Big Brothers Big Sisters Annual Golf Classic
On a Monday in October, when the Gulf Coast’s light begins to soften and the fairways take on their autumn gloss, a round of golf will do more than settle wagers and test short games.
By Edit Sarasota Staff
On a Monday in October, when the Gulf Coast’s light begins to soften and the fairways take on their autumn gloss, a round of golf will do more than settle wagers and test short games. The Big Brothers Big Sisters Annual Golf Classic brings business leaders, community advocates, and longtime supporters together around a cause that reaches well beyond the course: helping local young people find steady, encouraging relationships with caring adults.
For Big Brothers Big Sisters, mentoring is built on something deceptively simple—the presence of someone who shows up. A mentor can offer perspective on school, work, family, and the uncertain business of growing up, while giving a young person the confidence to imagine a wider future. In a region celebrated for its philanthropy, arts institutions, and civic energy, that work is an essential part of the community’s social fabric. It connects generations and neighborhoods, and it gives generosity a personal dimension.
The annual golf classic turns that mission into a day of easy camaraderie and purposeful competition. Golf’s rituals—arriving early, greeting familiar faces, sharing a cart, replaying a difficult shot over lunch—create a natural setting for conversation. Here, the occasion is not simply a tournament but a gathering of people who understand that strong communities are made through sustained investment in one another.
This year’s event unfolds at Lakewood National Golf Club, a polished Lakewood Ranch setting known for its expansive grounds and courses developed by the Arnold Palmer Design Company. The club’s broad fairways, water features, and carefully shaped greens offer the kind of scenic challenge that rewards both strategy and patience, while its clubhouse provides a fitting place for participants to reconnect after the final putt. The setting also underscores the region’s evolving geography: Sarasota’s community life increasingly moves across county lines, following the relationships, workplaces, and families that bind the Gulf Coast together.
Whether participants arrive as avid golfers, enthusiastic amateurs, or supporters more interested in the mission than the scorecard, the day offers a tangible way to strengthen an organization whose impact is measured one relationship at a time. The Big Brothers Big Sisters Annual Golf Classic takes place Monday, October 19, 2026, at Lakewood National Golf Club, 17605 Lakewood National Parkway.