There’s still time to add to your 2013 charitable deductions for golf
November 22, 2013
With Thanksgiving Day almost upon us, there are few if any charity golf tournaments on the Cape Region calendar for the rest of the year.
Nonetheless, two good options remain for the charitably inclined local golfer to fork over a tax-deductible contribution to the good of the game.
DSGA Scholarship Fund
The Delaware State Golf Association Scholarship Fund has awarded about $900,000 in college scholarships to deserving student athletes since 1986. Four-year scholarships go to students involved in golf in some way, often through their performance on their high school varsity teams, or by working in the golf industry, such as caddying.
Using a mix of data including SAT scores, financial need, golf experiences, grades, and community involvement, scholarship winners are announced at the annual Rehoboth Beach Junior Open, held each June at Rehoboth Beach Country Club.
On Nov. 13, the Mid-Del Charitable Foundation awarded a $1,000 grant to the Fund. Those dollars will go on top of the proceeds from the Fund’s October fundraiser tournament. The Foundation consolidates the charitable efforts of the Delaware State Fair, Inc. and Harrington Raceway, Inc.
Fund chairman Ron Barrows gratefully accepted the donation on behalf of the fund, at a recent ceremony for the 34 Delaware organizations receiving Foundation grants for this year.
The DSGA Fund can always use additional support, of course. For more information about how you can contribute, contact Barrows at r.barrows@verizon.net, or by phone at 302-227-4404, or by mail at 20 West Buckingham Drive Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971.
For more information about the Mid-Del Charitable Foundation, visit the Delaware State Fair’s website at www. DelawareStateFair.com and choose the Mid-Del Foundation found under the “Info” tab.
First Tee of Delaware
The Rookery’s Director of Golf, Butch Holtzclaw, recently hosted the annual Rookery Pro-Am at the Rookery North golf course in Milford.
The event raised over $3,100 for the First Tee of Delaware program. This organization is among the local groups operating under the national First Tee program, intended to support young people by building character, instilling good values, and promoting healthy life choices through golf.
In addition to the tournament fundraiser’s proceeds, however, the organization could always use additional support. Donations are welcome, and easy to make. You can send checks directly to First Tee of Delaware at P.O. Box 419, Rockland, DE 19732, or online at thefirstteedelaware.org.
For more information, you can also contact Holtzclaw at 302-684-3000.
New Decisions on the Rules of Golf
The United States Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient announced on Nov. 19 a series of new and revised Decisions on the Rules of Golf, to become effective Jan. 1, 2014.
The most publicly intriguing change deals with how the two organizations are reacting to the incredible visual clarity provided by digital video technology, especially in high definition.
The new television sets provide fabulous visuals for golf fans. They have also spawned controversy when eagle-eyed viewers called in real or imagined violations of the Rules, such as the recent hubbub over Tiger Woods and a golf ball that he insisted did not move, but only oscillated in place.
Here is how the two organizations explained it:
New Decision 18/4 will provide that, where enhanced technological evidence shows that a ball has left its position and come to rest in another location, the ball will not be deemed to have moved if that movement was not reasonably discernible to the naked eye at the time. The Decision ensures that a player is not penalized under Rule 18-2 in circumstances where the fact that the ball had changed location could not reasonably have been seen without the use of enhanced technology.
The other new and revised Decisions will be discussed in upcoming column or two.