The First Annual Flip Off Classic: A Memorial Golf Tournament

flipoffclassic
Jan 31, 2023
4 min read

ABOUT:

On Friday, September 9, 2022,

The First Annual Flip Off Classic Golf Tournament took place at Wyckoff Country Club to memorialize the life of Jonathan "Jono" Robert, a local Holyoke firefighter.

Jono was much more than a firefighter, however, to not only his family, but every single person he encountered. His vibrant and humorous personality attracted everyone he met, everywhere he went, so his absence is mourned by many. After Jono tragically passed away in July of 2021, the entire community came together to honor his life and support his family.

Being a passionate athlete, Jono participated in nearly every sport at one point or another during his 30 years here, and particularly enjoyed baseball. He often spent time golfing on the weekends with his father, brother, and friends. Jono made a name for himself throwing golf clubs and crashing golf carts, but those who knew him know these were harmless and hilarious activities that made each outing more memorable than your standard day on the course. In fact, while advertising for the event, we searched everywhere for pictures of Jono golfing and couldn’t find any, since many men typically aren’t going out of their way to snap a picture in between swings; the only thing we found was a video of him purposely stopping short so the cart behind him would crash into his. We, Jono’s family, contemplated ways to emulate his character and energy into an event that would serve to support his wife, children, and other things that mattered most to him﹘which is how The Flip Off Classic¹ came to be. This event was intended to bring together all who loved Jono to play a game he enjoyed, share memories, and celebrate his love for life all while contributing to his goals.

HOW IT WENT:

Our first year was a success,

as we received nothing but positive feedback from all that attended﹘

whether they golfed

or just stopped in for the food, drinks and entertainment. The event consisted of a total of 50 teams, split into two tee times; 59 sponsors; raffle donors; and banquet dinner guests. Our winning team members that received gift cards to Wyckoff Pro Shop were Seth Sypniak, Keith Fortini, Sam Roy, and Sean Conley.The rest of the golfers went home with goodie bags and good stories to tell! After the event came to a close, golf bags and raffle prizes were packed into the backs of cars, some making it home and others stopping at some of Holyoke’s local spots for a night cap². Throughout the weeks following the event, we reflected on highlights of the day as well as areas for improvement﹘primarily being the lack of pictures! We were all so occupied with other things throughout the day that we got very few pictures. First bullet on the list for next year is hiring a photographer!

Aside from the day being an enjoyable time, it was also a success in terms of what we were able to do with the profit. The money raised allowed us to set up an annual scholarship fund for a Holyoke High School senior baseball or softball player that’s planning on continuing their education; adopt and maintain a community island located at the corner of Homestead and Westfield Ave in Holyoke; sponsor Magic for Maddie organization; sponsor JLD Baseball Training Camp; fund Leah’s first basketball tournament in Maryland; and cover costs for Kain and Kody to play sports. The outcome was more than we could have ever imagined and we are thankful to have known a guy as wonderful to commemorate as Jono. We were excited enough to begin planning for next year as is, but people reaching out expressing their excitement for the following year merely days after the first event only made us want to make it even better the second time around.

Photo Gallery at the bottom of this post!

¹ Please visit our About the Finger page on the homepage of our website to read more about the origin of the tournament's name.

² Everyone was driven safely to any additional locations.