BUCKINGHAM — If the 13th annual quarterback shootout at Buckingham Golf and Country Club this weekend is half the event its predecessors were, it will be just fine, says Greg Bennett.
This remains to be seen, because, this year”s event ?officially, the Pepsi Celebrity Skins Shootout ? has, in fact, been cut from 18 holes to nine, and a few other belt-tightening adjustments have been made.
Including:
— No bleachers.
— No courtesy buses between Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa and Buckingham.
— Fewer food and beverage locations.
— Benefiting charities reduced from two to one. Konocti Harbor”s own Sea Breeze Foundation will receive assistance, but not the Lake County Sheriff”s Association.
The good news is there will be no admission charged at this year”s event. Galleryites will be admitted free.
Bennett, Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa”s general manager and entertainment scheduler, acknowledges that the sluggish economy has caused some cutbacks in the shootout that under his direction has become a unique highlight on Lake County”s event schedule.
But, in his best show-must-go-on manner, he reasons that a shootout that is half is good is better than no shootout at all. Did the thought of dropping the event cross his mind?
“In these economic times everything is subject to reconsideration and everything we”ve done this year is something that we thought about and analyzed a little — what we should and shouldn”t do,” he answered.
“There really wasn”t any significant move toward cancellation, because (the shootout) is a signature event, not a moneymaker but a great profile event.”
The shootout obviously has a sentimental value to Bennett, personally.
When he talks about it, inevitably how “this goofy golf tournament was conceived over a glass of wine” will crop up, as will the relationships developed over the years with Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Kenny Stabler and others.
From that beginning, the shootout has become a spectacle of bringing “name” NFL alums together with hot entertainment acts. This year the acts include Toby Keith, The Guess Who, the Pretenders and The Lost Boys, while Stabler and 49er running back Roger Craig head the golfing celebrities.
Montana, Rice, Dwight Clark and Fred Biletnikoff are among gallery favorites who won”t be present because of other commitments. But Bennett said he expects all will be back and the shootout will be restored to 18 holes because there aren”t enough slots available for golfers under the nine-hole format.
To pump interest this year, a “skins” format, which rewards the lowest score on each hole, has been adopted and a $5,000 pursue will be up for grabs. The shootout starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday and should be completed by around 1 p.m.
Would it have sent a message if the shootout had been suspended this year?
“I”m not going there,” Bennett said. “The only message we want to send is that we think it”s one of the biggest events on the West Coast; it”s a monumental event that we don”t want to see go anywhere. It”s raised a lot of money. It”s our commitment to keep (the shootout) alive.
“We may pull back a hair this year, but we”re going to do it the way we always do it, which is first class.”
One thing is certain … you can”t beat the price.
