By Tim Mutrie
Aspen Times Sportswriter
Entering its ninth annual tourney at the Snowmass Golf Club, the BFI Trashmasters' legend - and its unique "Modified Trash Scoring" rule book - continue to grow.
Before signing one of the nation's lead-ing waste disposal services, BFI as title sponsor this spring, Trashmasters had fought off a federal trademark lawsuit brought by Augusta National, home of The Masters
"They weren't happy with us," admits Boone Schweitzer, a Snowmass Village real estate broker who founded Trashmasters' International in 1993, along with its beneficiary, the Roaring Fork Valley Scholarship Fund. "But it was resolved amicably. We can't use the Trashmasters name for profit tournaments, only for charitable causes, which is what we want-ed anyway."
The self-described "world's most unique golf tournament," which tees off at 8 a.m. Friday, rewards the bizarre phenomena that can occur during a day on the links.
A one-point "barkie" is scored when a player's ball strikes a tree or shrub (how-ever, to accumulate any "trash" players must save net par or better, based on handicaps). A "drinkie," for landing in water,
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gets three points, while a "sandie" scores one point for each shot played from the trap. All told, there are 20 ways players can accumulate trash.
The newest edition to the rule book is the "Daly," in a tribute to the former British Open winner. "Honoring John Daly for those long and wrong," the rule book reads, "a Daly is earned after hitting one's ball out of bounds, incurring the stroke-and-distance penalty, and making net par. Two points."
"But when you try to engineer the trash," Schweitzer said of strategy, "things usually don't fly. If you just try to let things happen and don't force it, it usually does."
At this year's event, all 150 slots sold out the first day. But in 1993, Schweitzer remembers that Trashmasters' International "started from humble beginnings."
"I think there were 32 of us there the first year," he said. "We've grown tremendously, but we had no idea it would be this successful.
"I think it's due to the fun format we have," he said, which includes mini-bars near most tees. "No matter how much golf you play, and how good you are, everyone can relate to trash. It happens."
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The success of the event translated into $78,000 in college scholarships awarded to 16 local students last year. This year, when four students graduate and four more freshmen are accepted, Schweitzer hopes to award more than $90,000 to the students in the Roaring Fork Scholarship Fund program.
"One hundred percent of our proceeds go to our scholarships, and it's now one of the biggest programs in the valley, and I'm proud of that," he said.
Several, writers from national publica-tions, including Golf Digest and Sports Illustrated, are expected to be on hand for this year's event, as well as a film crew from Atlanta that plans to make a 30-minute documentary.
The event typically draws celebs, too, with past participants such as actor Michael Douglas and former Vice Presi-dent Dan Quayle. Denver Post columnist Woody Paige will be the keynote speaker at a dinner related to the events.
Talking a little trash himself, Schweitzer noted: "People in the world of sports are discovering Trashmasters, which is great, but I think these guys are getting a little hard up for something to write about."
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