Fatty's Golf Tournament

Fatty's Golf Tournament was not a real golf tournament. It was a pub crawl with Whiffle balls. Players would dress up to whatever tune they danced in those days, and hit their Whiffle balls with an item of their choosing - golf club, hockey stick, badminton racket - moving from one bar to the next as quick as the pace would allow.

They played from Fatty's restaurant through the Breckenridge streets, over the river, from one end of town to the other, and then back to Fatty's.

If they could stand up when they returned after the all-day affair - which required they consume a drink at each of the 18 "holes" - there was a good chance they'd be on the leaderboard. This all took place during the late 1970s and dearly 1980s.

As Fatty's owner John Daisy recalls it, the tournament only lasted 10 years, despite popularity unlike anything that exists today.

"We used to get upward of 300 people playing in this," Daisy said.

One year, a photo from the post-tournament party graced the pages of Golf Digest.

Then, as with any of the grand-old-games in town (the old-timers bemoan), responsibility took over. Town officials required the event to be insured. That took care of the event.

It is returning this year, but not as it once was, of course. This time it will be the Fatty's-Golf-Tournament-that's-actually-a-golf-tournament. It's set for Thursday, Sept. 14, at the Breckenridge Golf Club. Costumes will still play a role. So will good old-fashioned cheer and beer. To preserve the event's history, each of the 18 holes will be named after a bar that once housed a stop on the original downtown Breckenridge links.

To sign up call Fatty's at (970) 453-9802, or go by Fatty's pizzeria. The event features a shotgun start at 10:30 a.m., and the $125-per-person registration fee includes drinks, a box lunch on the course, prizes and dinner at Fatty's afterward. All proceeds benefit Summit Youth Hockey and Summit Lacrosse.