PLYMOUTH – It’s become one of the signs of the seasons and this year will be no different as the Pretty Lake Golf Club will once again host the Art Thomas Big Red Open on Aug. 6.
“A couple of years ago we combined the basketball golf outing with the Big Red and it’s become a big fundraiser for us,” said Plymouth AD Michael Delp. “There are some others (fundraisers) like the football auction through the year that raise a good amount but not as much as we raise through the Big Red Open.”
Since combining the outings, the PHS Athletic Department has been able to raise around $25,000 for sports at Plymouth at the event. Even last year with the uncertainty of a worldwide pandemic.
“I was pleasantly surprised last year at how well we did,” said Delp. “We were just coming out of COVID and we didn’t have any idea what to expect so to do as well as we did was great. We needed it.”
It was a lean year fiscally for all athletic departments with restrictions on ticket sales and increased costs of staying COVID compliant.
“Last year was challenging in a lot of ways,” said Delp. “Everything in the winter was a loss. We were right in the middle of the worst of it then and there were a few times we broke even but it was tough.
Fall and spring weren’t a lot better but it wasn’t as bad as the winter.”
The Big Red Open funds go a long way to help every athletic program at Plymouth. Each sport raises funds for their needs but the AD’s office is able to help by taking on expenses that will benefit all sports.
“It’s money that goes to help all the programs at Plymouth,” said Delp. “This is one that goes to all the various costs that the Athletic Department incurs. We can pay for things as a department that will benefit all the various sports. We also set goals for our programs for how much they help raise (for the outing) and if the coaches and players surpass those then we pass on some of that money to the individual programs as well.”
The event started as a reunion for former golfers at PHS and has grown into a social event for all former athletes to reconnect and bond.
“This is one of those things that people plan events and vacations around,” said Delp. “It has been the first Friday in August for as long as I can remember.”
“I know a lot of the classes that get together plan around this weekend,” he said. “There’s an alumni event in the park with the Mayor’s Month of Music, it’s been a great social event since it started.”
This year’s open again has a “mini” nine hole option that begins at 9 a.m. with a cost of $200 for a foursome or $50 per person. At 1 p.m. the full 18 hole open is set to tee off with a cost of $400 for a foursome and $100 per person.
Each choice includes lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Hole sponsorships are also available at several levels of support. Those who can’t play and just wish to support Plymouth sports are always welcome to contribute.
For information or to sign up go to https://goplymouthathletics.com/ and click on the Big Red info tab or call the Plymouth AD’s office at 574-936-3215