MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII -- The weather on Marine Corps Base Hawaii has been a rollercoaster of rain and wind in recent weeks, but after an hour delay, the Commander’s Cup Golf Classic teed off with fair skies over the Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course fairway, Dec. 14, 2012.
More than 150 golfers played in the final tournament of the year at the golf course. The winning team, with a score of 59, consisted of Gabe Gutierrez, Eli Ginez, Richard Benavides and Elton Yu.
“Since there’s a new player who joined our team, we played a couple rounds of golf prior to the tournament to get the feel of how we should play,” golfer Eli Ginez said about his team’s strategy. “We decided who should go first in driving and who should go last in putting. Every player on my team possesses different skills, and combined, we were able to pull off a win. Even though it wasn’t perfect weather for golf, with wind gusts of 30 miles per hour, our passion for golf still made it a fun event.”
Golfers played the scramble tournament with enthusiasm and holiday spirit whether near the beach or in the beach. Some participants dressed up in holiday attire to celebrate the occasion.
“I’m playing with the Christmas spirit at heart and I want to pass the spirit on to others,” said Matt C. Somerville, who festively dressed as a Scottish Santa. “I’m enjoying myself and with the help of my elves (fellow teammates), our team should do quite well.”
Next year’s Commander’s Cup tournaments are anticipated to bring in record numbers of participants, according to Todd Murata, general manager, Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course Complex. Golf vendors are slated to showcase their best clubs for use during the competition.
“We’re going to liven up the tournament a bit,” Murata said. “We plan on having demo days to include big name golf companies on the course during the tournament. We also want to encourage more women to play so we’ll tailor contests to be more even.”
The next tournament will be held here, March 22, 2012. For more information, or to register, call the Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course at 254-2107.