Golf Fore Red Tournament

Momentum is building for the fifth annual Golf Fore Red™ tournament, with about half the spots already reserved for the July 28 event for women. Among the golfers will be Kayla Burt, a former standout basketball player with the Huskies who was clinically dead from cardiac arrest when she was a 20-year-old student-athlete at the University of Washington.

The Golf Course at Redmond Ridge, site of the tournament since its inception, will be resplendent in red-attired players, promises event chair and co-founder Mary Robinson. She said a sold-out field of 144 players is expected to occupy the course well in advance of the 8 a.m. shotgun start. “Not only were most of last year’s golfers wearing red, some of them also decorated their carts with red balloons, banners and other festive items to further promote awareness of heart disease among women,” Robinson recalls.

Women of all golfing abilities may register online at www.GolfForeRed.com. The fee of $130 includes continental breakfast, range balls, green fees, cart, lunch, prizes and a gift bag of goodies from various donors. An optional “Team Advantage” packet that covers entry for several on-course games and competitions will be available for $32.

Players can register as individuals, twosomes, threesomes or foursomes. Prizes will be awarded for 1st and 2nd place team low gross as well as 1st and 2nd place team low net. The popular Florida scramble format will continue, along with fun competitions for putting and the always-popular cork-chipping contest -- undoubtedly because of a wine-themed prize basket! This year a new contest, “Close to the Heart,” is being added to reward accurate hitting to a heart-shaped target.

Robinson, of Bellevue, and a lifelong friend who also golfed conceived the idea of the tournament as a tribute to their mothers, who both died of heart disease. It has grown steadily, earning IRS approval last year as a 501(c)3 organization. In a survey of last-year’s golfers, 95 percent of respondents rated the event as excellent or above average, and 87 percent indicated it was “very likely” they would play again.

Tournament organizers say the event is intended to blend fun, information and fund-raising. Last year’s sellout raised around $17,000, with net proceeds donated to the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women program and the Hope Heart Institute for cardiovascular research and education. Both organizations provide education and information to raise women’s awareness of heart disease symptoms (and how they may differ from symptoms experienced by men), along with practical tips for reducing the risk of heart disease and enjoying stronger, longer heart-healthy lives.

In February the Golf Fore Red Committee, consisting of 14 volunteers, joined with Hope Heart Institute to present a “Women Take Heart” event for golfers and her guests. It featured wine- and chocolate-tastings and presentations by two women in health care, a cardiologist and a registered dietician.

Although the tournament is still weeks away, Robinson is confident of a sellout, with this year’s registrations outpacing previous years. “We have several returning golfers as well as some new foursomes,” she reported, adding, “Procrastinators will be disappointed!”