Halloween Golf A Trick & Treat For Studer Family
For the Studer family, there’s nothing quite like playing golf in Halloween costumes.
The Studers, who include Manasquan River Golf Club pro Brent Studer, initiated their trick-or-treat golf three years ago and this year 10 foursomes competed and raised money for charity at the Hillsborough Golf and Country Club.
The outlandish costumes included foursomes representing the musical band Kiss (in face paint), four Elvis impersonators, the cast of Wizard of Oz, Austin Powers and Foxxy Cleopatra, and a foursome representing the movie Caddyshack.
“Of course, we had a problem with the Caddy Shack foursome because the costumes are not supposed to be golf related,” said Debbie (Studer) Rauscher, one of the event organizers. “Especially because they won.”
The winning group included Eric Studer - son of middle brother Rick - who plays golf at Notre Dame High School in Lawrence Township - and his friends , who scrambled to a score of 8-under-par.
The Flying Elvises foursome included the youngest Studer brother, Dan, and his former Hunterdon Central high school buddies, Mark, Brian and Nick.
The germ of the idea for the event was planted when Chip Studer, oldest of the four five Studer siblings, played in a charity outing where one group dressed up in costume.
“I said, ‘Why not have an entire outing like that?’ ” Chip stated. “The idea was to have each sibling, plus mom and dad, each bring three foursomes to the event, which would bring us up to 18 foursomes. But that’s easier said than done.”
The past two years, the Studers have attracted 10 foursomes, but the goal is still to get to 18 groups. Interested parties can contact Deb Rauscher at deb.rauscher@optimum.net.
The five Studer siblings are Chip, 50, Brent, 48, Rick, 46, Debbie, 45, and Dan, 43. Mom , Janice, and Dad, Walter, also partake in the fun. The Studers grew up across the street from Hillsborough G. & C.C. and head pro Bobby D’Amica is a big supporter of the outing. The Studers were members at Copper Hill Country Club and Janice and Walter continue to play there.
“Hillsborough still has a special place in our hearts and we look forward to coming back every year,” Debbie said.
The only stipulation is that all golf must be played in costume. The only exception is high heels must be replaced with golf shoes for fear of tearing up the greens.
“It was a little difficult playing with the Kiss wigs on. The hair impeded my swing,” Deb said. ‘We had to penalize my husband, Mike, two strokes when he removed his wig. My favorite costume was last year when my husband and myself dressed as Ginger and Gilligan from Gilligan’s Island. Without voting for myself, my favorite last year was the Dukes of Hazzard."
The winning foursome consisted of Eric Studer, Andrew Devito, Evan Pa and Colin Connor.
"Andrew Devito was in the hospital for over a month and has been in rehab for 2 years after a serious accident on a recreational motorized vehicle,".Chip Studer said.
The winniers selected the two charity recipients, Shriner’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Penndel Food Pantry.
DeVito went through intensive rehab at Shriner's Hospital. The food pantry was chosen because one boy's mother volunteered there for years and now works for them.
