The Greater Cleveland Skins Game will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2010, and opens its season on Thursday, April 22nd at Fowlers Mill Golf Course in Chesterland.
In just a few weeks, defending champion Steve Blackburn Jr. of Willowick will hit the customary first tee shot of the season at 5 p.m.
2010 SCHEDULE: Greater Cleveland Skins Game
April 22 – Fowlers Mill 5pm
April 29 – Powderhorn 5pm
May 6 – Thunder Hill 5pm
May 13 – Fowlers Mill 5pm
May 20 – Tanglewood 5pm
May 27 – Powderhorn 5pm
June 3 – Wicked Woods 5pm
June 10 – Powderhorn 5pm
June 17 – Quail Hollow (Devlin) 5pm
June 24 – Chardon Lakes 5pm – DOUBLE DOWN (2x playing required)
July 1 – Tanglewood 5pm
July 8 – Wicked Woods 5pm
July 15 – Aurora C.C 5pm
July 22 – Quail Hollow (Weiskopf) 5pm
July 29 – Fowlers Mill 5pm
August 5 – Chardon Lakes 5pm
August 12 – Powderhorn 5pm
August 19 – Quail Hollow (Devlin) 5pm
August 26 – Aurora CC 5pm – DOUBLE DOWN
September 2 – Tanglewood 4:30pm
September 6 – Greater Cleveland Shoot-Out, Noon, Chardon Lakes,
September 9 – Wicked Woods GC, 4:30 pm
September 16 – Madison CC, 4:30 pm
September 23 – Quail Hollow (Devlin) 4:30 pm
September 30 – Legend Lakes CC 4:30 pm
October 7 – Fowlers Mill 4:15 pm
October 14 – Powderhorn 4:15 pm
The 2010 greens fee “league rates” (cart included) for the Greater Cleveland Skins Game are: Thunder Hill: $15; Fowlers Mill: $20; Powderhorn : $13; Quail Hollow: $25; Wicked Wood: $15; Chardon Lakes: $20; Tanglewood: $15; Aurora CC: $22; Madison CC: $25; Legend Lakes: $25.
BACKGROUND: The Greater Cleveland Skins game originated in 1990 at Fairway Pines Golf Course and continues today at a number of courses throughout the region on Thursday evenings.
The Greater Cleveland Skins Game is a 9-hole skins and pin shot game that is open to all amateur players. Players do not need to pre-register, but do need to sign in at the course 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. Event cost is $30, plus the green fees.
A big part of the success of the Skins Game are the golf courses that host the events. “Many of the participating courses have provided skins game participants with reduced green fees, making this a great venue for amateur players in the region,” states Greater Cleveland Skins Game Director John Niedzialek. He added, “The game has been fortunate to attract great courses and private sponsors that give something back to the top amateurs in the region who make up the game.”
So what can players expect for the 2010 season? A couple of new rules and incentives are on tap.
One rules change this year is intended to attract more senior players. Players 50 and over can hit from the forward tees (not to exceed 20 yards on any given hole).
As in the past, the player with the most earnings at year’s end is declared the Greater Cleveland Skins Game Champion for the season and awarded the Thompson Cup, named after the originator of the game.
But in 2010, the Skins Game has added a new season-long incentive called the Mulligan’s Cup. Mulligan’s Pub and Grille is donating extra cash to the game this year for a season ending bonus payout to players. Players will earn points and cash at the end of the year based not only on skins and pin shots, but also on how much they participate in the game. The Mulligan’s Cup and the Thompson Cup will both be awarded on the last night of completion, on October 14th at Powderhorn Golf Course.
Also, players participating in five or more Greater Cleveland Skins Game events will also have the opportunity to play in the “Greater Cleveland Shoot-Out” on Labor Day Monday. This year’s Shoot-Out will be played again at Chardon Lakes Golf Course at “high noon.” Bonus money will be added to the pot for the Shoot-Out again, making this tournaments one of the best one-day pay days in the region. Pat Tyrrell from Sagamore Hills is the defending Shoot-Out champion.
And as always, players can see all the weekly results of the Greater Cleveland Skins Game on the Northeast Ohio Golf website.
“Good luck to everyone in 2010,” says Niedzialek. “I hope you hit it close and make many putts — except, of course, on the holes that I do.”
