The bells ring when someone makes a birdie.
Out on a par-3 course tucked beneath the Shenandoah foothills, 15 golfers are walking the same nine holes over and over again for kids they may never meet. On a cold Monday in April, the clatter of a small red cowbell echoes across the course. Every ring is encouragement to keep going, and a reminder that no one is walking alone.
That’s what The Hundred is. This was the second playing of it.
This one was hard to get to. There were moments in the weeks before when it wasn’t clear it would come together, but faith carried it. Then Monday arrived, and so did The Hundred.
Before balls were in the air, golfers had already put in work. Texts to old friends, emails to coworkers, calls to people who wouldn’t get it without some extra explaining. Local and national players, first-timers and veterans, old golf friends and new, all of them asked the people in their lives to invest in something that matters.
Austin Kaseman drove out to Sperryville and spent his day shooting The Hundred between major golf clients and the Kentucky Derby. He donated his time, which was already more than enough, and then fundraised on top of it.
Will Knights, from The Fried Egg, started raising money a full week out, posted a tweet, and set his out-of-office to keep it going while he played. That last part got me. His network came through: writers, podcasters, people who cover this game for a living, all of them giving while Will walked the same nine holes as everyone else, into the wind. Together, they raised over $3,000.
Brad Gee was there too, representing the CBCM family, one of Little Lights’ oldest friends. He lives in DC now and goes to Steve’s church. The world is small in the best way sometimes.
The weather was cooler than last year, windier too, despite being a full month later on the calendar. But nobody was there for the conditions.
Fifteen golfers. One hundred holes. The same nine walked again and again until the number was reached. Playing partners and conversations changed each time around. The legs got heavier, but the bells kept ringing.
By the end of the day, The Hundred had raised over $25,000 for Little Lights students and families in Washington, DC. Children who will have more because fifteen people they’ve never met looped a golf course and asked their friends to care.
Thank you to those who played, those who gave, and a special thank you to Schoolhouse Nine, whose course, staff, and warmth have made it more than a venue. Everybody did their part.
Two years. Two days that went the distance. This one was harder to reach, which somehow makes it feel more worth protecting.
See you next year.
Photographs by Austin Kaseman
