Ice Breaker Indeed!
Posted: 1/18/2011 7:06:49 PM
On January 15th over 100 golfers, representing 14 different tours, descended on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina to officially start the 2011 GolfWeek Amateur Tour at the Ice Breaker Open. Playing host to this two-day tournament was the Palmetto Dunes Golf Resort on Hilton Head Island. Day one of the event was held on the George Fazio course while day two took place at the Robert Trent Jones course. With the weather outlook calling for low to mid 50’s, mixed with wind, on the weekend, the anticipation and excitement started setting in for many of the golfers early in the week. One dedicated player, Zavier Neeley (Columbus Tour), drove all the way through the night on Friday night to Saturday morning from Columbus, Ohio just to play in the first tournament of the season. Many other golfers arrived earlier in the week to get a few practice rounds in before the tournament. Needless to say, this had the making to be a great weekend of golf and camaraderie amongst the many golfers on the GolfWeek Amateur Tour. The Ice Breaker Open. What a perfect name for this particular event and especially for this weekend. The official start for the shotgun tournament was 10 o’clock each morning. However, each day was delayed for an hour to give the sun a chance to, break the ice. I guess we can’t complain too much about the waiting. After all, it is January and we are playing golf right? Golfers began showing up to the course two hours early to check-in, with hopes to get warmed up and ready to go. Once the delay was announced you could feel the anxiety build even more throughout the crowd. Now players would have to wait one more hour before they could get out on the course and begin their quest for that first win of the season. With that interesting beginning to our day and the tournament, many funny stories were told after the round was over. In a scene right out of Happy Gilmore, one golfer actually landed a ball on a foot; his own foot. Standing in a greenside bunker, Thomas Lee (East Tennessee Tour) took a healthy swing to flop his ball onto the green. After his swing he stood completely still. Wondering what happened, his fellow golfers asked him what was wrong. All Lee could say in between laughs was, “What happens if the ball is on my foot?” Thoughts of Shooter McGavin from the movie Happy Gilmore raced into everyone’s head followed by some good laughs. Another shot that drew the attention of some golfers came off the club of Ryan Thompson (Hilton Head-Savannah Tour). Positioned just 50 yards off the green, Thompson stepped behind his golf ball and surveyed his shot. Thompson had to fly his ball over a bunker and land it soft to a short-sided pin. What happened next was a something that was talked about and laughed about for the rest of the weekend. Taking a nice smooth swing, Thompson sent the ball flying with his sand wedge; only to have the ball come up just short into the bunker and disappear. Yes disappear. The golfers spent a few minutes trying to find the ball in the bunker just to discover that it had actually buried itself in the side of the bunker about three inches deep. Along with the funny stories and great play on the weekend, one of the most exciting parts of the GolfWeek Amateur Tour is the camaraderie we all share. This weekend was not only about the golf tournament and the competition amongst everyone; it was about building friendships, meeting new people and having a good time with friends and family. Over the weekend, numerous players got together to play practice rounds with other. Every night big groups meet up at different restaurants and had dinner. Many of the players brought their spouse with them for the weekend getaway, making dinners even better. On Saturday night, players meet at the XO Lounge for the Pairings Party. Laughs, stories and ideas we all shared. Friendships were made and good times were had by all. This is one of the many things that makes the GolfWeek Amateur Tour so much fun; the camaraderie. Even with all of the funny stories and mishaps on the course, the tournament was a huge success. As mentioned, the tournament hosted over 100 golfers from 14 different tours, a total of over $7500 was given out in prize money and everyone learned what the tour is all about. In addition to the flight skins pot and the closest to the pin pot, something new that was started up this year was the Super Skin pot. This was a pot that consisted of every golfer in the tournament playing for skins. A championship flight player could have a skin cut by a D flight player, which happened on numerous occasions. It is a great pot to get into. Why? Just ask Frank Whitaker (NE Georgia Tour). Frank put in his $20 for the Super Skin pot and walked away with $360 for winning two Super Skins. When asked what the best shot of the day for him was, he smiled and said “I guess that 3-iron out of the woods around a tree to four feet paid off.” Yes Frank it sure did. As you can tell the tournament was a blast, but that wasn’t the end of the fireworks. The Championship flight (0-3.9 index) winners felt the need to play more than 36 holes of golf to decide a winner. Adam Dozier (Hilton Head-Savannah Tour), Richard Gaines (Jacksonville Tour) and Dennis Adkins(Myrtle Beach Tour) needed extra holes to decide who was taking home 900 points, the first place trophy and the $180 first place prize money. After a few birdies and a couple intense holes, Adam Dozier was able to hold on and claim the win. Gaines comes in second while Adkins takes home third place. Even though the A flight (4.0-8.9 index) did not have a playoff to crown its champion, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t intense. Andre Emery (Upstate Tour) battled the solid play of Randall Webb (Hilton Head-Savannah Tour) and Mike Peters (Hilton Head-Savannah Tour) for two straight days to secure the victory. Emery fired a 76-75=151 to claim the three shot victory over Webb (76-78=154) and a seven shot win over Peters (82-76-158). Not only was this Emery’s first win, it was his first tournament with the GolfWeek Amateur Tour. Congratulations Andre on the great win, the 900 points and the $520 first place prize money! The B flight (9.0-13.9 index) was the biggest flight over the weekend consisting of 28 players. Chris Franklin (Upstate Tour) played a solid two days of golf to claim the top spot in his flight. Franklin was the B flight season long champion last year for the Upstate tour. Obviously, he is picking up right where he left off from last year. Franklin fired rounds of 81-83 to secure the four shot win over Denny Miller (Charleston Tour) and the six shot win over Mark Morris (Hilton Head-Savannah Tour). Andrew Dart (Hilton Head-Savannah Tour) improved his score by eight strokes to hoist the first place trophy in the C flight (14.0-18.9 index). Dart went 88-80=168 to claim the seven shot victory over fellow Hilton Head-Savannah tour member Todd Saylor (83-92=175). Coming in third in the C flight was Matthew Crates (Charlotte Tour) who went 88-89=177. The final flight on the tour is the D flight (19.0 and above index). David Bruce (Columbia Tour) was the D flight season long champion for the Columbia Tour last year. Now he is the 2011 Ice Breaker Open Champion. Bruce put together rounds of 89-84=173 to secure the win. KC Andrews (Hilton Head-Savannah Tour), who is a new comer to the tour, comes in second with rounds of 86-97=183. Rounding out the top three was Andy Peterson (Jacksonville Tour) with rounds of 84-100=184. Congratulations to everyone who played and won over the weekend. I cannot think of a better start to the 2011 GolfWeek Amateur Tour season. I would like to thank and welcome all the new tour members, the new tours and new tour directors that made the Ice Breaker Open their first event of the season. Let’s all continue to have a great 2011 season. As always, please remember that not only does the tour host golf tournaments and build friendships; we also raise money for cancer research. Many tours combined last year to raise over $16,000 to donate to Stand Up To Cancer. Let’s strive to better that number this year. By: Keith Weaver

