Southern California's No. 1 Golf Source
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"A good golf course makes you want to play so badly that you hardly have the time to change your shoes. " |
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It's no secret that some of the most highly priced real estate is located in the most treacherous of areas, which is why you'll find golf courses located on ocean bluffs, alongside powerful rivers or in rugged mountain canyons. But pristine views often come with a price that can't be measured in dollars and cents - especially for those courses situated in, or by, areas prone to that unfortunate reality of Southern California: wildfires. Thankfully, most of the time, golf courses provide a silver lining of sorts to fire, as their lushly irrigated greens and fairways often serve as manmade firebreaks that prevent an inferno from more destruction. Fire and golf met in a very different way last month, when Menifee Lakes Country Club hosted a very special tournament designed to raise money for the families of five firefighters who perished while battling the Esperanza wildfire. Menifee's head pro Stan Gonzales was watching live news footage of the fire - which more than 1,500 firefighters battled and that scorched more than 40,000 acres in the San Gorgonio Pass area. On the first day, October 26, four firefighters from a U.S. Forest Service crew were killed after the volatile Santa Ana winds shifted the direction of the blaze, which overran them. The men were Mark Loutzenhiser, 44; Jess McLean, 27; Jason McKay, 27; and Daniel Hoover-Najera, 23. (A fifth, Pablo Cerda, 23, died a few days later.) Though none of the men were from Menifee, which is located in southwest Riverside County, about 30 miles from the fire, Gonzales was moved to do something. "I was just watching it on TV and just felt so bad for their families," said Gonzales, who has a close friend on the Corona fire department. "Some of these guys were so young and new to the department, and weren't even eligible for benefits yet. I was sitting there, just feeling helpless and wanting to do something." There was one thing Gonzales could do: hold a charity golf tournament. He immediately called his general manager, Dan Farrar, who sent out an e-mail blast on Sunday to the course's distribution list announcing a tournament for the following Saturday. "Within 36 hours, we were full," Gonzales said. "We had to turn people away." The event raised $7,000 and was sent to the California Professional Firefighters fund, which administered the money to the affected families. "The support from everyone was just tremendous and touching," said Gonzales, who called in some favors to Monster energy drink, Oakley sunglasses and Footjoy shoes. Rather than the customary shotgun sound to signal the beginning of the tournament, a Riverside County fire engine was on hand. After a moment of silence, the engine's siren came on and the tournament was on. It's not the first time that this 36-hole facility has been involved with local firefighters. Several years ago, Gonzales said, copters fighting a nearby blaze retrieved water from the course's lakes. While Menifee wasn't as close to the Esperanza fire, the fact that its members and staff pulled together shows how close-knit the golf community can be when it steps up. "The money wasn't much, but we felt we had to do something," Gonzales said. If you're interested in helping out the families of these fallen firefighters, you can send a donation to the Esperanza Firefighters Fund, which directs 100 percent of the donations to the affected families. n For more information, call (800) 890-3213, or e-mail info@cpf.org. |
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