With no ice, event is cancelled for first time in 21 years
How mild has this winter been?
Mild enough to cancel a Pocono Mountain winter tradition, the 21st Ice-Tee golf tournament. Held annually on frozen Lake Wallenpaupack, the event draws hundreds of golfers the Sunday (bye week) before the Super Bowl.
This year it was rescheduled for Feb. 26 with the hope that colder temperatures would arrive. But early this month, it was cancelled. Eight inches of ice are required. Last year’s event, which drew a record 352 players, was contested on 18 inches of ice. This year, the lake never froze over.
In lieu of the tournament, Ehrhardt’s Waterfront Restaurant, which overlooks the lake and hosts the Ice-Tee, will have a wing and chili cook-off on March 4.
The good news for Pocono Golf is that the season will get underway earlier this year, allowing players to use their 2012 Golf-A-Round Card. The card costs $40 and allows golfers to play two rounds each with cart on all eight of the participating Poconos courses for just $25. Here are some of the best:
Shawnee Inn – Historic 27-hole course, with the original 18 designed by A.W. Tillinghast, hosted the 1938 PGA. It is one of the most unique golf settings in the east, with 23 holes set on an island in the Delaware River and two dramatic par-threes playing over the river, one to the island and one from it. Course is flat, with mountains looming in every direction.
Mount Airy – This beautifully-conditioned tribute course, carved into the side of a mountain, has 18 replica holes from classics such as Pebble Beach, Seminole, Oakmont, Augusta, and Prairie Dunes. Construction on a new clubhouse is underway and with a modern casino on the property, this is the place for gambling golfers.
Buck Hill Falls – In a remote, wooded setting, this 27-holer, with two Donald Ross nines, has an old-country feel. Short, tree-lined, shot-makers course, with plenty of elevation change.
Pocono Manor – The shorter East Course, designed by Donald Ross, dates to 1927 and has retained its old-school charm with blind shots, grass bunkers, elevation change and tiny, flat greens. The longer West Course, designed by Tom Fazio, is on flatter land and is a more straight-forward challenge.
Other participating courses are Woodloch Springs, Hideaway Hills, Fernwood, Split Rock, and its neighboring course, Jack Frost National, the newest 18 in the Poconos, opened in 2007.
