Scott's Heroes 10th Annual PBR Open

Who are we?

The Scott's Heroes PBR Open is an annual summer golf tournament comprised of a close-knit group of high school and college friends. The tournament's ultimate mission is to raise money and awareness for Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS) through the ALS Association of Arizona, in remembrance of Scott Prosch. The 2022 tournament will be held at Elephant Rocks Golf Course in Williams, Arizona over Memorial Day weekend. The nine previous tournaments have been held at Prescott Country Club (2012), Rio Salado Golf Course (2013), Payson Golf Course (2014), Continental Country Club in Flagstaff (2015), Elephant Rocks Golf Course (2016/2017), Bison Golf Club (2018),  Continental Country Club in Flagstaff (2019), and Riverwalk Golf Club in San Diego CA (2021).

What is ALS?

ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. A-myo-trophic comes from the Greek language. "A" means no. "Myo" refers to muscle, and "Trophic" means nourishment – "No muscle nourishment." When a muscle has no nourishment, it "atrophies" or wastes away. "Lateral" identifies the areas in a person's spinal cord where portions of the nerve cells that signal and control the muscles are located. As this area degenerates it leads to scarring or hardening ("sclerosis") in the region.

Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their demise. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, people may lose the ability to speak, eat, move and breathe. The motor nerves that are affected when you have ALS are the motor neurons that provide voluntary movements and muscle control. Examples of voluntary movements are making the effort to reach for a smart phone or step off a curb. These actions are controlled by the muscles in the arms and legs. The life expectancy of an individual diagnosed with this terrible disease averages between two and five years.

ALS usually strikes people between the ages of 40 and 70, and approximately 20,000 Americans can have the disease at any given time (although this number fluctuates). For unknown reasons, military veterans are approximately twice as likely to be diagnosed with the disease than the general public. Notable individuals who have been diagnosed with ALS include baseball great Lou Gehrig, Hall of Fame pitcher Jim "Catfish" Hunter, Toto bassist Mike Porcaro, Senator Jacob Javits, actor David Niven, “Sesame Street” creator Jon Stone, boxing champion Ezzard Charles, NBA Hall of Fame basketball player George Yardley, golf caddie Bruce Edwards, , musician Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter), photographer Eddie Adams, entertainer Dennis Day, jazz musician Charles Mingus, former vice president of the United States Henry A. Wallace, U.S. Army General Maxwell Taylor, and NFL football players Steve Gleason, O.J. Brigance and Tim Shaw.