‘A day full of chaos’

WARDEN — In its fourth year, the "Dude, Where’s My Cart?" golf tournament has taken off in a big way.

“We opened (entries) in August for the tournament,” said organizer Karisti Cox. “We opened up on a Monday, and by Thursday we were sold out.”

"Dude, Where’s My Cart?" is a blast of silliness for a serious purpose: raising money for the Alzheimer’s Association. Golfers have to play with a one-third-size club, or with glasses that throw off hand-eye coordination, or while sitting on a toilet. The challenges are meant to mirror difficulties that dementia patients face.

The tournament originally had a limit of 20 teams, because that was how many carts were available, Cox said, but three more teams brought their own carts to get a chance to play.

“Everybody had a great time,” said Patty Lin, administrator at Lake Ridge Center, which cares for dementia patients. “We knew it was going to be a day full of chaos, but we also knew it was going to be extraordinarily fun.”

The tournament raised about $4,000 for the Alzheimer’s Society, Cox said. This year, the Kiwanis Club lent its expertise to streamline and organize donations.

The tournament was held at Sagehills Golf Course in Warden and drew golfers not only from the local communities but as far away as Seattle, Cox said. That connection could mean taking "Dude, Where’s My Cart?" to a higher level, she said.

“One of the people who came was on the Seattle's Walk to End Alzheimer's Committee,” Cox said. “He's taking that concept over there to ask them if they would be interested. I said, ‘Well, if you can find the volunteers and the sponsors, I'll bring the tournament.’”

That’s a lot farther than Cox envisioned the tournament going when she started it four years ago, she said. 

“It started out as being a small ‘let's get some people together and let's do something fun,’” she said. “Everybody had so much fun that we decided to do it again.”

“We had a fabulous time, and we look forward to next year,” Lin said. “We encourage anybody to come out and participate, whether you’re a great golfer or new to the game. It’s a great opportunity to support Alzheimer’s research.”

    Arlyn Moss of Lake Ridge drives from an awkward angle at the "Dude, Where’s My Cart?" tournament. The challenges at the tournament are meant to mirror those faced by dementia patients.
  

    The glasses Brookdale Hearthstone Administrator Laurie Ahmann, right, and her husband Steve are wearing at the "Dude, Where’s My Cart?" tournament are designed to distort the player’s vision and make it more difficult to play golf, or indeed to do anything at all.