By Gabriel Ouzounian
Review Staff Writer
The Lake Orion Lions Club is offering scratch golfers and duffers alike a chance to win big this weekend with an improbable hole-in-one worth $250,000.
For $1-$20, depending on the number of shots one wants to take, visitors at Willow Creek Golf & Sports Center on S. Lapeer Road can take a shot at the 165-yard hole set up near the back of the driving range.
The goal is to get the golf ball as close as possible to qualify for the final shoot-off, where a hole-in-one will net $250,000 for the shooter, before taxes. Qualifying began earlier this month and continues Sept. 16-17.
‘We can have 15 qualifiers total, with the closest shot from each of the five available days getting a guaranteed spot for the final day, Sept. 18,? said Lions Club member and event organizer Rick Howard. ‘The first guy to get a hole-in-one the last day gets a quarter of a-million dollars. No hole-in-one, no prize.?
Besides the five daily qualifiers, the next ten with the closest balls will also have a chance to shoot for a hole-in-one, Howard said.
This year marks the Lions Club’s return to Willow Creek after a less successful event last year at another area driving range. He added the club is hoping to make up to $6,000, which will go into the general fund for the Lions to use for a number of holiday events.
One such event is the Christmas Auction which is in its 40th year. The event started out as a ladies night when the Lions Club was for men only and now will be held at Milosch’s Palace Chrysler Jeep and Dodge dealership on S. Lapeer Road.
‘Last year, we served 200 families with gift baskets,? Howard said. ‘These aren’t normal baskets – they’re like half a half a truckload per family, with food for a month, presents and a tree if they need it.?
Howard stressed the need to raise a lot of money to hold such events and the club’s reliance on donations. The dinner costs about $13,000 to put on and last year alone the group raised $41,000 for the baskets.
This year’s Christmas Auction is on Nov. 5, in advance of many holiday events, which Howard said can sometimes distract or dilute the auction’s attendance. It will still be Christmas themed, however, and the tradition to auction off a dog will continue. It is rumored to be a poodle.
For more information on the hole-in-one contest, the Christmas auction or any other events through the Lions Club, visit lakeorionlions.org.