The Sedona Police Department will be hosting a golf scramble to benefit Special Olympics Arizona on Saturday, Oct. 19, at the Oakcreek Country Club Golf Course. Tee time will be at 8:30 a.m. and the golfing portion of the day is expected to be complete by 2 p.m. 

“This is actually the first Sedona Police Department golf scramble for the Special Olympics,” SPD officer and event organizer Catherine Beers said. “We’ve done golf tournaments in the past, but it’s been with another organization.” 

Lunch is included with the registration and will offer hamburgers, bratwurst, chips and salad. 

“You get to have a day of golfing at a beautiful golf course, supporting an organization that is very beneficial to a special population that is really near and dear to us, for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” Special Olympics Arizona Law Enforcement Torch Run Director Mike Burnett said. “With that, you’ll have lunch afterward, we’ll have a small little banquet with some raffle and auction items. So it should be a lot of fun.” 

In the scramble format, players are sorted into teams of four, each of whom hits a ball for each stroke; the team then selects the best-placed ball for the location of their subsequent shots. 

“The scores are usually very competitive because of that format,” Burnett said. 

Participants can register as individuals for $150 or as a foursome for $600. Individual registrants will be grouped into teams of four the day of the scramble. The proceeds will go to Special Olympics Arizona. Sponsorship options are still available, such as the $1,000 Event Swag Sponsorship or Golf Cart Sponsorship, which include a free foursome spot and advertising. 

“As an Event Swag Sponsor, you will get recognition on print material and during the luncheon following the scramble,” SPD stated in a press release. “As a Golf Cart Sponsor, you will get recognition on player signage on each golf cart and in print material provided in swag bags.” 

Players will also automatically be eligible for the hole-in-one competition. “We’re finalizing the prizes,” Burnett said. 

“We’re hoping to have a new golf cart as one of the prizes, as well as we’re hoping to have a cash prize on another.” “We’re not up to capacity,” Beers said. “I don’t know if it’s because it’s a election year or not, but it’s been a little more of a challenge to get people to come out and play. So we’re hoping to get some more teams in here.” 

Donations for raffle items and swag bags are also being collected, and all contributions are tax-deductible. 

“I don’t think that there’s anyone that I know that doesn’t have someone in their family or a friend that has [disabilities],” Beers said. “I just feel like that it impacts everyone and the Special Olympics I’m incredibly passionate about, so it’s something that I think people should come out and do.” 

To register as a player or sponsor, visit give.classy.org/SedonaPDGolf, or contact Melissa Bremner at melissa@soaz.org for more information