Tour News Archive...


12-18-07: Charleston Tour Ends 2007 Season

12-28-07: CHARLESTON TOUR FINISHES 2007 AT KIAWAH ISLAND

02-10-08: Matt Metz Fires a 31 on Back Nine To Secure Victory!

02-29-08: Turtle Point Course Created A Challenge For All Flights

03-15-08: Cowboy Breaks Thru With First Win In 2008!

04-14-08: 2008 Low Country Masters Huge Success!

04-30-08: Mark Ducker Captures First Win Of 2008!

07-03-08: First Annual EGOLF Southern Major Was A Huge Success!

09-22-08: egolf Amateur Tour National Championship Brings Record Field to Hilton Head, Oct. 25-26

09-22-08: egolf Amateur Tour National Championship Brings Record Field to Hilton Head, Oct. 25-26

09-28-08: 2008 Charleston Tour Ends Season at Charleston National!

01-02-09: 2009 Charleston Egolf Amateur Tour

01-06-09: Roger Mitterling

01-20-09: Kane, McNamara, Tobias, Turner & Miller claim first victories of 2009!

02-02-09: Rivertowne Provides A Tought Test For Players!

02-24-09: Lizzarga cards 83 in Wild Dunes Victory

03-10-09: Rob Simmons Fires A 69 To Capture Low Country Masters!

03-25-09: Congratulations To All The Winners At Crowfield Plantation!

04-06-09: Edisto Plantation Results

04-27-09: 2009 Low Country US Open Results!

05-13-09: Legend Oaks Tournament Results

05-29-09: Charleston National Tournament Results!

06-09-09: Santee National Tournament Results

06-23-09: 2009 Southern Regional Tournament Results!

08-04-09: Links at Stono Ferry Results (2009 PGA Champ)

09-08-09: Dunes West Tournament Results!

09-21-09: Shadowmoss Tournament Results!

10-11-09: 2009 Comes To An End At Wescott Plantation!

12-16-09: 2010 Charleston Tour Kicks Off January 24 at Coosaw Creek!

01-17-10: Charlotte/Pinehurst Team Takes Home The Mitterling Cup!

