Bundle up, then tee up. Chili Open golf fundraiser returns to Sussex County next month

Posted by Admin January 14, 2025 Golf

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Although it already carries a dual-meaning title, the Chili Open Golf Classic in Frankford could just as easily be known as “Shivering, Shaking and Shanking.”

“I remember a couple years ago when it was something like minus-two,” said Joe Fitzpatrick of his experience golfing in Sussex County’s annual mid-winter fundraiser. That year it was definitely the “Chilly” Open.

The 2025 edition will be held on Saturday, Feb. 1 at the Sussex County Fairgrounds, no matter the weather.

The event draws about 150 people, enough to fill up two, 18-hole courses created around the field used as the parking lot for fairs and festivals during warmer months. Proceeds support Project Self-Sufficiency, the Newton-based nonprofit that provides emergency shelter and other help to local people in need.

Fitzpatrick has been talking large numbers of fellow golfers into participating in event for years. He is predicting “over 30” this year for his group. He recalled, about eight years ago, calling his son who was away at college to see if he and some friends wanted to participate.

“They drove up laughing about it. They’ve been coming every year since,” he said. “My group this year will likely be about ten older and the rest in their 20s, 30s.”

Chili Open Golf Classic: How it started

Celebrating its 22nd edition, the Chili Open began as a fundraiser for the United Way of Northern New Jersey and got its play-on-words name and idea from a Rotary Club in Ohio. Restaurants in the Sussex County area provide food for the event with the focus on varying styles of chili to warm up the golfers after their round.

“The idea (for a golf tournament) came from Barbara Miller,” said Bruce Tomlinson, former editor of the New Jersey Herald who was on the United Way board at the time. “She mentioned this fundraiser being done by a Rotary Club down in Ohio.”

In the first few years, the Chili Open paid a token amount to the Ohio Rotary for use of the concept. Participation by local Rotary Clubs is still a big part of the Sussex County event, with clubs not only supplying golfers, but also providing sponsorships and refreshment stands.

Tomlinson now works with Project Self-Sufficiency, the fundraiser’s prime beneficiary. He said the Open has become “a community reunion in the dead of winter.” Many come for the food and raffles and even the indoor putting contest but don’t bother playing the outside course.

“I can’t believe how that (raffle) has grown over the years,” he said, adding that some of the prizes have already begun showing up at PSS headquarters in Newton.

While called “the raffle,” it is actually a series of individual raffles for individual rewards. Prizes range from gift certificates and off-the-shelf items provided by local merchants up to golf- and other recreation-related trips. Participants purchase tickets color-coded in varying dollar amounts which can put into individual color-coded buckets for each of the prizes. A winning ticket is drawn from the bucket corresponding to the prize.

Tomlinson said the Chili Open is scheduled for the “lag week” in football’s NFL schedule before the Super Bowl and has become “our cabin-fever-busting event.”

What is Project Self-Sufficiency?

Deborah Berry-Toon, executive director of Project Self-Sufficiency, said funds from the Open go into the emergency housing program which provides shelter as well as help with rent and utilities. In just the last couple of years, proceeds from the event have provided $150,000, helping more than 210 adults and a similar number of children, she said.

“This is money for those who are living close to the edge financially,” she said. “It is a pervasive problem; the lack of affordable housing, cost of rent.”

Bill Kovach, a retired vice president of Ames Rubber Corp. in Hamburg and another former United Way boardmember, has become unofficial head greenskeeper for the event, helping lay out the courses every year.

Initially, the “greens” were squares of fake-grass, indoor-outdoor carpeting which had been donated for the cause. He said the pieces sometimes froze to the ground and, over the years, wore out.

Now, the greens’ quality is somewhat upgraded but they are still prone to the cold weather phenomenon of wrinkles freezing into solid waves.

“We tried to keep (the layout) reasonable,” Kovach said, noting the event is geared toward people having fun and is not as competitive as country-club golf fundraisers in warmer months.

Tee up and bundle up

“In year one, we had a foot of snow, and freezing rain,” he said. Safety of the golfers also goes into the course design.

The event has grown over the years and won a spot on the mid-winter social calendar because of the “camaraderie,” he explained.

He also noted that many competing teams also have fun with their look. “One year, this one team had a bathroom vanity mounted on skis,” he said. “In some years, the more snow, the happier the golfers.”

Kovach, who is responsible for “plowing the fairways” should there be snow, said his advice to participants is to “dress appropriately and have fun.”

His best conditions for the Open?

“I’d say, cold with light snow on the ground,” he answered. “It looks kinda pretty out there.”

If you go: Chili Open tickets and registration

While teams are encouraged, there is room for singles and couples to register as well. Non-golfers are also welcome to wait in the Richards Building where there will be music provided by R.E.N.O., which uses the event as a reunion of former band members each year.

More details and full registration information, ranging from single players to major company sponsorships, is available at the Project Self-Sufficiency web page.

Donations for golfers are $110 for a single entrant and $420 for a group of four; tickets include a light breakfast and lunch. For lunch and indoor activities only, entrance costs $35. Indoor activities include music, the raffle, a 50/50, the putting contest and cash bar with beer and wine.

Email: bscruton@njherald.com Twitter/X: @brucescrutonNJH