Howie Tiger
On Jan. 21, Steve Wonder presented his share of the PCMGA’s annual hole-in-one prize to the First Tee of Phoenix. Kevin Terry, the executive director of the local First Tee chapter, accepted his donation. Steve made his hole-in-one in February 2020 and pledged his winnings, to be received at year-end, to them. Steve’s share amounted to a little over $650. An anonymous donor rounded it up to $1,000 to qualify the donation for 100% matching.
Inspired by Steve’s pledge, the other 2020 PCMGA hole-in-one prize winners made donations to one of their favorite charities. Paul Maurer (hole-in-one Nov. 12) donated to the Sacred Heart School in Iowa, and Bob Newell (hole-in-one Dec. 3) donated to Soldier’s Best Friend. Paul and Bob’s amazing shots were recently highlighted in January’s PebbleCreek Post.
Steve made his hole-in-one on Feb. 13, 2020, on the 17th hole of our east course, during the second round of the Club Championship. The hole played 155 yards from the white tees to a back pin placement. He hit his 7-iron cleanly with a high trajectory right toward the flagstick. It landed mid-green and bounced toward the hole, but he did not see it go in. Ken Schumacher was the first to see the hole and said to Steve, “Hey, you got a hole-in-one.” Steve said something like, “Holy mackerel!”
This was Steve’s first hole-in-one in over 30 years of playing golf. He was originally from the Seattle/Tacoma area but moved to San Francisco when he was 18 years old. He attended Utah State and spent his entire career as a law enforcement officer. He spent three years with the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department and then 30 years with the San Francisco Police. With SFPD, he was a patrolman who also worked undercover in the gang task force and narcotics division. We thank him for his service. He moved to PebbleCreek in 2018.
The First Tee is a national organization whose mission is “To impact the lives of young people by providing programs that build character, instill life-enhancing values and promote healthy choices through the game of golf.” They promote nine core values: courtesy, respect, judgment, responsibility, sportsmanship, confidence, honesty, integrity, and perseverance. The Phoenix chapter is the second largest in the country, with 17 sites in the Phoenix Metro area. Close-by sites include Wigwam and Desert Mirage.
The First Tee of Phoenix is accepting donations of golf equipment (clubs, balls, bags, and push carts—but not clothing or shoes) at the Wigwam Resort Golf Shop on a regular basis. Their address is 451 Old Litchfield Rd, Litchfield Park, AZ 85340. Before taking your items over there, we suggest first calling the pro shop at 623-935-9414 to make sure someone is there to accept them. Refer any questions to Howie Tiger at [email protected].