It was a great weekend for a group of 22 guys that attended the annual Tournament of Whampions in Hot Springs, Ar., this past weekend. From college-age to the more mature, the group is a broad section of friends and family that make the trip this tournament every year.

The Tournament of Whampions began over 30 years ago with a group of friends and professionals that began to get together for a weekend of golf and fun. The tournament has been played on great courses throughout Texas, Louisiana, and most recently, the event has been held at the Hot Springs Country Club in Hot Springs, Ar.

Overall, the tournament is designed to allow any and all golfers a chance to compete on a level playing field. The group uses a modified Stableford scoring system which gives points per the score a player gets on each hole. A bogey is worth 1 point, par is worth 2 points, birdies are worth 4 points and eagles are worth 8 points in this scoring method. Your handicap is established per your home course, verified and adjusted to make sure your needed points are high enough to be fair to other players. Therefore, a person with a 20 handicap would need to get 16 points in a 36-par round of golf to break even.

The group from the Dexter area included several members from the Holden Family, led by the patriarch Demp “Boot” Holden. Other members of the family were Bill Holden, Steve Holden, Tim Holden, Jason Comfort, Josh Comfort, Tyler Holden, Chance Holden and Ryan Holden. The Christian family was also well represented, with Terry Christian, Bruce Christian and Kyle Christian on hand for the tournament. Other members of the field included Mike Gaylord, Alan Hedrick, Terry Hill, Darren Hillis, Nathan Mauer, Dennis Meeks, Matt Mills, Jamie Ralph, Andy Riley, Dale Stites and Doran Vancil.

The first event of the weekend was a 'Horse Race' contest, where two-man teams are selected and play an alternating shot format. In the under 27 handicap division, the winners were from the Dexter area, with Nathan Mauer of Poplar Bluff and Josh Comfort of Dexter, who narrowly defeated the team of Ryan Holden and Chance Holden on the final hole.

The event normally begins with an early morning shotgun start on Saturday and tee times on Sunday. A twist is always added to the two-day tournament, as the course is played from the deepest tips of each tee box, making the course play extremely long. Further, the greens are set up with the extremely difficult pin placements on the green, with slants, breaks, and speed always being a problem with gaining points.

After the first day of the tournament, Terry Christian of Dexter and Terry Hill of Jackson, MO were tied, leading the field with a +8 score. Jason Comfort also battled the extreme heat and was on the heels of the leaders with a +3 score.

With tee times beginning at 7:00 A.M. on Sunday, the field of 56 golfers all started with high hopes of either continuing the success of the previous day or to make a major improvement to their scores. When all the cards were turned in, Jason Comfort of Dexter became the 2011 Tournament of Whampions Champion with a +9 ½ score for the overall tournament. Bruce Christian of Dexter had an incredible second day and finished in second with an overall tournament score of +6. Terry Christian finished with a score +4 on Sunday for 3rd Place in the contest.

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Previous winners from the Dexter area of the Whampions Tournament include Steve Holden and Chance Holden.

Plans are already being made for 2012 Whampions Event. There is a discussion that the tournament will be moved to another location in the Midwest.

Photos Above: Top Photo: Jason Comfort receives 2011 Whampions Trophy from Greg Procell of Shreveport LA.

2nd Photo: Group Patriarchs Demp Holden and Doran Vancil continue to enjoy the tournament.

3rd Photo: Josh Comfort and Nathan Mauer were the winners of Friday's Horse Race contest.

4th Photo: After dinner Friday Night, Holden and Christian Families get a picture made together with a newcomer and friend, Jack Greene.