NORTHFIELD — In the words of his wife, Robin Whiteman, Bob Hartwell ate, slept and breathed golf. He read Golf Digest, watched golf on TV and the Northfield Golf Club was “his home away from home.
“He was addicted to that course,” Whiteman, of Turners Falls, said. “He fell in love with it and would be there from dawn until dusk.”
So, when Bob Hartwell died in January 2015, Whiteman decided a memorial golf tournament would be an appropriate way to honor his memory, and worked to organize the first golf tournament last fall.
The second annual Three Friends Memorial Golf Tournament will be held Saturday starting at 10 a.m. at the Northfield Golf Club, located at 31 Holton St.
However, the tournament is not just in honor of Bob Hartwell, but his two golf partners, Jack Ryan and Jon Cichanowicz.
According to Eddie Hartwell, Bob Hartwell’s brother, a tournament was originally held in Ryan’s memory starting in 1992 after his death the previous year, first at Oak Ridge Golf Club in Gill and then at Thomas Memorial Golf Course in Turners Falls.
Cichanowicz’s death followed in February 2002.
“At that time, we combined the two names on the memorial golf tournament,” Eddie Hartwell of Erving, said.
Whiteman said the tournament “kind of just died out” after 2006, though Eddie Hartwell continued to hear from residents interested in participating. When Bob Hartwell died, it inspired Whiteman, Eddie Hartwell and a host of other friends and family members to reorganize a tournament.
“Robin and I collectively decided to reinstate the memorial golf tournament and add my brother’s name to it, so that’s where the name the ‘Three Friends Memorial Golf Tournament’ came from,” Eddie Hartwell said.
All proceeds from the tournament go to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Regional Dog Shelter in Turners Falls.
“My husband, he really loved animals and he wanted a dog,” Whiteman said, describing how he could get teary-eyed over ASPCA commercials. “I said that Bobby would like (donating money to the shelter).”
Whiteman said 11 teams of four participants turned out to Thomas Memorial Golf Course to participate last year. It’s the first year the tournament will be held in Northfield, and the field is full with at least 18 teams signed up to participate.
“We’ve almost doubled the field,” Whiteman said. “Last year, we were able to donate $400 and I hoping it’ll be much more this year.”
Whiteman’s goal is to raise $700 or $800 for the shelter.
The cost to participate is $65 per person, which includes the cost of the golf cart, green fees, an extensive meal that is donated by friends and family, and prizes. The top three teams receive prize money and every participant will receive a prize, Whiteman said. Prizes include golf shirts, hats, umbrellas, balls, special tees, Professional Golfers’ Association tour jackets, bottles of alcohol and gift certificates.
“I want it to be a fun day and I want everyone to be able to take something away from it,” Whiteman said.
Most of the money raised comes from the purchase of raffle tickets, she added. Items and gift certificates are donated by local businesses such as Northfield Food Mart, Mim’s Market and The Notch.
Whiteman said the tournament is a true community effort, with as many as 50 people donating food or raffle items and helping to organize the event. The tournament, she continued, allows the three men’s friends and family to honor them, while raising money for a worthwhile cause.
“It’s a day to get together in their memory and honor a passion that they shared, and in turn do something good for the community,” she said.