10th MHA golf event

Tournament, carnival celebrate anniversary

By RODNEY MINOR, The Leader-Herald
AMSTERDAM — It was certainly not unseasonably warm and dry weather that let people play mini-golf at Amsterdam High School Saturday.

The 10th annual Mental Health Association Miniature Golf Tournament and Children’s Carnival was inside the school, giving people a chance to escape the winter weather, Janine Dykeman said.

Dykeman, the executive director of the MHA of Fulton and Montgomery counties, said the fundraiser has brought people in for every one of the nine years she has worked at the event.

“When it snowed last night, and people were wondering when is [winter] going to be over with,” she said. “This reminds them that spring is almost here.”

Kim LaMont, of Florida, said it was nice to attend a local event with her daughters.

“After being housebound because of all the snow, this is pretty nice,” she said.

LaMont was helping her daughters, Megan and Shelby, work on craft projects while they took a break from golfing. Shelby was busy making a penguin thermometer, while Megan had a felt tree to work on, she said.

A dozen children were nearby working on other craft projects, such as dream catchers and picture frames.

Dykeman said the whole event was about offering families a fun time that was not too expensive, with a wide range of activities for kids.

But everyone took at least one trip through the 18-hole golf course.

Arranged in the lobby of the school, the varied designs of the courses posed a unique change at each hole. The older golfers took the time to angle their puts so they could make it over, around, or through the obstacles. What the younger golfers normally lacked in precision they made up for with persistence, hacking at the ball until they got it into the hole.

Alan McClary and his son, Colin, both wanted to have a chance at playing mini-golf. The Amsterdam residents came last year, and said it was a nice break from winter.

“It seems strange that I’m playing mini-golf where I went to high school 20 years ago,” Alan said with a laugh.

The event was not actually a tournament, according to Dykeman. It was an open event, so people could just enjoy playing or compete with one another if they wanted to.

Kennedy Nordey, 8, of Amsterdam, still found the golfing to be a challenge. It was more fun to focus on making her bead bracelet at one of the craft tables in the cafeteria, she said.

Nordey said she was going to get a balloon animal before she left too.

A menagerie of balloon animals and other creations were dispensed by balloon artist Joseph DiDonna. Into the waiting arms of Garrett McHeard, 4, went a tiger while his brother, Parker, 1, got a lion.

Their mom, Colleen, said after reading about it last year, she decided to stop at the event.

“They really enjoyed it,” she said. “If we can make it, we’ll definitely come again next year.”

Dykeman said 300 to 400 people usually attend the event.



Rodney Minor covers Gloversville. He can be reached at gloversville@leaderherald.com.