Golfers hit the green at Saint. Johns Resort in Plymouth, Michigan, on Monday, September 9, for Sacred Heart Major Seminary’s forty-second annual Desert Golf Classic.
Glorious sunshine and balmy temperatures made for a wonderful day of golf for a worthwhile cause. The tournament supports the Desert Formation Experience, a thirty-day spiritual pilgrimage made every spring by first-year graduate seminarians. Traditionally, the Desert Formation Experience is an opportunity for seminarians to visit the Holy Land and experience the places Christ lived and ministered. In years where conflict in the region prevents making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the seminarians follow in the footsteps of some of the most prominent saints of the Catholic Church as well as visit some notable Marian apparition sites in Europe.
The sold-out tournament day started with a continental breakfast, a 50/50 raffle and a shotgun start at 10:00 a.m.. Golfers enjoyed boxed lunches and beverages on the course throughout the day. While there were no holes-in-one this year, golfers were pleased to see the air ball cannon make an appearance again (back by popular demand). A reception and program followed the day of golf, including a testimony from seminarian Charles Bemiss about his recent pilgrimage experience this spring and the 42-year traditional close to the evening—singing “I am the Bread of Life.”
The winners of the tournament were as follows:
First place:
Father Ryan Walters
Father Bruno Selvaraj
Tom Gieselman
Gary Gorski
Longest Drive:
Men’s: Ken Weingartz
Women’s: Jennifer Jones
Closest to the Pin:
Men’s: Paul Erickson
Women’s: Jennifer Jones
Much gratitude goes out to these 2024 Desert Classic sponsors:
Holy Land Sponsor
- Ka-wood Gear & Machine Co.
Title Sponsor
- Knight of Columbus - Michigan State Council
Event Sponsor
- Catholic Funeral & Cemetery Services
Golf Cannon Sponsor
- R.M.W. Productions, LLC
Beverage Cart Sponsors
- Captrust
- Diocesan Catholic Life Every Day
- Grunwell-Cashero
Breakfast Sponsors
- Woodhaven Dental
- Jack & Denis Bertin-Epp
Boxed Lunch Sponsors
- Captrust
- R.M.W. Productions, LLC
- Mark and Tricia Van Faussien
Reception Sponsors
- Weingartz
- Marino Family
- Sullivan & Sons
Hole-In-One Sponsor
- Alliance Catholic Credit Union
Individual Hole Sponsors
- A.J. Desmond & Sons
- Archdiocese of Detroit Class, Ordination Class of 2019
- Bodman PLC
- Paul Erickson Royal Oak Financial Advisors
- Terence & Judy Griffin
- Grunwell - Cashero Co.
- Guadino’s - St. Clair Shores
- Daniel J. Kelly
- Ordination Class of 2024 - BKE
- Fr. Sal Palazzolo
- Anthony & Kristy Schena
- St. Anne Catholic Church and School - Warren Rev. Adam Nowak
- St. Daniel - Clarkston Rev. Craig Marion
- St. Lucy - St. Clair Shores Rev. Jim Commyn
- St. Regis Catholic Church and School - Bloomfield Hills Rev. John Dudek
- St. Thomas a’Becket - Canton Rev. Christopher Maus
- Julie & Paul Tomasko
- TriGriffin Group
Eagle Sponsors
- Rev. Nicholas Brown
- Crispelli’s Bakery & Pizzeria
- Rev. Msgr. Patrick Halfpenny
- John Kullman
- Nino Salvaggio International Marketplace
- Edward Petersmarck
- St. Regis Catholic Church and School - Bloomfield Hills Rev. John Dudek
Birdie Sponsor
- St. Regis Catholic Church and School - Bloomfield Hills Rev. John Dudek
If you would like to support the Desert Formation Experience, you can make a donation or learn more about hosting a Desert Meal. Contact Emily Berschback, at berschback.emily@shms.edu, for more information.
