We went to the Diamond Resorts Invitational Celebrity Golf Tournament!

Golf tournaments…..we LOVE them….and we can’t wait to tell you all about our day at the Diamond Resorts Invitational Golf Tournament!

Read on to find out about the celebrities we met at the inaugural Diamond Resorts Invitational Golf Tournament at The Golden Bear Club in Keene’s Pointe located in Windermere, FL. The tournament benefited the Florida Hospital for Children and was SO MUCH FUN!

We all like to give back. Sometimes we help others financially or we volunteer our time, and often we do a combination of both. So it was no wonder that over 80 athletes, entertainers and stars came to Orlando for the inaugural Diamond Resorts Invitational Celebrity Golf Tournament benefiting Florida Hospital for Children January 14-16, 2016. Many stars stopped by and visited with pediatric patients at the beginning of the week! Such a good cause, such a fabulous tournament!

First things first. Where is Windermere, FL and what is the Golden Bear Club? The Golden Bear Club at Keene’s Pointe and is a Jack Nicklaus signature designed course. (Copa can tell you all the technical aspects of the course about it in upcoming article!) And, get this. It’s RIGHT BY DISNEY WORLD! Yep. Windermere, Florida is right by the Magic Kingdom. As a matter of fact, each night at 9pm you can see the fireworks from Cinderella’s Castle from the clubhouse!

We started our day by checking into the VIP Hospitality Tent on the 17th hole.

I loved the navy and white cloths on the highboy cocktail tables!

Each highboy offered golf tournament essentials for guests….sunscreen ( a MUST in Florida!), sunglasses and lip balm. It was a windy day and the lip balm was gratefully appreciated as we made our way around the course!

Collins Catering provided bar services at the VIP hospitality tents. We loved seeing Woodford Reserve as the featured bourbon! (Remember our field trip to the Woodford Reserve distillery?). Pepsi products were available and provided welcome refreshment.

So, everyone in our group grabbed the requisite golf tournament cocktail and off we went! (IT WAS SO GOOD.)

We followed Oliver Hudson who is best known from the hit television sitcom Rules of Engagement. If you are wondering if I zoomed in for this shot the answer is…..no! We were remarkably close to the celebs in the gallery areas! AND, the celebs were very gracious in granting photos to fans between holes. I have never been one to solicit photos from well known individuals out of respect for their privacy. SPOILER ALERT: Read on….I ended up with a picture from one of my favorites!

We also followed Alfonso Ribeiro, Jerry Rice and country music star Jake Owen!

So, you can see Alfonso on the tee box below. Guess who is behind him?!? JERRY RICE!
He’s a former wide receiver who played 20 seasons in the NFL. Jerry is widely considered to be the greatest wide receiver in NFL history. Yeah, THAT Jerry Rice! And, he was sooooo nice to the fans that stopped him.

And then, THIS happened:

Alfonso is best know for his role as Carlton in the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and is currently the host of everyone’s favorite America’s Funniest Home Videos. I have been a fan since his Silver Spoon days!

Okay, so remember when I said I never ask for celebrity photos/autographs? Well, after Jerry, Jake & Alfonso teed off they came OVER TO THE GALLERY for photos and hellos. Sooooo……I asked. I really, truly did! He was charming and I can see why he is a fan favoritel

Next, we followed another group and ran into the most AMAZING display from Stella Artois!

It is a reverse display of their infamous glassware with burlap enhancements! Here is a picture of the entire display:

There were several rustic picnic tables set up in the dedicated Stella area by the 17th hole. Of course, yours truly was the only tournament spectator taking pictures of a glassware display instead of celebrities! So, the fine folks at Stella asked Copa and me to visit their photo opp booth!

We followed several more groups and then caught up with Stephen Cloobeck and Larry the Cable Guy.
HINT: Stephen Cloobeck is CEO of Diamond Resorts International. Pssst: Visit their website! They have a STAY HAPPY contest where you can win a vacations for 5 years!

Larry chatted with Copa and his friend before teeing off. I tried to discreetly take a picture for you while they chatted. Discretion is not my forte so the angle is not the best!

My picture of Stephen teeing off didn’t turn out so well BUT I snapped the picture below as they were heading down the fairway. He is in the pink shirt and seemed like a great guy. Once again, no zoom lens needed!

Diamond Resorts International is a hospitality and vacation ownership company with 350 worldwide vacation destinations in 34 countries. The Diamond Resorts Invitational Celebrity Golf Tournament raises money for the Florida Hospital for Children. The tournament winner was Mardy Fish, former professional tennis player. We loved seeing Marcus Allen, Justin Verlander, Michael Waltrip, Richard Dent, Kordell Stewart, Roger “the rocket” Clemens and others. A family member met Jack Wagner earlier in the week. Everyone was so very gracious!

After the tournament their was a Gala and Concert featuring Colt Ford and Jake Owen to raise even more money for the Florida Hospital for Children. Alas, our VIP tickets did not include entrance to the after hours event, so I can’t share with you those details. We heard it was FABULOUS with lots of great silent auction items!

 Until next year….

Hey again….just so you know….Totally Tailgates is not yet affiliated with Diamond Resorts International, Florida Hospital for Children, Collins Catering, America’s Funniest Home Videos, Pepsi or Woodford Reserve. We did not receive compensation from any of the aforementioned companies.