It’s a sad day. Co-“Third and 48” editor Ryan Benharris had to sit this one out…actually he was suspended. And it’s for the reason that he had to attend an intramural meeting for a “real” sport. Basketball. Ugh.
Maybe, just maybe, if he turns his act around and downs a gallon of whole milk in one hour, we just might let him back in the groove.
And remember, if you think you can inhale that much moo juice in the allotted amount of time, drop us an email at [email protected].
Ice Golf
Uummannaq you.
When was the last time you were forced to take an unplayable because you were too afraid to approach your golf ball, which was sitting a mere three feet from the enormous paws of an Arctic polar bear?
Providence College sophomore and Ice Golf amateur Randy Ingham posed the following question: “Does Tiger Woods worry about being attacked by a flying squirrel? C’mon. You just have to put it out of your mind and take it one hole at a time.”
Well, polar bear fear isn’t a typical links scenario – but it’s not entirely a stretch of the sporting imagination.
Icepacks and icebergs mixed with snow bunkers and frozen fairways will headline the World Ice Golf Championships that will be held on April 7-8, 2001 on the sea-ice of Uummannaq (pronunciation was unavailable at press time) in Greenland, approximately 360 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
The championship is open to anybody with a handicap below 36. Sorry, Mom.
A huge plus is that before and after this historic championship, there will be organized trips to explore the mesmerizing landscape surrounding the city, where dogsledding and ice fishing are still an everyday part of the local verve. For more information, contact a local.
Mush, mush, mush…
“The sun shines, and sitting on the hotel balcony in Uummannaq, looking at the most amazing golf course in the world, makes you wonder if it is all real,” Scottish photographer Fraser Ballantyne said. “But real it is, and if you are a golfer and are looking for the ultimate game, Ice Golf in Greenland is something not to be missed.”
Last year, the winner was 32-year-old Annika ,stberg of Denmark. A solidified traditional Danish golf champion, ,stberg finished the 2000 tourney with a four round total of 154 strokes, seven ahead of Peter Masters, former defending world champion. It is rumored that after the loss, Masters cried, but the tears froze to her face.
“It was harder than I thought [it would be] to play,” ,stberg said. “But after the early rounds I got used to the course. The ice packs and icebergs are tricky obstacles. Luck and chance play a part, but ice golf is actually pretty close to traditional golf. I am thrilled to be the best in the world at ice golf. But it’s really the experience itself that is so compelling. The icebergs, the fjord, the mountains and the light. It’s indescribable.”
Each year, Mother Nature and Father Ocean create a brand new course in January and February. The motion of the water shortly before the annual freeze tells the tale of the mystifying architecture.
We here in “Third and 48” land find it unjust that Mother Nature was dubbed from the all-time golf-course architects list, found in a magazine on the coffee table in the Uummannaq Clubhouse.