The Lanto Charity Classic Returns to Ballyhack Golf Club
As a PGA Tour champion, Dormie Network ambassador Lanto Griffin has steadily built a loyal fanbase in the world of professional golf.
Many of those following his career are familiar with Lanto’s background: He was born in California and grew up in southwest Virginia, where his father, Michael, owned a health-food store and his mother, Julie, was a gardener.
His parents gave him his first set of golf clubs when he was 8 years old, yet the next few years were difficult and painful for Lanto. He watched his father, suffering from a brain tumor, slowly deteriorate.
Lanto sought solace in the game of golf, walking a mile to a 9-hole municipal course called “The Hill,” where he would spend hours practicing each day.
When Lanto’s father passed, Steve Prater, then the head golf professional at Blacksburg Country Club, took Lanto under his wing and granted the 12-year-old an honorary membership to the Club. Under Prater’s tutelage, Lanto’s game took off. He eventually competed collegiately for four years at Virginia Commonwealth University before turning professional.
Lanto’s run on the mini tours included a victory on PGA Tour Latinoamerica in 2015, followed by a pair of even bigger wins on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2017 and 2019. Lanto’s breakthrough victory at the 2019 Shell Houston Open secured his PGA Tour card for two years.
Away from the golf course, motivated by the people and life events that have gotten him where he is today, Lanto has also started gaining recognition for his philanthropic endeavors. At 34 years old, Lanto has been through more than most. Now, he wants to give back to the community that raised him.
In 2020, he spearheaded The Lanto Charity Trust, a planned-giving endowment established by the U.S. Charitable Gift Trust, a tax-exempt public charity. “The idea of starting a foundation and being able to give back started a long time ago,” Lanto says. “After winning Houston and having the platform, being one of the higher-ranked players in the world with a really nice following in my hometown, it was an absolute no-brainer for me.”
On July 31-August 1, Lanto helped host the second-annual Lanto Charity Classic at Ballyhack Golf Club in Roanoke, Virginia. Funds raised in the event will support The Lanto Griffin Foundation, a public foundation established in 2021. In turn, the foundation helps support two important causes that are particularly close to Lanto’s heart.
Through the experiences of his youth, Lanto learned first-hand how sports provide children with a healthy competitive outlet and the opportunities to grow, learn self-discipline, and the importance of following one’s dreams. For that reason, The Lanto Griffin Foundation provides support for disadvantaged youth in sports so they may excel in their goal of achieving college scholarships.
“I’m a strong believer that sports can change lives,” Lanto says. “Golf has changed my life. It’s hard to know where I would be if it wasn’t for Steve Prater. He gave me an opportunity to be in a safe spot while going through what I was going through. I could really focus all my attention and energy on golf.
“Through that, I started meeting some (club) members. I started playing in the men’s group as I got a little bit older. I met the right people who were gracious enough to help me travel to junior tournaments. There were so many people down at Blacksburg Country Club, and in Roanoke, from junior golf to amateur golf to college, who really supported me even when I turned pro.
“That’s really cool for me, because it feels like I have a whole village behind me. To make it on the tour and to win on tour, it validates their belief in me. I want to pay it forward. So those people that helped give me my start can see me doing what they did.
“I want to give kids who are in a similar situation to what I grew up in, and who want play sports the opportunity to financially do so. If they need lessons, if they need to go play travel soccer, travel basketball, whatever it may be to get the right coaching, I want to be able to help support kids do that. And hopefully give them an opportunity to earn a college scholarship through athletics.”
In addition, Lanto wants to assist families that are battling devastating or terminal illnesses and can’t afford to support their needs. Funds raised will assist them with treatment, transportation, and living expenses.
“The other half of the foundation is dedicated to providing funds for families that are battling terminal illnesses,” Lanto says. “I watched what my mom went through with four kids between the age of 12 and 18, and then losing my dad in a relatively short period of time. You don’t realize it when you’re a kid, but now that you’re an adult … I can only imagine having four kids and having that situation thrown on you.
