{"id":445941,"date":"2026-01-31T21:34:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T21:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/445941\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T21:34:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T21:34:11","slug":"golf-in-the-snow-participants-brace-the-cold-for-charity-chili","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/445941\/","title":{"rendered":"Golf in the snow: Participants brace the cold for charity, chili"},"content":{"rendered":"

PLEASANT LAKE, MI – Golfers suited up in their warmest clothes and grabbed their bowls of chili as they played a round of snow-filled golf. <\/p>\n

The annual Kiwanis Chili Golf Classic, now in its 40th year, has a history of golfers attending the charitable event year after year.<\/p>\n

Even on Saturday, Jan. 31, with temperatures reaching no higher than 14 degrees throughout the event, there were 135 golfers registered. <\/p>\n

Jake Johnson, the president of the Kiwanis Club of Jackson, explained how the event continues to bring the community together.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really just about camaraderie. It\u2019s about giving back in the community. People have been coming here for the last 40 years in a row. Every single year we have some new teams, but I would say 90% of our registrations come from basically repeat customers, which is fantastic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"GolfersJoe Collins, a Jackson resident, takes his shot during the 40th annual Kiwanis Chili Golf Classic held at Hankerd Hills Golf Course in Pleasant Lake on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.Lukas Katilius | MLive.com<\/p>\n

Golfers are given a yellow field hockey \u201cmylec ball\u201d to use as they make their way around Hankerd Hills Golf Course. The balls are larger, lighter and softer than golf balls to make for an easier time hitting them in the snow.<\/p>\n

Instead of making the ball into a hole as in traditional golf, golfers aim for two rings surrounding a flag. The smallest ring is worth one stroke, while the wider ring is worth two. <\/p>\n

\"GolfersWomen part of the Girl Gang of America make their way to their first hole of the day during the 40th annual Kiwanis Chili Golf Classic held at Hankerd Hills Golf Course in Pleasant Lake on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.Lukas Katilius | MLive.com<\/p>\n

Every group of golfers pulled large sleds which held their clubs, balls, beverages and other customized features varying in character and purpose for each group.<\/p>\n

Girl Gang of America, a group of golfers brought together through a Facebook group of the same name which helps women find new friends in the area, was last year\u2019s winners of the best-decorated sled.<\/p>\n

Their vibrantly pink sled and matching flamingo outfits were hard to miss, and undeniably fun.<\/p>\n

\"GolfersWomen part of Girl Gang of America pose for a photo during the 40th annual Kiwanis Chili Golf Classic held at Hankerd Hills Golf Course in Pleasant Lake on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.Lukas Katilius | MLive.com<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, [Kiwanis Club of Jackson does] a great job,\u201d said Elizabeth Ray, a group administrator. \u201cThey do wonderful things for the community and the children in the community. And I said, \u2018Hey, Girl Gang, let\u2019s get together and do a sled and golf.\u2019 I mean, it\u2019s the best thing out here in the cold, so we just got together (and) made our sled.\u201d<\/p>\n

With all the funds going to a good cause, it\u2019s an easy event for friends to gather and participate in. <\/p>\n

The Kiwanis Club of Jackson has contributed to children in need for more than a century. This year\u2019s Chili Golf Classic, which is historically one of their biggest fundraisers each year, is expected to generate over $15,000.<\/p>\n

This money is raised largely from the dozens of sponsors who help make the event possible — especially Wendy\u2019s, which is a large donor and supplies the chili every year. <\/p>\n

With the event\u2019s status as a local favorite, the charity is likely to continue for as long as Kiwanis can host it.<\/p>\n

\"GolfersA bowl of chili is poured during the 40th annual Kiwanis Chili Golf Classic held at Hankerd Hills Golf Course in Pleasant Lake on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.Lukas Katilius | MLive.com<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re coming out in the snow, it\u2019s beautiful out here, and then you come in and warm up with some chili and brats,\u201d Johnson said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWho wouldn\u2019t want to come out and golf in the snow? It\u2019s absolutely beautiful and breathtaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those who would like to donate to the Kiwanis Club of Jackson can do so on their website here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PLEASANT LAKE, MI – Golfers suited up in their warmest clothes and grabbed their bowls of chili as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":445942,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,622,82],"class_list":["post-445941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/445942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}