Golfers brave cold to compete in Chilly Open in Arlington Heights

Golfers Saturday morning at the Chilly Open at Arlington Lakes Golf Club in Arlington Heights faced freezing temperatures and the impending threat of falling snow.

Rudy Brieschenk of Arlington Heights played the course with three of his grandsons. The ground and the water hazards were frozen, but for him, it's an annual event not to be missed.

"I've played in the Chilly Open for 19 years," he said. "One year, the snow was up to our knees. We (each) started out with six of the florescent green balls and by the fifth or sixth hole we had lost all the balls in the snow. Once, my son, who now lives in Arizona, brought cigars and we couldn't get the cigars to light it was so cold."

It's not that golf is his favorite pastime. "The last time I played golf was last year's Chilly Open," he said. The event, for golfers of all ages, included a round of golf, a raffle ticket with a chance to win a prize and a bottomless pot of hot chili. Hot coffee, cold beer and hot chocolate were available and prizes are awarded to the top players.