Inaugural 'Guns & Hoses' golf event to benefit Jackson police and fire

Brad Belcaster, manager and owner of Jackson's Bent Creek Golf Course, who has a police officer son and a son-in-law who was formerly a firefighter, said he's been thinking since the winter of a way to help first responders.

The way, said Belcaster, is an Aug. 19 benefit tournament to be known as "Guns & Hoses," aimed at supporting Jackson's police and fire departments.

"('Guns & Hoses') is not a new idea," said Belcaster, who said his son-in-law made him aware of a hockey tournament with the same name supporting public safety personnel in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

"It's new to me, though, and hopefully to Jackson," he said, adding he hopes "Guns and Hoses" will become an annual event.

Belcaster said as many as a dozen teams have pledged to participate as of Thursday.

SERVPRO of Cape Girardeau and Scott Counties will be presenting sponsor for the late summer event with Montgomery Bank as lunch sponsor.

Stooges Restaurant is providing lunch; Three Eagles Distributing is donating product.

Chris Ward, independent financial adviser, is the beverage cart sponsor.

Particulars

Registration cost for the four-player scramble is $80 per player or $320 for a team.

The team cost is $400 if including a sponsor sign.

Lunch will begin at 11:30 a.m. with a shotgun start at 1 p.m.

Additionally, if a team wants to participate as a "Guns & Hoses" sponsor, the cost is an additional $80; for non-playing participants, the sponsor cost is $100.

Optional on-course games include one mulligan opportunity and men's and women's closest-to-the-pin and longest putt contests, among others.

Belcaster said to help the effort, Bent Creek will reduce the normal greens and cart fees.

A traveling trophy will be presented to the winning department at the close of play.

All proceeds from registrations and from sponsorship money will be split 50-50 between the Jackson Police and Jackson Fire Rescue departments.

Rationale

"Too often, our policemen and firemen are vilified for bad reasons," Belcaster said.

"If the event does nothing else, I hope it will improve and strengthen the public's relationship with those who put themselves in harm's way for us. People playing side-by-side in the tournament with policemen and firemen will see they are regular people doing a difficult job of protecting and serving."

"It's always great to see the support we have in our community for our police and fire," said Jackson Mayor Dwain Hahs. "The feedback has been good about this (event) and anytime we can do more to support them, we should, because their jobs are challenging and they keep us safe on a daily basis."

Belcaster said he expects approximately 90 golfers and is hopeful thousands of dollars will be raised by the one-day tourney.

Those interested in playing or supporting the event financially are invited to call (573) 243-6060 or check Bent Creek's Facebook page.