The 27th annual Rick Honeycutt Youth Benefit Golf Tournament will take place at Battlefield Golf Club Oct. 26. The tournament has raised $364,379.71 since 1992 when it joined forces with the Kiwanis Club of Fort Oglethorpe, which disburses money raised. From left are tournament co-director P.R. Cook, Rick Honeycutt and co-director David Hollis.
Photo by Hannah CampbellThough L.A. Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt travels the country seven months of the year he keeps coming home to Ringgold, and he won’t miss the Rick Honeycutt Youth Benefit Golf Tournament Oct. 26.
“After you get something started it makes it tougher to leave,” Honeycutt said of the tournament, now in its 27th year. “What it’s been for me is, it’s been almost like a reunion.”
Honeycutt has invited his celebrity athlete friends, many he met playing baseball at Tennessee, to play in the golf tournament. Former Atlanta Braves Brian Jordan and Ron Gant, now sportscasters, will attend this year, as well as former New England Patriots wide receiver Stanley Morgan and former Florida Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez, who’s been mentioned as a possible replacement for the Braves’ Bobby Cox.
“A lot of the fellows that play in the tournament are familiar with these guys’ names,” said tournament co-director P.R. Cook, a member of the Kiwanis Club of Fort Oglethorpe. “To play with somebody and then hear their name mentioned on TV, it’s just pretty neat to be able to sit there and shake their hands and talk to them during the course of the tournament.”
Cook said younger players making their way to the Major Leagues will attend, too, including Kyler Burke in the Cubs system and Wes Hodges in the Indians circuit.
IF YOU GOWHAT: Rick Honeycutt Youth Benefit Golf Tournament.WHEN: Tuesday, Oct. 26.WHERE: Battlefield Golf Club in Fort Oglethorpe.TEAMS: $250 for individuals. $1,000 for a corporate team of three players and a celebrity athlete player.SPONSORSHIPS: $100 for hole sponsorship. All contributions accepted.PAYMENT: Make checks payable to Heartland Therapeutic Riding, a 501(c)3 organization. Mail to Rick and Debbie Honeycutt, P.O. Box 2151, Fort Oglethorpe, 30742.CLINIC: A kids’ clinic will be held Monday, Oct. 25.For more information about the kids’ clinic or sponsorships or to register a team, call P.R. Cook at (423) 802- 4085 or David Hollis at (423) 718-8105 or e-mail pratshoprite@comcast.net or davidatshoprite@comcast.net.AUCTIONA fundraising auction will feature jerseys signed by Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Joe Torre and Rick Honeycutt, as well as baseballs signed by Roy Halladay, Brian McCann, Jason Heyward, Tim Lincecum, Ryan Howard, Mariano Rivera, David Wright, Albert Pujols, Stephen Strausberg, Joe Torre, Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez.To open the bid on any of these items, contact P.R. Cook or David Hollis via the above information by Oct. 25.
An auction will feature jerseys signed by Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and others, and baseballs signed by Roy Halladay, Brian McCann and others. Opening bids will be taken through Oct. 25 to kick off the auction.
The local Kiwanis Club has disbursed funds raised at the tournament since 1992 – totaling $364,379.71 to organizations including Fort Oglethorpe Recreation and PRA, Ringgold Youth Athletic Association, Maddox Park and the Jack Archer Scholarship Fund.
Honeycutt grew up in Fort Oglethorpe and now lives in Ringgold. He said his parents, Rena and Wayne Honeycutt, make Catoosa County home.
“This part of the country has a lot of things to offer,” he said. “You come back to your roots and you find out that family is more important than living in California or somewhere.”
This sentiment has made Honeycutt an ever-able event organizer, Cook said.
“A lot of these guys, they go do their thing and they make their living playing baseball, which is a great way to make a living, but you don’t hear from them. Rick’s always been real good to give back,” he said.
This tournament will benefit the therapeutic riding program at Heartland Ranch, owned by the Honeycutts, and projects of the Kiwanis Club of Fort Oglethorpe.
Major sponsors include Hampton Inn Ringgold-Fort Oglethorpe, longtime sponsors Coca-Cola and Blood Assurance, lunch by Chick-fil-A on Battlefield Parkway and dinner by O’Charley’s in Cleveland.