On Saturday July 24^th, 44 golfers from 5 area ski clubs participated in the 5^th annual Ski Kounsel of Illinois (SKI) Golf Outing. Representing Champaign were Randy and Judy Haydel, John Gentry, Tony and Deb (first time golfer) Curcio, Ralph and Eileen Jurutka, Bob Morris and as a last minute fill-in, Ted Jeurissen. The format was best ball, thank goodness so that beginner, intermediate and experienced golfers could play together and contribute to their team score. Each foursome was determined by ability and no more than 2 ski club members from the same club. The cost was $29 with a gas cart, but if you walked the course it was only $20! All in all it was a pretty cheap day of golf.

The weather started out beautiful. The wind had a slight breeze and the sky was mostly sunny for most of the day. However towards the end of the day the sky got dark, the wind picked up and rain started to fall. The course rangers sounded the sirens to alert golfers to take cover. Some groups answered the call and 1 or 2 groups continued in a light rain. All in all, there were 3 foursomes that had their day cut short by a hole or two.

Highland Park Golf Course is relatively short in length, but presented many challenges due to the narrow fairways created by its mature trees and elevated greens creating many uphill shots. The course was in great shape in spite of several days of dry, hot weather.

After golf, the group met at The Gill Street Inn in Bloomington. There were several prizes given away for men’s and women’s longest drive, closest to the pin and longest putt. Fortunately for most people, there were luck (door) prizes given away by SKI.

The annual event is used as an opportunity to introduce ski club members to members of other SKI clubs and to promote the 2011 SKI winter trip to beautiful Lake Tahoe. The trip includes: round trip airfare, 7 nights lodging at the Embassy Suites (walking distance to the lifts at Heavenly) with breakfast and nightly happy hours, 5 days of lift tickets including Heavenly and Kirkwood and TBD, and bus transfers. Final details, including price are still being worked out, but our goal is to keep the cost of the trip at less than $1350.

Special thanks go out to Bloomington/Normal Ski Club member Joanna Dill, who organized the SKI event. See you next year!