When it came to fundraising, the Anna Maria Island Privateers shot a hole in one when they scheduled a Putt-Putt Pub Crawl last Saturday that went from Bradenton Beach to the city of Anna Maria and back.
Fifty-two golfers tried their luck at the nine stops, where each pub owner built a customized hole for putting.
Privateer Tim “Hammer” Thompson reported Nathan Talucci took first place with a score of 17. Nancy Ksiazek and Kevin Sims tied for second with scores of 18. He said Dr. Scott Kosfeld made the most holes in one with two, Lisa Nelson had the most strokes on a single hole with seven and Pamela Lazaroff had the most mulligans, though that number was not supplied.
Privateers President Jamie “One-eye” Van Deusen said the participating pubs showed imagination in crafting their putt-putt holes.
The competitors rode the Privateers’ parade ship, the Skullywag, to each stop. They began at the Fish Hole on Bridge Street, where they tried a difficult hole from the golf course. From there, they went to the Anchor Inn and the Waterline resort in Holmes Beach, Slim’s and Harry’s in Anna Maria, and then back south to the Ugly Grouper, D Coy Duck’s and the Freckled Fin in Holmes Beach, ending at the Drift In in Bradenton Beach.
Perhaps the most unusual hole was at the Anchor, where contestants had to sit on a toilet to shoot. The toilet was full of golf balls and there was a sign welcoming all to “The Anchor Country Club” with a “World famous mini toilet golf course.” Golfer Dennis Goehler posed for pictures on the toilet reading a copy of The Sun before he took his shot.
The stop at Waterline took them to some green space near the inlet. Thankfully for pub crawlers, there were no dead fish in those waters. Golfers had to shoot into a plastic seashell after going around obstacles and the holes at many of the remaining stops proved difficult.
It was a fun way to spend a hot afternoon and several Privateers said they would likely host the event again next year.