01-26-10: Charleston Tour Opens With A Bang At Coosaw Creek!

02-08-10: Wild Day at Wild Dunes!

12-17-10: Goodbye 2010!

01-18-11: Ice Breaker Indeed!

02-01-11: Great Course + Great Weather = Good Scores!

02-14-11: Sunny Day Plus Great Course Equals Great Scores!

03-01-11: Tour Conquers Coosaw Creek!

03-14-11: Penny Branch; Easy or Hard?

03-27-11: Playoffs and Send-Offs At Berkeley!

04-17-11: Blown Away At Crowfield!

05-01-11: Island West Yields Low Scores

06-28-11: Santee Turns Into A Long Drive!

07-19-11: Playoffs Are The Norm At Charleston National!

07-31-11: High Temperatures Leads to Low Scores at Lake Marion

08-16-11: Legend Oaks Provides Test For Players!

09-18-11: Charleston & Hilton Head-Savannah Tours Try To Conquer Stono Ferry!

01-17-12: The 2012 Season Is Off To A Great Start!

02-05-12: Beautiful Weather and Great Play At Links at Stono Ferry!

02-20-12: Weather Shows It's Teeth at Wild Dunes!

03-19-12: We Finally Got It In!

04-04-12: Crowfield= Tough Test!

04-17-12: Slick Greens Make Hillcrest A Challenge

04-29-12: Tight Lies & Tought Greens At Pine Forest CC

05-06-12: Excitement At Coosaw!

05-13-12: Charleston Tour Takes On Shadowmoss!

06-07-12: Charleston Tour Tackles Santee!

06-18-12: Stone Mountain GC Provides Strong Test For Southern Regional

07-03-12: Heat Takes Its Toll At Legend Oaks

07-16-12: Great Day at Charleston National!

07-28-12: The Course That Fought Back.

08-19-12: Savannah Harbor, Wow.

09-12-12: LAKE MARION PROVES A TOUGH TEST

09-30-12: Berkeley decides it!

01-30-13: 2013 Icebreaker Tournament Recap

02-11-13: And The 2013 Season Begins!

03-11-13: Coosaw Creek Puts Up A Fight

04-08-13: Charleston & Augusta Tours Team Up In Penny Branch!

04-22-13: Charleston & Columbia Tours Invade Hillcrest GC

05-13-13: An Ace Of A Time At Shadowmoss

06-03-13: Big Field At Houndslake!

06-17-13: Legend Oaks Recap

07-02-13: Successful Southern Regional Tournament!

07-22-13: Low Scores Rule The Day

08-28-13: True Blue Combo= Success

09-15-13: Shhot-Out At Berkeley!

09-30-13: 2013 Season Ends At Legend Oaks

02-09-14: Season Kicks Off At Osprey Point

02-19-14: Wild Day At Wild Dunes

03-04-14: Combo at Stono Ferry!

03-16-14: Coosaw Creek Gives Low Scores!

03-30-14: Lake Marion Was A Blast

04-13-14: Crowfield Provides Hard Test!

04-29-14: Orangeburg CC = Best Course We Have Played!

05-12-14: Shadowmoss Tournament Recap

06-02-14: Seabrook Hosts Golfweek Tour For The First Time!

06-16-14: Dunes West Provides Excitement

07-15-14: Patriot's Point Provides Tour A Challenge

08-11-14: Rivertowne Combo

08-24-14: Three Tours Invade True Blue!

09-16-14: Legends at Legend Oaks

09-30-14: Santee National Ends Year With A Bang!

01-19-15: 2015 Icebreaker Recap

02-10-15: 2015 War By The Shore Recap!

02-24-15: Wild Dunes Shootout!

03-11-15: Links at Stono Ferry Recap:

04-15-15: Legend Oaks Battle

04-27-15: Battle of I-26

05-11-15: Shadowmoss Invasion!

05-31-15: Seabrook (Crooked Oaks) Recap

06-14-15: Pine Forest Tournament Recap

07-29-15: Combo at Seabrook (Ocean Winds)

08-10-15: Rivertowne Battle

09-01-15: TPC Combo

09-13-15: Tour Ends Season With A Bang!

12-01-15: Charleston Takes Battle Of I26 II

01-20-16: 2016 Golfweek Four Ball Championship

01-21-16: Ice breaker Kicks off 2016

03-01-16: True Blue Caledonia Wrap

03-02-16: Players signed up for Edisto

03-06-16: Ediston Island

03-06-16: Plantation Course @ Edisto

03-21-16: The Links @ Stono Ferry

04-05-16: The Masters at Legend Oaks

04-17-16: Crowfield Plantation

05-01-16: Berkeley Country Club

05-16-16: Seabrook Crooked Oaks

06-13-16: Santee national

06-26-16: Charleston National Turns Up The Heat

07-28-16: BATTLE OF I26 CONTINUES

08-16-16: Battle Of HWY 17 @ Rivertowne Country Club

09-11-16: Ocean Winds

09-28-16: LOCAL FINALS AND SEASON POINT CHAMPS

02-06-17: Wind Swept Wild Dunes!

