Golf is one of the most written-about sports in all of journalism. While it might not translate well into a box score or paragraph-style synopsis in the appropriate section of a newspaper, it does tend to elicit long-form prose with astonishing regularity. 

The emotions inspired by the game itself, along with the passions of the men who play it – or attempt to play it, as the case may be for many frustrated amateurs – are ripe for mining when it comes to the creation of inspired books, essays and poetry.

Mercedes-Benz long ago realized that the game of golf was an important way for the company to connect with the men and women driving its cars. The vehicles built by Mercedes-Benz often end up with their owners for the long haul; in many ways similar to the level of dedication displayed by duffers out on the fairway striving over the course of a season to knock a few strokes off their games. The automaker is, of course, involved in the sponsorship of the PGA Championship tour, the apex of the golfing world, but it is also active in an equally meaningful way at the amateur level.

The Mercedes-Benz Dealer Championship is an annual grassroots charity golf program that features 144 tournaments across the United States each summer.  The program has been in existence for 16 years and, in that time, it has generated over $11 million in charitable donations. Supported by the brand’s capable dealership network, the championship is open to players 21 and older, with both men and women’s divisions. In order to register, golfers must make a charitable donation to the organization associated with the championship at the national level. Once enrolled, each player is competing for the chance to win one of two spots on their dealer-sponsored team, which will then compete for the national championship against every other participating dealer team in the country.

For 2009, the national event for the Dealer Championship is being held in Maui, Hawaii, at the Kaanapali Golf Resort. While that might seem like a fair distance to travel to compete as an amateur in a charity golf tournament, lucky regional winners have little to worry about in terms of logistics – Mercedes-Benz takes care of everything. This includes five nights at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa, full airfare to and from the tropical island and VIP treatment during the entire tournament. Players also have the opportunity to win a Mercedes-Benz GLK350 should they manage to score a hole-in-one at specific par-three holes on the golf course. The winners of the national tournament go on to Germany, where they compete for the Mercedes-Benz trophy against the top teams from around the world.

Of course, the most important part of the Mercedes-Benz Dealer Championship isn’t the fun in the sun or even the golf itself, but the fact that the tournament represents a community reaching out to help those who are less fortunate.  Mercedes-Benz owners and fans of the brand alike unite to donate both time and money to the concept fueling the championship. 

For 2009, Mercedes-Benz has partnered with the Tiger Woods Foundation.  Almost everyone, golfer or not, is familiar with the achievements of Tiger Woods on the PGA Tour, but he is also quite active in terms of using his fame to shed some light on worthy causes. His foundation focuses on using golf as a tool to provide young people with scholarships and grants to help them achieve their dreams within the framework of sports and education. The foundation also contributes and helps to run character development programs and junior golf teams. In existence since 1996, the Tiger Woods Foundation has managed to raise millions of dollars through numerous charitable events and, in turn, has used those funds to support youth seeking opportunity and an outlet so they can achieve their full potential.

It’s not often that a charity program achieves a life of its own, but the Mercedes-Benz Dealer Championship has, over the years, managed to snowball into a cherished yearly event, a golf tournament where bragging rights are won and lost and where every stroke helps to bring a charity that much closer to connecting with individuals who need a helping hand.