“We had a lot of people support our family, whether it was meals, financially, hospital bills, and watching the kids so my mom could be in the hospital with my dad. We started a trust through Carilion Clinic in Roanoke to help take the financial burden off the shoulders of these families, and let them focus on what’s really important.
“Both of these causes are extremely important to me and, being able to raise money for them is quite an honor, to be honest.”
Lanto Charity Classic guests this year played a practice round on Sunday, July 31 at Ballyhack Golf Club and enjoyed the opening party that evening at Ballyhack. The event included a private concert featuring a magician and mind reader named Matthew Furman performing.
“Last year, Brantley Gilbert came and did about an hour show, and took pictures with everybody. I was blown away,” Lanto says. “The fact that he was willing to come and bring his whole team, his dad, his manager — everybody came and they enjoyed Ballyhack.
“Brantley is a member of Dormie Network, but he came and played golf for a couple of days and then did a show for us. Anytime you can see a big-time artist playing in front of a hundred people is pretty cool. I had never met him before. So that says a lot about him and his connection with Dormie Network.
“[In 2022,] we made a couple changes. We wanted this year to be a little bit bigger and hopefully better. We wanted to change it up for the people that came last year to have a different experience. We thought a magician would blow people’s minds while they’re sitting around having a cocktail.”
On Monday, August 1 the main event began with a clinic led by Australian golfing legends Ian Baker-Finch and Marc Leishman. Playing in the event is an entertainment opportunity for clients, business associates, or friends. “Everybody at Dormie Network has really embraced this and their whole staff has done an incredible job,” Lanto says.
The event included mouth-watering food and beverage and a premium gift swag bag for participants. Some of the higher-priced sponsorships offered the opportunity to select a PGA Tour professional to join your team. There were mobile grill stations on the course for lunch, followed by awards, chef-selected cocktails and light bites after play.
“We’ve got two chef-inspired stations. I know most people that have been to a Dormie Network course know that their chefs are incredible — just top notch,” Lanto says. “So, we’ve got some really good food there. Really good wine, really good bourbon, really good food, and some good live entertainment.”
“There are also gift bags from Titleist, Galvin Green, STITCH, Garrison Brothers. Everybody that comes and plays in our event will walk away with some really cool gifts. It’s always good to give back to charity and have a fun day, but it’s also cool to get something out of it at the end of the day.”
The inaugural Lanto Charity Classic last year exceeded all expectations and Lanto said he’s hopeful 2022 will be even bigger.
“We went about 100 percent over our goal last year,” he says. “We were hoping to raise around $75,000 net after all of our expenses. And we ended up bringing in around $150,000, which all went to charities. We were all shocked, we were hoping that the live auction would make $20,000-$25,000 off the items. And I think we did around $80,000. So that showed the amount of support in the area and people are willing to open their wallets for a good cause.”
One of the 2021 Lanto Charity Classic participants said the biggest attraction is the host himself, and the fact that Lanto is doing so much to give back to his community.
“I wish everyone could spend 10 minutes with Lanto,” said Todd Selkirk, after walking away with a custom SIK putter, some high-end gear from Titleist, Galvin Green golf clothes, Yeti tumblers and Garrison Brothers bourbon. “He would quickly become your favorite player on tour.”
NOTE: Lanto was not in attendance this year. The week before the event, he underwent a microdiscectomy to repair a ruptured disc in his lower back, and the recovery will keep him away from the PGA Tour for a minimum of five to six months. “This was a very hard decision with the FedExCup Playoffs a few weeks away,” Lanto wrote. “I’ve battled through a lot of flare-ups since January and living with intense nerve pain for the past two months without relief. Since John Deere I haven’t been able to swing a club period, so it made the decision an easy one.”
“My charity golf tournament is this week, and I’m disappointed to miss it,” he tweeted. “I’ll see you all there virtually 👊🏻🙏🏻”
Photos courtesy Lanto Griffin’s management team