By Linda McGraw
As we head into spring, the New Bern community is gearing up for giving back through golf. The alchemy of friendly competition, good sportsmanship, and support for a local non-profit all comes together in the second annual New Bern Cup 2024.
The brainchild of Carolina Colours resident Peter Eckle, the New Bern Cup brings together 78 golfers from the six local golf clubs to compete in a one-day, handicapped stroke play event that benefits a local non-profit. New Bern Cup 2024 will benefit True Justice, a local non-profit that assists victims of human trafficking in our community.
The six local golf clubs — Carolina Colours, Emerald, Harbour Pointe, New Bern CC, Taberna CC and River Bend — field teams comprised of: one PGA pro, eight men and four women. The lowest total net score for 10 of the 13 team players combines to award the trophy and local bragging rights.
“When each club was approached with the idea for the tournament,” recalls Eckle, “the
responses were enthusiastic.” Quite a bit of planning went into the inaugural event —
held June 26, 2023 at Carolina Colours — and Eckle added, “….it was in some ways a
little like herding cats, but with a little direction everyone ended up on the same page”.
All great events need a great sponsor. Eckle joined forces with fellow resident Steve Johnson and the dynamic duo secured a title sponsorship from Genesis of New Bern, thanks to Grant Loftin long time New Bern resident and owner.
“Grant was so enthusiastic and supportive of the event,” says Eckle, “that there was no
hesitation on his part.” In fact, Loftin is so supportive of the New Bern Cup, he
announced recently that Genesis of New Bern will also sponsor a hole-in-one prize — a
new Genesis GV70.
New Bern Cup 2023 was won by Taberna CC. The First Tee of Coastal Carolina was the
local non-profit that benefited, and New Bern Mayor Jeffrey Oldham presented the
Trophy to the winners, who are now tasked with hosting the Cup in 2024.
Mayor Oldham says, “New Bern is a special place and it’s events like this that make it special. We are excited to have such an event like the New Bern Cup here.”
This is one way it all comes together in New Bern: local residents form a plan to benefit a worthy organization at the same time highlighting the natural beauty of New Bern’s top golf communities.
The 2024 New Bern Cup takes place on Sunday, April 28, 2024 at Taberna CC. If your business or organization would like to get involved, you can email petereckle@gmail.com for more information.