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City versus county in 'tee off'
golf-city-vs-cty-1

A golfing fundraiser at Sterling Links over the weekend, which included a county versus city match, raised around $6,000.

The proceeds will be evenly split between Arts on the Coast and the Richmond Hill Historical Society.

The event began June 13 when city of Richmond Hill representatives defeated representatives of Bryan County by one stroke in a two-hole charity match to take home the trophy.

Organizer Leslie Murphy said she hopes to continue this event annually with the trophy to be housed at either the city or county offices for bragging rights.

The following day, the course was open to the public for a charity golf tournament.

Murphy said she was pleased to see 17 teams sign up, which made the weekend a successful one.

Representing the city in the charity golf match was Mayor Richard Davis and council members Jimmy Hires, Marilyn Hodges and Floyd Hilliard.

Representing the county were County Administrator Phil Jones and Commissioners Rick Gardner and Glen Willard.

"I know our city-county challenge was somewhat intimidating to our officials as most of them don’t even play golf," Murphy said,
"but everybody had a good time and I commend them for participating to help our cause."

With the exception of Jones, none of the participants were golfers.

Hilliard said this was the first time he had stepped onto a golf course, but he is "thinking about taking it up after this. I was struck at how beautiful the greens were and I could see where spending some time on the course could be very relaxing and enjoyable."

The match included players teeing off with tennis rackets on the second hole.

The teams were tied going into the second and final hole, but Hilliard, using a tennis racket, got 20 feet from the hole to give the city an advantage they capitalized on.

"This was a wonderful opportunity for our two bodies to get together in a less stressful environment," Gardner said. "I do believe it took away a little bit of the tension between us."

Gardner also stressed the importance of the causes they were there to support.

"For example, we have such a rich heritage here and the Historical Society is charged with preserving that," Gardner said. "If we’re not careful, it would be all too easy to bypass the historical aspect of our region and just develop land."

 

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