This golf tournament is putting recycled Christmas trees to good use

A golf tournament in rural Pennsylvania is putting new meaning to “ice in their veins,” and they need your old Christmas trees to help them do it.

Next month, the community of Lake Wallenpaupack (located in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains) is throwing its 27th-annual Ice Tee golf tournament, according to a report by local news outlet WNEP.com But even as winter golf tournaments go, the Ice Tee is anything but normal. That’s because the tournament is played not on a course, but on the surface of the frozen lake.

The tournament is separated into two 9-hole courses on the lake, with holes carved into the ice—but here’s where they need your help. In order to outline the “fairways” and “greens” on the frozen course, the town is asking residents to donate their Christmas trees from the holiday season.

The trees are a perfect fit to help to keep balls in play on the lake, even adding a little bit of green to the frozen tundra. And, after the tournament ends, the town recycles the trees free of charge.

Participants are encouraged to bring their clubs to the lake on February 8th and will be given a floating, colored golf ball before their tee time (so long as the ice conditions on the lake are safe).

It’s no tropical paradise (like this week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions in Maui), but it’s a heck of an introduction for players looking to try their hand in cold-weather golf.  Greens fees are $20 if you purchase in advance and $25 on the day of the event. Just be sure keep your eyes out for spare Christmas ornaments, they could belong to your competitors!

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