Field hockey golf tournament to take place March 31

The fundraising golf tournament for Fallbrook High School’s field hockey team, including its off-season Guac Girls squad, will take place March 31 at the Fallbrook Golf Club.

“It’s a great opportunity for the girls to raise money,” said Kirstin Mueller, who coaches the high school varsity and the Guac Girls.

The golf tournament will be the ninth annual such fundraiser for the field hockey program, although various changes from past golf tournaments will be evident. One continuity from the past is that Kathy Waite, who was the varsity and Guac Girls coach before retiring after the 2010 season, will still be the organizer of the golf tournament.

The field hockey program’s golf tournament has previously been held at Pala Mesa Resort; this year it will be held at the Fallbrook Golf Club. The entry fee for the tournament has been reduced from $125 to $95 but still includes 18 holes of golf, a cart rental, range balls, and a dinner. The cost of the dinner for those who don’t wish to participate in the golf tournament was decreased from $35 to $25.

One other major change is that the golf tournament was moved from Friday to Saturday in an effort to increase participation.

“It was too hard to get off work,” Waite said.

The Saturday date also means that the field hockey players won’t have to leave school early to help with registration and introduce themselves to the golfers.

“It makes things a little simpler, I think,” Waite said.

Last year the tournament obtained 60 golfers while approximately 100 people attended the dinner, which includes a raffle and auction. Last year’s tournament also had 35 tee sponsors who paid $100 apiece; that fee was not changed for the 2012 tournament.

The Saturday schedule allows for an earlier start; the noon check-in and driving range opening time and the 1:00 p.m. shotgun start are both half an hour earlier than the past years’ starting times as is the putting contest, which this year will begin at 12:30 p.m. The dinner, which began at 6:30 p.m. in 2010 and 6:00 p.m. in 2011, will return to a 6:30 p.m. start.

In addition to the putting contest and the prize for the lowest score, contests will also be held for closest to the pin, longest drive, and longest drive with a field hockey stick. Golfers will also be able to purchase mulligans prior to the start of the tournament.

Proceeds from the golf tournament, dinner, auction, and raffle will be used to cover expenses for the varsity and junior varsity field hockey squads during the CIF season and for the off-season Winter indoor league and the National Field Hockey Festival, Cal Cup, Play for Pink, and 7-on-7 tournaments. The team cannot officially represent Fallbrook High School outside of the CIF field hockey season, and without the ability to call themselves the Warriors the team has adopted the name Guac Girls for tournaments and other play.

Those interested in participation in the tournament, tee sponsorship, or raffle and auction prize donations can contact Waite at (949) 285-7409.Registration can be done online at sites.google.com/site/fallbrookhighschoolfieldhockey.