Truly humbled by the nature of the game, Nick Cordaro enters the Angel Park clubhouse restaurant grumbling about his round of play on a muggy day in the 23rd annual Las Vegas EDPA Scholarship Golf Classic.
“It was rough, hot and humid,” admits Cordaro, president of LVE and member of Team Schlichting. “We didn’t play good at all. Lorie (Schlichting) played well. She carried the team.”
About 80 players participated in the June 3 charity golf tournament, the only EDPA event dedicated to raising scholarship funds for eligible high school students from member families, according to Mike Sunseri of Display Supply & Lighting, one of the tournament organizers. Since 2002, the Las Vegas EDPA chapter has doled out 137 scholarships totaling $450,000 through the EDPA Foundation.
The team of Todd Radwanksi, Brandon Sipe, Dave Botsford and Kurtis Kestler won the best-ball scramble format tournament with a score of 54. Zachary Wolpa claimed the longest drive for men, and Lori Ortiz for women. Matt Zipprich and Lorie Schlichting were closest to the pin.
A senior account executive at Fusion Imaging, Schlichting took up golf after college, and plays consistently with an 18 handicap. She started her round with some great shots and putts on the early holes, then faded.
It was another strong showing for the Experiential Design and Producers Association’s tight-knit Las Vegas chapter. They bought $5 and $20 raffle tickets for prizes that included a VIP suite at the Vegas Golden Knights game, valued at $1,200; an hour of court time, paddle rental and appetizers at the popular Chicken N Pickle in Henderson; 28-inch Blackstone griddle; gift certificates and wine baskets. No estimate was available for the final tally.
“It’s a little bit of a fun, just to raise money for scholarships and see a lot of people you haven’t seen in a while,” says Jason Vince of Quest Events, an avid golfer who recommended Angel Park to the organizing committee. His team played “reasonably well,” and everybody contributed with their best shot, finishing third with a score of 57.
There was some confusion with the scoring app used for the tournament, which was played on the Palm course at Angel Park, whereas EDPA’s contract was for the Mountain course.
“Not the end of the world,” Vince assures. “Both courses are beautiful, and the experience was the same. Maybe we’ll get a discount next year.”
Designed by golf icon Arnold Palmer, the course offers panoramic views of Red Rock Canyon and the Strip. At 5,049 yards from the red and white tees, the course is not long, but challenges golfers with difficult putting greens, strategically located sand bunkers, par-3 holes that require precise shots, par-4’s that test driving accuracy, and par-5’s for birdie and eagle opportunities.
Cordaro says the Palm course was in much better shape than the course he played at the Texas EDPA Golf Tournament in May while in Dallas to open a new LVE office. He found the greens in great condition, and the play moved along at a fast pace.
There are no golf course marshals pushing you, adds Mike McDaniel of the Pineapple Agency. He played in a past EDPA tournament at Revere Golf Club at Anthem, a nice course, but it’s mighty busy with a lot of hills to climb up and down.
The registration cost increased this year by about $300 to $1,250 for a foursome. It’s always a balancing act to find a decent course and keep the cost down in order to maximize the scholarship fund.
Gayle Wright, account executive at IPME and president of Las Vegas EDPA, explains that golf course fees plummeted during COVID, but have since rebounded to all-time highs.
“We looked at many courses, but there were huge increases, even from three years ago,” says Wright, who also helps organize the EDPA Hockey Extravaganza in Las Vegas. “We’d love to play at a country club, but obviously we’re priced out.”
