St. Ignace's Lake Huron shoreline will soon be transformed into a unique golf course in preparation for the annual Ice Chip tournament Saturday, March 6, in which golfers take to the ice to play a round of their favorite sport.

Now in its 16th year, the tournament began over a winter conversation among four men about who was the best golfer. They decided the snow and ice should not stop them from finding out, built a course on the bay, and the golf scramble was born.

Setting up the course for Saturday's tournament will be Mark Sposito, Andy Brown, Ralph Colegrove, and JoJo Visnaw. Golfers will tee off near the Mackinac Grille restaurant onto the icy lake, then play a nine-hole course leading them south along the Lake Huron shoreline. This year's course is expected to be very good, since cold weather and not much snow should keep the ice much dryer than last year, when heavy snow and slush created an added challenge.

After a break for lunch, golfers will return to the course to re-play the nine holes, making an 18-hole tournament with prizes for winners of each flight.

A sled design contest will pit creative designers against each other to see who can build the best golf sled. This year, organizers ask that golfers use a basic sled to carry their clubs around the course and keep contest sleds in a judging area for display during the day. Non-golfers are welcome to submit a designed sled, and prizes will be awarded for the best designs.

“We would like to have everybody be able to come take a look at them,” Mr. Sposito said of displaying the creative sleds this year. “People have really got a kick out of them in the past. Some of them are really interesting.”

Golfers compete in teams of two, and there is a $30 per-person registration fee to participate in the tournament. A soup and salad bar and hot dog and brat lunch and dinner at Mackinac Grille are included in the registration fee for golfers. Sled designers are asked to register their sled, but no fee is required to compete.

The golf scramble registration also includes a free coupon for Kewadin Casinos and a raffle sponsored by several local businesses.

For more information or to register for the golf scramble, contact the Mackinac Grille at 643-7482 or the St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce at 643-8717. Registration is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. Thirty-three teams competed in 2009's tournament.

Changes to this year's event will be the creation of an exclusively par-three-hole course, and the introduction of a shotgun start, allowing all golfers to start from different spots on the course. Golfers may tee their balls up anywhere on the course and can move the ball out of standing water without a penalty. Teams are placed in flights based on their score on the first nine holes, and teams are automatically moved up one flight if they improve their score by seven or more strokes on the second nine. Players may contact the Mackinac Grille Friday to confirm tee-times, which are likely to begin at about 9 a.m.

“It is primarily a local event, though we usually get a few teams of visitors,” Mr. Sposito said. “It's just kind of the end of the winter season, pretty relaxing and not very serious. It's usually a pretty fun day.”

Golfers are advised to bring many brightly colored balls, only a few clubs, warm clothing, and winter boots with good grip.