PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida (March 14, 2018) – Bobby Weed, CEO of Bobby Weed Golf Design (bobbyweed.com) and founder of the HEAL (Helping Enrich Autistic Lives) Foundation (HealAutismNow.org), has confirmed the success of the 2018 “Bobby Weed’s Golf Gig,” a golf tournament and associated events held Feb. 22-23 to benefit the HEAL Foundation, a local non-profit organization assisting organizations, camps, and schools serving those with autism in Northeast Florida.
“The Golf Gig was well attended again this year,” Weed said, “and the TPC Sawgrass staff did an outstanding job of hosting our golf tournament, as they do every year. Players included a great mix of dedicated HEAL supporters, parents of special-needs children, donors, sponsors and golf-industry representatives.
“Our HEAL staff, particularly Jason Gurka and Jodi Voy, worked seamlessly with the TPC staff to ensure a top-caliber tournament. Leslie and I appreciate the strong support and donations to assist our cause here in Northeast Florida.”
Weed and his wife, Leslie, who in 2004 co-founded the HEAL Foundation, have a profoundly autistic non-verbal daughter.
This year, 300 guests attended the Gala, and 84 golfers played in the tournament. A live auction raised $110,000, and the total amount raised, including scholarships, was over $220,000.
The scramble tournament, concluding with an awards luncheon in the TPS Sawgrass Clubhouse, was held Feb. 23 on Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass, co-designed by Pete Dye and Bobby Weed, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Through the years, Pete Dye and Deane Beman have served as tournament co-hosts with Weed.
“We are most grateful for the heartfelt, generous support of this event and for HEAL,” said Leslie Weed. “The real winners are those affected by autism and their families.”
The HEAL Foundation has granted over $2 million locally, assisting thousands of children, teens and adults through specialized programs, camps, educational enhancements and service dogs, as well as iPads, giving individuals with autism, a voice.
About the HEAL Foundation
Established in 2004 by Leslie and Bobby Weed, the HEAL Foundation is a grassroots non-profit organization based in Northeast Florida. HEAL supports organizations, camps, and schools serving those with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Northeast Florida.
MISSION: Inspiring, educating, and funding services for those affected by autism in our community.
VISION: Make our community the best place to live for those affected by autism.
HEAL Board of Directors members include Dana Current, Larry Celzo, Joe Delaney, John Flaschner, Hank Griffis, Rebekah Gleason Hope, Bill Hughes, Archie Jenkins, Joe Matacia, Jim Meyer, Vance Meyer, Lisa Montoya, Billie Nimnicht III, Chriss Spires, John Tedder, J.T. Thomas III, Bobby Weed, Leslie Weed, Chris Weiss and Eric Weiss, M.D.
For more information on the HEAL Foundation, please visit HealAutismNow.org.
About Bobby Weed Golf Design
Acclaimed golf course designer Bobby Weed specializes in design, renovation and repurposing. His work features a balance of visual appeal, sustainability and playability, all informed by an environmentally-sensitive aesthetic and an exceptional hands-on, holistic approach. Bobby Weed Golf Design is a leader in golf course repurposing – a means to update layouts through redesign and reallocation of partial acreage for higher value land uses. Repurposing helps clubs and communities preserve golf while surmounting economic and other challenges. Weed’s skill, vision and business acumen coalesce to result in successful, refined and durable golf course design.
Weed began his professional career with an extended apprenticeship with Pete Dye, launching a collaboration of over 35 years’ duration and a lifelong friendship. Hired in 1983 by the PGA Tour, Weed was the Tour’s in-house designer from 1987-1996. He was responsible for the design of many of today’s best-known TPC venues, which continue as host sites for prominent Tour events.
Weed also was able to collaborate with many of golf’s most familiar names, including Sam Snead, Gene Sarazen, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Raymond Floyd, Jerry Pate and Chi Chi Rodriguez – a rare cross-section of experience.
In 1994, Weed’s career reached an apex with the formation of his own design firm, where he continues to “handcraft” golf courses. Today, Bobby Weed Golf Design has amassed an impressive list of new and renovated courses that consistently are ranked at the top of their respective categories, including The Olde Farm Golf Club, Spanish Oaks Golf Club, The Golf Course at Glen Mills, Medalist Golf Club and Timuquana Country Club.
Bobby Weed is a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, the Historical Committee of the Donald Ross Society, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and the Florida Turfgrass Association.
Weed also is the co-founder and a Board Member of HEAL (Helping Enrich Autistic Lives). The HEAL Foundation is a local non-profit organization, based in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., providing grants to organization, camps, and schools serving those living with autism spectrum disorders.
For more information on Bobby Weed Golf Design, see www.bobbyweed.com.
Contact:
Sally J. Sportsman
407-248-1144
sjsport@earthlink.net
