By Troy Lyle
Slick roads, bitter cold and nearly five inches of snow were not enough to thwart 37 disc golfers from braving the elements to participate in the inaugural WCCPR Frozen Iron Ice Bowl. The 36 hole tournament, held at Ironhills Park in Winchester on January 30, was the first Bluegrass Disc Golf Association (BDGA) event of 2010 to be sanctioned by the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) of America.
Sanctioned events must be approved by the PDGA, have divisions based on skill levels and require meeting certain PDGA standards, said Lewis Willian, longtime BDGA member and WCCPR event organizer. In addition, a sanctioning fee is required, as well as specific payouts in terms of prizes.
In the case of the WCCPR tournament, the first of three sanctioned events scheduled in Winchester, the PDGA fees were waived because the vast majority of the tournament’s proceeds went to charity, he said. “We managed to raise $425 and 226 lbs. of canned goods for Clark County Community Services.”
Of the $425 collected, most was based on entrance fees: $15 for the novice, $20 for recreational, $25 for intermediate and $30 for advanced divisions. In addition, money was raised from fees collected for entering the ace pool ($3), buying raffle tickets ($1 each), making donations and or purchasing a BDGA lunch ($6), which consisted of fried chicken, baked beans and potato salad.
Willian said considering most of the tournament’s entrants drove to Winchester to participate, and taking into account many of the roads were still covered by snow early that Saturday, he was pleased by the final turnout.
“We had 57 golfers pre-registered,“ he said. “And 37 showed up. That’s not bad considering the conditions.”
Beyond the excitement of playing disc golf in the snow, there were several other perks for many of the tournament’s participants. The first 35 entrants to arrive received players packs consisting of a custom-stamped Innova disc and a mini-disc marker (similar to a marker used in professional golf). A raffle, comprised of two CFR, two Star, one Champion, two Pro/R-Pro and two DX discs, plus an Innova starter bag ($135 value), was also offered and won by Jack Hilliard.
Willian said Hilliard couldn’t make the tournament, but left instructions for the prize to be auctioned off, raising another $70 for charity. There were also five closest to the pin winners who each received a T-shirt, golf towel and tye-dyed custom disc. No one won the ace pool by scoring a hole in one in tournament play, resulting in a throw off in which Tracy Bottom won $33.
It’s a good thing the BDGA were giving away so many discs that Saturday because many golfers lost theirs in the snow. And lost discs weren’t the only result of the extreme conditions, said Willian. “The average score per round was 10 strokes higher than those posted in the Turkey Trot tournament held this past November.”
Division winners:
- Advanced, James McCormick, +7
- Intermediate, Matt Dodson, +14
- Recreational, Bryan Gort, +21
- Novice, Charlie Cavalier, +23
- Junior (u-19), Daniel Baumgardner, +37
Willian considered the Frozen Iron Ice Bowl as a whole a success, and in more ways than fun and charitable donations. “Some 83 discs were donated for the after-school program I’ll be starting in Clark County in March,” he said. “The program’s aim it to get kids (grades 2-5) excited and interested in playing disc golf, and maybe even have several compete in the Kentucky Junior’s Tournament (scheduled for late April) if they so choose.”
Up next for the BDGA is the ninth annual Lexington Ice Bowl scheduled for February 20 at Veterans and Shillito Parks. “As many as 90 golfers can participate,” said Drew Smith, BDGA president and event organizer. “We already have 40 pre-registered. But there’s still two weeks left before the tournament. Hopefully by then there will be a full turnout,” he said.
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