drive also on the 6th hole.

Dwyane and Cleve make their way to try their luck on the par 3 which was sponsored by the Rotary Club and was the closest to the pin hole. 

Below are some additional video footage of members of the ESG Team as they moved around the green from bunker to cup.

Dwyane getting off the beach with a nice bunker shot.  .

Mark also getting off the beach with another nice bunker shot.  .

Then Cleve making his final putt to complete the hole.  .  

Please stay tuned in the very near future for the rest of the highlights forthcoming in Part 2.

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