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This year, even though it just about killed him to do so, Alice Cooper allowed a disco theme to be used for his 10 th annual Celebrity-Am, which was held Monday and Tuesday at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale.
“I guess we’ve run out of themes, which is why I would allow our 10 th anniversary to get me in disco clothes,’’ Cooper said. “For those who can’t remember, in the ’70s disco was my arch enemy. It’s why I killed the Bee Gees in (the movie) ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.’ ’’
No problem, as “Disco Alice” joined other past tournament themes such as “Alice in Wonderland,’’ “Alice, a Space Odyssey,’’ “Secret Agent Alice’’ and “Super Alice,’’ to name a few.
Along the way, thousands of fans and hundreds of celebrities have participated in the tournament, which has raised $1.5 million for Cooper’s Christian faith-based Solid Rock Foundation. And while the tournament has given it all back in various forms – from scholarships to inner-city programs to a gymnasium built on the Navajo Reservation – this year’s event started a new mission, said tournament director, Chuck Savale.
“The Solid Rock board is focusing on a teen center surrounded around music, with sports, games, computers and other after-school activities,’’ Savale said. “We’ve always been about kids and teen-agers, and it is our hope, and Alice’s, to buy or build a great place where the kids can just hang out.’’
In that regard, Cooper calls on a few of his friends from the entertainment business, like this year’s marquee, which included such an eclectic mix as Dennis Hopper, Elke Sommer, Pat Boone, Richard Roundtree, Josh Meyers, Dick Butkus, Gary Mule Deer, Missi Pyle, Dan O’Brien, Tom Sneva and Neil Lomax, to name a few.
In all, there were 45 celebrities, all of whom were flown in courtesy of Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes, who also owns Swift Aviation. And while a few of the stars needed name tags, they sold for a collective $16,000-plus for the right to play golf with them, Cooper going for $5,000 all by himself.
There were other highlights, like guitars from Billy Joel, Bon Jovi and Cooper that auctioned off for a collective $12,500. Also up for grabs were dozens of foursomes of golf, with $1,800 being the top bid for Spyglass Hill.
Even though it costs $3,000 to play in the tournament, nearly 200 golfers sign up each year. What makes Cooper’s tournament unique is, each participant gets over $1,500 back in their “swag bag’’ along with two rounds of golf, two dinners, two lunches/brunches, two parties, and a poker tournament at Alice’s restaurant -- Cooperstown.
Typical of the participants was Bob Laflen of Houston, who along with his wife, Karen, had attended all 10 tournaments as both participant (Bob) and guest (Karen).
“I didn’t know Alice from anybody when we first met him over in Palm Springs,’’ Bob Laflen recalled. “Just out of the blue he just invited us to his tournament, and afterward Karen said to me, ‘Do you know who that was?’ . . . Well, now I do.’’
Yeah, the 58-year-old Cooper doesn’t look much like the made-up rock villain Alice when he’s wearing his Izod shirt and Callaway cap. But that’s the beauty of the rock star, added Savale.
“People aren’t sure what to expect from him, and then they meet him, find out he’s a real down-to-earth guy . . . and that’s why almost everyone comes back each year to play in it again.’’
Cooper likes to keep his guests guessing. Like this year’s first-ever disco contest held in conjunction with a dinner at Camelback Resort & Spa.
“We’d never have a winner for that,’’ Cooper said of awarding a prize for the best imitation of John Travolta. “Instead, we gave awards for categories like ‘You’re Not as Good as You Think You Are,’ ‘Liquid Courage,’ and ‘Pitiful but Brave.’
“Hey, it’s disco, not golf!’’
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