A Good Follow Through

Another sold-out field participated in the annual St. Andrew’s Parks and Playground Scholarship Golf Tournament last Thursday, April 17 at Shadowmoss Plantation Golf Club.
The popular annual event benefits the St. Andrew’s Parks Foundation Scholarship Fund, which enables St. Andrew’s Parks and Playground to provide financial assistance to families in the community. Tournament proceeds are used to offset costs for children to attend the agency’s summer camps, play youth sports, or participate in after school programs.
Mark Spinn, the tournament chairman and Director of Marketing & Public Relations for St. Andrew’s, expressed his appreciation for the support the event receives.
“We’re incredibly fortunate that we’ve got about 150 players and dozens of sponsors every year who want to contribute,” said Spinn. “This year when registration opened up, I sent out an email blast and made a few phone calls, and in about three weeks, we were sold out.”
Participants are unanimous in their praise of the tournament, citing the many perks that come with the entry fee. In his seven years of running the tournament, Spinn has steadily increased the “bang for the buck” factor, ensuring an exceptional experience for every player.
“I play in a lot of tournaments, and what you get with the St. Andrew’s tournament is amazing,” said Daniel Broadway of Folly Beach.
Shadowmoss Plantation Head Professional Chris Short was also effusive in his praise for the St. Andrew’s event. “We look forward to having this tournament at Shadowmoss every year, because Mark (Spinn) and his team run it so incredibly well and every one has a fantastic time,” said Short. “A group of our (Shadowmoss) employees pays to play in this tournament because it is so much fun and such a great deal, and for such a great cause.”
Spinn, who projected approximately $10,000 would be raised for the scholarship fund, cites some visits to The Masters at Augusta National as an influence on how he presents the St. Andrew’s tournament.
“I’ve been lucky enough to attend The Masters a few times in recent years, and I’m always so impressed with the way they treat the players and the patrons,” said Spinn. “While we obviously can’t compete with The Masters, my goal is to create a first class experience for the people who support our event and treat them like the special guests that they are.
“Our employees and volunteers who are part of the tournament committee work hard to create that experience, and they do an incredible job.”
This year’s tournament featured food and beverages from Gold Sponsors The Kickin’ Chicken, Triangle Char & Bar, Anna Bell’s Restaurant, The Crab Shacks, Paisano’s Pizza Grill, Sub Station II, and Fiery Ron’s Home Team BBQ. Other sponsors included Platinum Sponsor West Ashley Optimist Club, Gold Sponsor Sirisky Services Heating & Air, and Silver Sponsors Rea Landscape Management, Coastal Burglar Alarm, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Kevin Shealy Allstate, Bridgestone Golf, Coca-Cola, The Law Offices of L.W. Cooper, Jr., Patriot Liquors, and Harris Teeter.
The team of Bruce Sirisky, Brian Sirisky, Jeff Conrad and Kevin Pritchard won the Captain’s Choice tournament with a score of 55. Steven Bostick, Louis Roskowski, John Roskowski and T.J. Britt finished second, and the team of Michael Lotz, Steve Agazzi, Marshall Ormand and Bobby Newman were third.
At 6-foot-6, Spinn is easy enough to spot in a crowd, and he was even easier to find at the tournament, sporting pants from Loudmouth Golf featuring green, yellow, black, orange and red swirls and stripes. Spinn accepted the good-natured teasing from the tournament players for his attire with good humor, but turned serious when making his welcoming remarks to the teams just prior to tee off. He shared a heart-tugging note a mother included with a recent scholarship application, which expressed her hope that her son would receive a scholarship to attend a session of St. Andrew’s summer camp because “he is a good boy, an excellent student, and deserves more than I can afford to do for him.”
“That,” Spinn told the players, “is why we do this. Your being here today makes it possible for me to call that mom and tell her the scholarship was approved and her son will go to summer camp. Thank you.”