Trophy Lake is latest stop on Atlanta duo's 50-state, 50-day golf course tour

Giving back long has been a passion for Atlanta’s Bill Evans and Craig Forney.

But a few years ago the two friends and business partners wanted to combine a large-scale charitable event with a passion of theirs.

They settled on golf and planned to play at 50 courses in 50 states over 50 days.

Initially, Evans said the plan wasn’t feasible because of their work schedules.

“Imagine going to your boss saying your going to take 50 days off,” he said.

That changed when the two bought the Fayetteville Golf Course & Club in Georgia, where Forney is the director of golf.

With that flexibility in their work schedules, Evans and Forney decided to make their vision a reality this year. They play at 6 a.m. today at Trophy Lake Golf & Casting on the 46th stop of their tour.

Evans, 51, estimates they will have spent $200,000 of their own money when the trip concludes Tuesday in Hawaii. Forney, 40, hopes that message resonates with his three children and others.

“The example you’re trying to show your kids is that you have to do things for other folks without expecting anything in return,” Forney said. “A lot of people want to know what’s in it for them.”

Evans said they decided to focus on three different types of cancers — breast, melanoma and prostate — and set a goal to raise $20,000 at each stop. He said all proceeds are donated to cancer research.

“We decided to make this a golf platform,” he said. “It affects both (men and women) from a golf standpoint because they’re out in the sun.”

Both said they’ve been inspired during their time on the greens. Evans and Forney regularly post video on their Web site (www.the50in50.com), and played with a man in Omaha, Neb., who has chemotherapy treatments three times per week.

“We’ve learned about the spirit of people,” Evans said. “We get inspired every day from people who have gone through cancer.”

Forney said they also have had an opportunity to speak with several cancer researchers who have told them the government has significantly reduced their funding.

“There’s a lot of good private fundraisers that we would like people to get involved with,” he said. “We don’t want to handcuff the researchers and delay time for a cure.”

Both men said they haven’t been able to do a lot of sightseeing because the tournaments, meeting with cancer patients and researchers and travel have compressed their schedules. Evans said they will actually finish the tour in 44 days because they were concerned storms in the Midwest could prevent them from competing there.

They started the tour June 9 in Vermont and competed at two courses in one day in a few East Coast states, such as New Jersey and New York.

The tight schedule hasn’t bothered either, as Evans had seen every state except Alaska, Idaho, Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota before the trip.

Forney has been to more than half.

Even though they own a golf course, the two don’t play regularly because they’re involved with the business and coaching aspects of the profession. Now that he is on the course daily, Forney said he scored in the 60s in all three rounds at one recent stop. He said he usually shoots in the mid- to upper-70s.

They have traveled by RV, SUV and airplane and plan to write a book about the experience, but haven’t set a release date. They plan to immediately return to Georgia after the tour because Evans said they both need to catch up on work.

As far as future plans for golf to fundraise for cancer research, Evans said they’re looking into hitting all 50 states again the next couple of years, but they might scale it back to once a week.

Contact Port Orchard Independent Staff writer Chris Chancellor at cchancellor@portorchardindependent.com or (360) 876-4414.

Comment on this story.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read.