03-07-17: Breezy Edisto proves Challenging

03-19-17: Wind continues at Oak Point

04-09-17: Orangeburg Masters

04-24-17: Legend Oaks: Battle of Summerville

04-24-17: Battle of Summerville: Legend Oaks Plantation

06-05-17: Crooked Oaks, Seabrook Island

06-19-17: Battle of Summerville II

07-09-17: Santee Shindig

08-06-17: Ocean Winds Lives up to her name!

08-22-17: Kauble Rains!

10-01-17: Stono Ferry Wraps Up The Year

02-01-18:

02-04-18: Winter Freezer at the Harbor Course

02-22-18: Charleston Runs roughshod at the Pawleys Invitational

03-06-18: March Madness....the beginning!

03-30-18: Oak Point

04-08-18: Orangeburg Master's

04-23-18: Crowfield Social

05-15-18: I26 COMBO

05-21-18: Seabrook Soriee

06-17-18: Charleston Takes on Shadow Moss

06-28-18: Santte Cooper Country Club

07-08-18: Summer Breezer

08-08-18: Charleston National

08-20-18: I17 Combo @ Rivertowne

09-26-18: Local Finals Wraps up the Year

12-24-18: 2019

02-07-19: Charleston Kicks Off the Local Schedule

02-20-19: Pawley's Invitational

03-04-19: Crowfield Spring Social

03-20-19: Oak Point

04-17-19: Golf Week Masters

05-07-19: Monday Madness

05-19-19: Seabrook Soriee

06-09-19: The Links at Stono Ferry

07-09-19: Lake Marion

09-04-19: Edisto Shootout

09-08-19: Dorian Classic (One and Only)

10-01-19: Season Final Wraps Up

01-27-20: REGISTER HERE

01-31-20: Pairings for the Harobor Course Feb 1st

02-01-20: Golfweek Four Ball

02-03-20: WINTER FREEZER LIVES UP TO ITS NAME AGAIN!

03-02-20: Challenging Seabrook Soriee

03-09-20: KIAWAH UP NEXT KIAWAH'S OAK POINTE

03-24-20: Kiawah Klash

05-15-20: Legend Oaks Sat Pairings

05-18-20: Summerville Shoot-Out

05-28-20: Lake Marion Pairings

05-31-20: Battle By The Lake

06-10-20: Stono Ferry

06-21-20: Wyboo Players Course

08-02-20: Wyboo Summer Mixer

08-09-20: Battle Of I26

09-13-20: Fall Festival @ Crowfiled Plantation

10-01-20: Charleston Finals

11-27-20: PAWLEY'S INVITATIONAL--REGISTER NOW

01-25-21: Winter Freezer Kicks of a Promising Year

02-12-21: PAWLEYS ISLAND CHAMPIONS

03-01-21: Mount Pleasant Shoot Out

03-14-21: Kiawah Klassic

03-29-21: Loggerhead Open

04-11-21: Orangeburg Masters

05-12-21: Monday madness!!!

07-15-21: CAROLINA MATCH PLAY

07-27-21: LAKE LURE INFO

08-05-21: LAKE LURE RUMBLING BALD STAMPEDE

09-20-21: Season Ender At Crowfield

01-26-22: Winter Classic

02-27-22: Rivertowne

03-14-22: Edisto Plantation

04-10-22: Orangeburg Masters

04-24-22: Tube Street Boogie!!

05-04-22: Monday Madness

05-15-22: Summerville open @ Legend Oaks

05-29-22: Semper FI Open!!

06-07-22: Wyboo Players!!

07-04-22: Stars and Stripes Open

08-21-22: Wyboo Golf Club

10-22-22: Season's over.....Damn it went fast

03-19-23: JOHNS ISLAND SOCIAL!!

05-19-23: TUESDAY'S WILD----FOR SURE!

05-29-23: Paris Island Turns into Carnoustie

07-04-23: Santee Jamboree Turns in the Battlefield!!

08-20-23: Wyboo Throw Down just threw Down

10-02-23: Season Ender @ Orangeburg

01-24-24: Winter Freezer----Yes it was!!

02-23-24: Rivertowne!! Great Course and Great Play!