It’s the Hootie At Bull’s Bay..a college golf tournament hosted by Hootie and The Blowfish with some of the best teams in the country in attendance.

Ever been to a college golf tournament? I have and it’s about as exciting as staying home on Saturday night to wash the cat. That’s not to say the golf isn’t at a high level…the kids in college hit it obscene distances and like the guys on tour they aspire to be, hit wedges close and putt the lights out. But this event is different because of the host club.

Bulls Bay is an odd place…the anti-club…and I say that with all affection.

I swore after working at clubs for a good part of my youth (through age 26) that I would never belong to a “country club”. I broke that promise in Atlanta and regretted it. Committees that only a few were asked to join, even though the letter asking for volunteers came out on the same day for 10 years. I actually filled out the form for the first five…then figured out in my density that I wasn’t in the clique who ran the club…thank God for that!

Then Mark Burris introduced me to Bull’s Bay.

A place built by Charleston attorney Joe Rice for I’m sure several good reasons. The best one, or the one that seems so to me, was to give Joe and his pals a place to hang out…plus a few others who like to play golf, share a beer or 10 with friends, and go home.

There are exactly zero committees at The Bay. What there is is Joe. He is the quintessential benevolent dictator.

If the course needs a new green, a new tee, or some other improvement he takes care of it and it’s done. ‘Nuff said.

The members come in many shapes, sizes, and net worths. What is consistent though is their love for their club. What you don’t hear, or at least I never have, is gossip and rumor about the Golf Pro doing this or that, or other such typical club bullshit.

In fact, I thanked him the first time we met for giving me a place to play…a “non-club” club if you will…he doesn’t know me and I’m cool with that, I’m just glad to be a part of it.

Back to The Hootie at Bull’s Bay. Last night Audrey and I went to the rock and roll portion of the tournament. The band plays to a room of maybe 500 people after dinner, barbecue of course.

We went with (and were guests of) our pals Allison, Cheryl, Andy, Leon, Steve, and Karen. The band was great as usual, playing their monster hits (Hold My Hand, I Only Want To Be With You, Let Her Cry) as well as a few others…Darius Rucker says during the show they wouldn’t be a band if it weren’t for another college buddy group down the road in Athens. So he just kills with his rendition of Losing My Religion as a tribute to REM. As musician and great pal Freddy Warren would say, “They upset the place”

Then John Daly comes out and does Knockin‘ On Heaven’s Door…what could be more fitting than that?

What’s unique about this event, as described by tournament chair Doug Carnes, is that when the Hootie was first discussed it had two goals…one to become the most prestigious event in college golf, and two, to add a charitable element to the tournament. I’m not qualified to judge goal #1 although it looks pretty prestigious to me.

What I am sure of is this. When you get a bunch of well heeled golfers together, feed them a fabulous dinner, and keep the bar open, you are going to raise a lot of money.

Friday night that is just what happened…sponsors and guests were treated to a wonderful prime rib dinner and then adjourned to the live auction.

An hour and a few more cocktails later, $92,000 was raised for the Hootie and The Blowfish Foundation.

You may or may not like their music…doesn’t really matter. What you should like is these guys use their fame for the very best causes…that is to help their home state keep music and sports education going in an age where these programs have been relegated to optional status by our lawmakers. As a parent with kids in band I can tell you this is a huge mistake…ninety two grand is a lot of bassoons.

The people who organize and work tirelessly to pull it off, the staff at Bull’s Bay, and of course the band itself, have something really special going on here, and for that they are The Best In Golf…or at the very least they are testament to the positive impact of the game.