Using a sport he is passionate about, an Addison Township resident is trying to make life a little easier for children who have lost someone essential to growing up – a parent.
Brian Evans has long been a disc golf enthusiast and has a close group of friends he plays a course with every week. Over the years, after he got married and had children, Evans lost two of his friends, one to a car crash and another just three weeks before Christmas. These untimely deaths got him thinking about the children his friends left behind and what their deaths would mean for their families, particularly their childrens’ finances.
“We did things for the families and we were there for support, but I wanted to do something more,” he said. “And the group of guys I play (disc golf) with every Monday, we got together to see if we could raise a couple hundred bucks to help these families.”
So, he started using one of his group’s annual disc golf outings to raise money for families who had lost a mother or father prematurely. Funds are raised every year during the Hangover Bowl, aptly named for its date of Jan. 1., which Evans and his friends have played together every year for a long time.
Now, they invite other disc golfers to brave Michigan’s brutal January weather to play a full course, enter raffles and have fun for a worthy cause.
“I’ve had friends come out who have either never played or have just kind of looked at a course, and they come play,” Evans said. “We have several divisions from open, which is going to be your pros, to several different amateur divisions people can sign up for.”
So, the Hangover Bowl is for players of all levels, though the winners of each division are compensated with a cash prize. Evans says the different divisions keep the game competitive and fun for everyone. The event has become so popular that, at the 2019 bowl, he plans to open two courses for participants.
“We actually had to turn people away last year,” Evans said. “On New Year’s Day, in a foot of snow, we had to turn people away and overfilled the course. We started at 8 a.m. and didn’t finish until like 8 p.m., so we’re trying to shorten up the day for people.”
The entrance fee for the Hangover Bowl is $50 per team, $30 of which goes to benefit Evans and his team’s efforts, $20 of which goes toward giving “swag,” such as golfing discs, to those who play. Evans says some people come to just participate in the raffle and don’t play at all. Anyone wanting to have a good time and support their cause is welcome.
Because it has seen so much success, Evans is trying to gain nonprofit status and reach families in need through Addison Twp. Youth Assistance. He hopes that, with the help of sponsors and disc golfers, he will have enough to start a trust fund for children who need extra monetary support after losing a parent.
“It’s hard to just pick one family out of a hat when there’s so many people out there,” he said. “Honestly, I’d like to see this go into some type of trust or a foundation where groups can fe

ed off of it to help someone who has lost a parent.”
Though the Hangover Bowl isn’t until January, Evans and his team are currently seeking sponsors and donations for the event’s raffle. The event is on Facebook as a group called Hangover Bowl Annual Charity Event. Other event information can also be found at discgolfscene.com.