Before sunrise on Saturday, July 6th, while most golfers were sleeping and dreaming about making a hole-in-one, a group of 10 golfers and a support group gathered at Sunset Hills Country Club in Edwardsville, Illinois, for the 100 Holes for Heroes Marathon.

The purpose of the 100 Holes was to raise money for PGA HOPE Gateway. PGA HOPE is an introductory golf program taught by PGA of America Professionals to give back to the men & women who have served our country by protecting its freedoms.

The challenge was to complete 100 golf holes in one day. The 10 golfers met at 5:00 am to prepare for the challenging day. After a quick photo and the rules explained, the golfers teed off at 5:31.

 

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Since tee times for Sunset Hills Country Club members did not start until 7:00 a.m., the golfers made quick work of 40 holes by 10:00 a.m. By then, the golf course was crowded with members, and the pace slowed to a crawl. After a quick lunch break, the golfers were back on the course.

After the group played their 75th hole, they were nearing exhaustion.

100 Holes Golfers laying on the ground in exhaustion

Upon regaining energy, the marathoners were off to finish the rest of the remaining 25 holes. As club members completed their rounds and left the course, play quickened. As 4:15 approached, there was only 18 holes remaining to complete the 100 Holes for Heroes Challenge. 

The final hole was completed at 6:01 PM with a handshake between Bobby Hutchinson and Jon DePriest. 

The teams then gathered for a final group photo celebrating the completion of the 100 Hole for Heroes Golf Marathon.

The marathoners collectively raised over $20,000 for PGA HOPE. Thanks to their efforts, more Veterans will be introduced to the game of golf and experience its physical, mental, emotional, and social benefits.

Thank you to Sunset Hills Country Club, Lance Flury, PGA, Mike Russell- General Manager, Bobby Hutchinson (PGA HOPE Ambassador), Corey Martin, Jon DePriest, PGA, RC Martin, PGA,  RJ Pluhar, Grant Naughton, Tom Maxwell, James Fowler, Zack Patterson. 

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PGA HOPE—Helping Our Patriots Everywhere—is introducing and teaching golf to Veterans and active-duty military to enhance their physical, mental, social and emotional well-being. PGA HOPE is the flagship military program of PGA REACH, the 501(c)(3) charitable foundation of the PGA of America.