NoC Sports Desk
Athletes gather for Ice Bowl picture.
It isn’t often disc golfers get the chance to don short sleeves in the middle of February in Kentucky. Especially considering how much snow and cold blanketed the state for much of this winter. Yet this year’s 70 participants of the WCCPR Frozen Iron Ice Bowl II at Ironworks Hills in Winchester did just that, playing in some of the warmest weather on record for an ice bowl.
“The weather was incredible,” said Lewis Willian. “Our first ice bowl that many of the veteran players have ever seen where the most important accessory was sunscreen.”
And Willian would know. He’s long been an active member of the Bluegrass Disc Golf Association (BDGA) and has seen his fair share of ice bowls. Last year five inches of snow carpeted the Winchester area and nearly buried the 36-hole event. This year it was in the 60s.
Such rare warmth allowed the BDGA to get the most out of the charitable occasion.
“We raised over $600 and 401 pounds of canned goods for the Clark County Community Food Bank,” said Willian.
Most of the monies raised came from entrance fees ranging from $20 for recreational players to $50 for the pro division. The rest resulted from the raffling of an INNOVA travel basket provided by the BDGA. Greg Hall of Winchester cashed in his ticket and took home the prize.
Hall wasn’t the only golfer to get more than he’d wished for from the day’s events. Allen Johansen of Cincinnati netted his own basket in the form of an ace on hole #1 in the morning round. It was arguably the shot of the round considering the hole plays 235 feet uphill. And if acing a tough hole wasn’t prize enough, Johansen pocketed nearly $100 for the superb shot.
Not everyone on the day shared Johansen’s exhilaration. Many had the opposite luck, especially when it came to hole #7.
“It’s a tough hole with an island green and out of bounds on all four sides,” said Willian. “I heard tales of people scoring 11s and 12s on that one. One player had an 8 on my card. I was very happy to get just past with a 3 and a 4 on the day.”
When the golfers weren’t scrambling for par or earning the occasional bird they bellied up for some fine food in the form of an “Italian feast.” It’s just one of the many perks that come with a BDGA event. Others include T-shirts and tons of disc golf swag. Most everyone who attended left with something on the day.
Up next for the BDGA is an Adoption Benefit on March 19. The non-sanctioned, non-payout tourney is set up to help a couple from Harrodsburg.
“One of our players and his wife are adopting twins from Africa,” said Willian. “The Camp Calvary event was set up to help them out, with all the money raised going to their cause.”
If you would like to learn more about the adoption, offer a donation or ever wondered about getting started with some disc golf play of your own, visit www.bdga.org. For the complete results from the WCCPR event visit ww.pdga.com.
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