Golf can be an emotional, oftentimes temperamental game. Mixing in even a small amount of Covid fear could produce a toxic brew. But at the 10th annual Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard Golf Classic at the Mink Meadows Golf Club on a gloriously bright late summer day, the pandemic took a back seat to pleasure.

One hundred golfers, split into morning and afternoon groups by the state 50-person-limit rules, took to the competition with gusto after a six-month siege of a coronavirus that for many was beginning to wear thin.

All competitors were required to wear masks for any interplay with hospice volunteers selling raffle tickets or serving food and beverages, but most played mask-free and tucked fear deep into their golf bags.

There was one fairly chaotic scene when the two groups threatened to become one. While the afternoon group ate a socially-distanced lunch in front of the clubhouse, the morning group was finishing its round and required to sequester itself 100 yards away up on the practice tee. But golfers like to fraternize, so this temporary truce, as friend spotted friend in the other group, was increasingly in danger of falling apart.

That’s when seven high school student volunteers jumped into action, shuttling the incoming golf carts to the detox area where they had to be washed down and totally sanitized before they could be taken out on the golf course again. Back and forth they went in a dizzying pattern and in 20 minutes, 30 golf carts became ready for action. The afternoon group disappeared onto the course, the morning group came down for lunch and a potentially precarious situation was averted by a group of youngsters, who gave their time on a Sunday morning to help a charity raise some money.

It’s just a small sample of how Islanders have pitched in to keep others safe in this strange time of Covid. These high schoolers sought no publicity, but here are their names anyway: Pete Gillis, Zach Smith, Trent Bilodeau, Micah Vought, Nate Porterfield, Zach Ward and Dylan Burke.

In addition, a record number of 35 Island businesses and patrons bought $500 tee signs that were scattered all over the golf course. It was just another indication of how seriously Islanders take their charitable giving, perhaps the main reason Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard is able to remain one of the three “free” hospices in America.

Oh, and those teenagers, they were just awesome.

Bud Lamoreaux lives in Edgartown and has organized the Hospice golf tournament for the past 10 years.