by Madison V. Fisler 
June 10, 2014. On Saturday, June 21, Sugar Mountain Golf Club will host the third annual Jack Masters Golf Tournament. The four-man scramble or captain’s choice friendly will benefit improvements and the preservation of Wildcat Lake Park adjacent to the Grandfather Home for Children in Banner Elk.
The tournament, which is played annually in honor of the late Jack Masters, pays tribute to the man who dedicated his life to the advocacy of children in the High Country.
“Jack Masters was a well-known advocate for children’s causes in the High Country,” said Tom McAuliffe, Golf Director at the Village of Sugar Mountain Golf Course.
“He was a longtime child specialist as an educator at Lees-McRae College. He was an advocate and led the area boy scout chapter. He did so many things one-on-one, being such a high profile man in our little locality here. He would learn about children in tough spots and he did a lot of kind things that nobody ever knew about. This tournament is an offshoot of what began as the Banner Elk Elementary School Arts Plus program, a golf tournament to raise funds that we held for ten years to buy art supplies for Banner Elk Elementary School. One year, Jack told me that they couldn’t have it and over that winter he died. So we got together and said, ‘Let’s continue the Jack Masters legacy through this tournament.'”
The entry fee for the event is $75 which includes continental breakfast at registration and a cookout and the Sugar Clubhouse following the tournament. There will be door prizes and an auction for golf at some of the finest golf clubs in the High Country.
Registration is available in advance or the morning of the event. The tournament will have a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.
“If he [Jack] was here, he would be delighted. He was a very modest man, but he would be delighted to know that the concern for the children still comes first. There are just people like that, he would do anything for the kids. These are the lives we need to nurture-the children.”
In past years, the tournament has raised as much as $6,500 to benefit the cause, and the tournament has grown each year.
“Our goal is to have 18 foursomes, or 72 players. Our objectives are higher each year.”
For more information about the tournament, call 828-260-3107.
You must be logged in to post a comment.