[Feb. 22, 2026]–Nice to see Jacob Bridgeman win his first PGA Tour tournament at Riviera. But what was all that green stuff on the course? It was all white where I was playing today at the Scott Farm Orchard Snow Golf tournament.
This was the fourth iteration of the event; snow has been on the ground for three of them, including the inaugural. It’s a fund-raiser for the Landmark Trust USA, which administers Scott Farm and the nearby Naulakha, Rudyard Kipling’s Vermont home, where he was known to knock a few golf balls around the hills with his visiting friend, Arthur Conan Doyle back in the 1890s.
Winter didn’t inhibit Kipling, who painted a few balls red and let them soar. Kipling’s clubs are on display at Naulakha, which is open to visitors for extended stays. And the Trust has just opened another of its several properties for visits, the restored Naulakha Stable.
A two-night stay at the Stable was this year’s grand prize, But as in years past the competition is mostly for fun, a few holes “designed” in conjunction with the Brattleboro Country Club, requiring players to fire toward a tic-tac-toe target, loft shots over crates, aim at skeeball circles and the like. “It’s just a good day to go out and have some fun with your buds,” said BCC director of golf Mike Zaranek.
As usual there were hot food and cider offerings (hard or soft), cheese and some apples from Scott Farm, which has been a working farm since 1791 (and a location for the film “The Cider House Rules”).
There were also some added incentive raffles in the mix this year, three different packages of Masters and Ryder Cup gear.
We didn’t win any of it.
