PHILADELPHIA – It was in August 2013 when Flyers captain Claude Giroux says he went golfing and one of his clubs shattered, splintering into his right index finger.

Giroux wound up undergoing surgery, then needed six weeks to recover, and it led into a terrible start for himself and the 2013-14 Flyers.

Head coach Peter Laviolette lost job after the Flyers lost their first three games, then the team dropped four of its first five under replacement Craig Berube for a franchise-worst 1-7 start.

Meantime, Giroux went scoreless over his first 15 games, managing just seven assists during the stretch, poor numbers for one of the most gifted offensive players in the league.

The Flyers ended up salvaging their season by earning a playoff spot, and Giroux was the catalyst with an 86-point campaign that left him finished third in the NHL in scoring and helped him become one of three Hart Trophy finalists as league MVP.

This summer, Giroux has spent some of his down time working on his golf game, and on Sept. 18 he'll be an honorary co-chair for the fourth annual Flyers Celebrity Golf Invitational.

Flyers chairman Ed Snider will donate $2 for every dollar earned in team's annual charity golf outing. All money goes to the Snider Youth Hockey Foundation.

The charity event, which will be played Sept. 16 at Trump National Golf Club in Pine Hill, is expected to raise more than $1.5 million for the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation.

More than $500,000 is expected to come in from sponsorship and another $1 million from Snider, the Flyers' founder and chairman who will donate $2 for every dollar raised through sponsorship.

“How they do it and how successful this golf tournament is actually is pretty impressive,” said Giroux, who couldn’t participate in last summer’s golf outing due to his injury.

Every player on the Flyers current roster will golf in a foursome in this year's invitational, even defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who was cleared to participate despite still being sidelined from hockey activities indefinitely due to blood clots recently being found in his lungs and leg.

So who's the Flyers' best golfer?

I think Matt Read,” Giroux said. “That’s all he does is play golf, so that doesn’t count. Brayden Schenn’s pretty good. And Scott Hartnell … ah, he’s traded.”

Yeah, Hartnell’s been traded. Giroux also singled out Timonen's golf game as one of the best on the team.

Giroux? He says he has an "up and down" game with a handicap that jumps between eight and 12.

“I think I could be a top five (on the team),” he said.

Randy Miller may be reached at ramiller@nj.com. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com Philadelphia Sports on Facebook.