Charity tournaments have become a staple of golf in recent years. Maine golf courses hold anywhere from a couple to several a year.

It’s no different for Ed and Lucille Koncinsky, who own Kenduskeag Valley Golf Course, but it has hit close to home this year.

Their granddaughter, 5-year-old Brianna Koncinsky, is battling brain and spine cancer.

Because of that, two of the three charity tournaments they host this year will have a connection with Brianna and her illness.

On Aug. 22, the Koncinskys will host a nine-hole scramble to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and on Sept. 19, they will host another nine-hole scramble to help defray the costs of Brianna’s treatment.

“She’s been doing massive amounts of chemotherapy,” said Lucille Koncinsky. “Thursday, though, she’ll start radiation. That will be every weekday for six weeks.”

The effects of treatment have been mixed, so far.

“The brain cancer treatment has gone well, but the spine hasn’t responded as well,” said Koncinsky.

She said that Brianna, the daughter of Brian and Donna Koncinsky of Bangor, has a good attitude.

“She’s being wonderful. She’s very upbeat,” said Koncinsky.

The Koncinskys get four to five requests a year from people who want to hold charity events there.

“We do two or three,” said Koncinsky. “We’re so small, we have to be careful [not to do too many]. They have to be for a good cause, like Make-A-Wish.”

The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants wishes to children with life-threatening diseases. The average cost of a wish, said Koncinsky, is $5,500.

In most cases, people interested in raising money for a cause will approach a golf course to see if they can schedule an event.

This time, the Koncinskys approached the Make-A-Wish people to tell them they wanted to host an event, and the foundation OK’d it.

“It was something we felt we wanted to do,” said Koncinsky.

The Koncinskys have owned the course for 22 years, and they have been hosting charity tournaments for about the last 10 years.

They have done fund-raisers for Operation Liftoff and Central High School, among others. In fact, she said, a fund raiser for Central High drew more than 190 players and cleared more than $2,900.

“That might not seem like a lot, but for us it was great,” she said.

Last Sunday’s Bob Girvan Memorial – he built the course more than 40 years ago – drew 150 players and benefited the scholarship fund at Central High.

Now that they have some experience at it, Koncinsky said more and more people are calling them for ideas.

“We’ve had people who may be interested in holding an event, even if it’s not here, ask us about general procedure, advertising, how to get people to donate, scheduling,” said Koncinsky.

People are already signing up for the events. Each tourney is $15 per person and there are various categories of teams available. Call 884-7330 to sign up or for more information.

Christie gets Samoset post

Chris Christie of Camden has been named director of golf and head pro at Samoset Resort in Rockport.

Christie was most recently the director of golf at Goose River Golf Club in Camden. He was formerly an assistant pro at Samoset.

In addition, he was a golf pro on a Norwegian cruise line and at the Boonsboro Country Club in Lynchburg, Va.

He is also the founder and president of Target Zone Enterprises, a golf training system.

The Samoset Resort Golf Club is ranked No. 52 on Golf Digest’s list of the 75 top upscale golf courses in America.