Golfers galore take to links for Neighborhood Challenge

By Katherine Mace

Contributor

Sapphire Lakes neighborhood won the 10th annual Sun City Hilton Head Neighborhood Golf Classic, and the parity was remarkable. The winning team’s net score on the Hidden Cypress course was 254. They squeaked by the Botany Bay and Village Green teams which tied for second, shooting just one stroke off the mark.

The top seven teams were all within 10 strokes. One hundred and eighty-four players on 23 eight-person teams played in the April 1 tournament. On this blustery tournament day, one optimistic golfer said, “If I talk about a hole-in-one, you’ll have to say the quote is anonymous, because I don’t want to jinx myself! “

When asked if golfers are superstitious, tournament founder, chair, and Sun City resident Mike Baratto said, “I think they are careful!”

The event, which started in 2014, was the brainchild of Baratto, a former 5th and 6th grade teacher from Hoosick Falls, New York, who coached the junior and senior high football, basketball and golf teams there. Mike and his wife, Peg, remain deeply enmeshed in this annual event.

On tourney day, golf carts eased off in every direction to position themselves for an 8 a.m. shotgun start. In an event as large as this, play is expedited by a shotgun start. Teams spread out across the course and start at every hole at the same time. A second shotgun start tee time was at 12:30 p.m.

“Sun City is founded on neighborhoods and getting to know people. I wanted to meet some new neighbors,” said Kurt Dimpel, an experienced golfer who hails from Pittsburgh.

Dimpel, who joined the Hampton Village team, has played golf since he was 12 years old. “My brother taught me. He was a teaching pro … and sort of a father figure. I took lessons through the years. Now, I play once a week, but also work out, do push-ups, lift weights and walk to keep in shape.”

Dimpel showed a driver head that he said was “just lying in my garage.” I bought a shaft for less than $20 and epoxied it together. Then I tried it and drove the ball 275 feet!”

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Registration for the event included a hearty hoagie box lunch, served by “the lovely ladies of Sapphire Lakes,” a 10th anniversary ball marker, a beer stein for the winners and a few cash prizes. These prizes and tchotchkes add to the fun, but Baratto said there is so much more to it. “Golf replicates life,” he said. “Decisions are to be made on every stroke. You have to take into consideration the water, sand, speed of the green, and which club to use. You want to play well, and if you miss a shot you feel badly.”

But, Barrato said, golf makes the player a better human being. “You learn to deal with adversity,” he said. “You do it, one shot at a time … and with every shot, you go over what you’re supposed to be doing. It’s a mental game.”

Nicole Hodges, Sun City Community Association golf tournament director, has been overseeing weekly tournaments for more than a year.

“The atmosphere for this tournament is great,” Hodges said.

Though she is just learning to play golf herself, she certainly knows the mechanics of the tournament. “Rangers circulate around the course to monitor the pace of play. We don’t want to rush players, but we also don’t want lots of people to pile up at one hole,” Hodges said. “Today, the golfers will play ‘lift, clean and place’ rules. On rainy or inclement days, they are allowed to touch