for only the second time in its history . `` There 's a great tradition of the event going forward in spite of the weather , '' says Normoyle , 31 , who studied history at Cambridge . `` Last year , there was a hard frost and a very thick fog . There 's something lovely about the warmth in the clubhouse at the end of the day when it 's freezing cold outside . It really adds to the atmosphere of the whole thing . '' While the competition is always intense -- many players have scratch or single-figure handicaps -- the matches are played in a jovial spirit and the motto of the event is `` serious fun . '' The winner 's medal carries the Latin inscription `` Primus inter pares , '' which is loosely translated by the Putter fraternity as `` he was lucky to win . '' The competition takes place over four days , with a dinner held on the eve of the Sunday final , followed by a night out amid the cobbled streets of the medieval town of Rye . `` People push the boat out at both ends of
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- In a little-known corner of southern England , more than 130 men are wrapping up in their winter warmers and drinking down their last whiskeys , as they prepare to do battle with their fiercest foes on the fairways . Their goal : a place in the fabled history of sporting rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge Universities . The `` President 's Putter '' event takes place every January at Rye Golf Club between alumni of the two famous academic institutions . Competitors , whose ages can range from 18 to 85 , travel from such far-off places as the U.S. , South Africa and Asia in a quest to attach their winning ball to the fabled President 's Putter -- a hickory-shafted instrument dating back to the inaugural event of 1920 . David Normoyle flew in from Far Hills , New Jersey last week to see in the New Year with friends before heading down to Rye to take part in the event , which is scheduled to start on Friday . He is just hoping the heavy snowfall forecast for the rest of the week will not cause the competition to be called off