Alex Kirk, a past New England PGA Section New Hampshire Chapter president and a two-time Chapter Youth Player Development Award winner, is the PGA head women’s golf coach at Dartmouth College and the PGA head professional at Hanover (New Hampshire) Country Club.

For the past 34 years, the town of Hanover, New Hampshire, has lent its capacity to The Prouty fundraiser for the Norris Cotton Cancer Center at Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital. Each and every year the fundraiser would encompass running, biking and rowing, all of which passed directly by my club. Feeling the need to be involved, I sat down with a few members to better construct a plan to do so. Two years ago, we merged with the fundraiser to incorporate golf. From 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., we make tee times available to anyone participating in the event at a cost of $150. It allows participants who play golf to have a little more fun and also allows them to see our course and facility.

This year will be our third year as part of The Prouty. In 2013, we hosted roughly 150 players, which raised $50,000 including fees and donations. In 2014 we saw nearly 200 golfers (some of which traveled by air to attend), which heightened our fundraising numbers to $70,000. This year we are projecting to host over 250 golfers and surpassing $90,000 for fundraising. We keep $50 per player from the $150 fee for our costs. Additionally, our food & beverage operation prospers from the sales of alcoholic beverages; all of the food is donated. This fundraiser is near and dear to me as a PGA Professional as it’s a way to give back to the community and help the millions of people battling cancer.

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