Taking advantage of promotional packages made available by TaylorMade-Adidas Golf, the Vintage Executive Golf Course at Riverwood National in Otsego, Minn., and The Bethel Inn Resort in Bethel, Maine, are installing the larger holes and holding special events to encourage their use.
On July 31, the Vintage Executive Golf Course at Riverwood National Golf Course in Otsego, Minn. installed 15-inch cups on each of its 18 putting greens, the Monticello (Minn.) Times reported. The club is also keeping standard 4.25-inch cups on the greens, the Times reported, to allow golfers to choose their own experience.
Riverwood National’s PGA Professional, Steve Fessler, told the Times that the course acquired the unique holes through TaylorMade-Adidas Golf, which has made 100 packages of the holes available to interested clubs, as part of a promotion to try to help grow interest in the game by making golf easier and more fun. “Our whole goal with it was to give the golfer a different experience,” Fessler said.
While 8-inch holes have been installed on a few local golf courses in recent years, the Times reported, Fessler said that Vintage was the first in the area to acquire the 15-inch cups.
The larger cups makes it easier for golfers of different skills levels, including young and old, to play together, Fessler noted. “Kids get a kick out of getting a chance to compete with their parents,” he said.
Kessler came across the idea at an industry conference in Florida last year, the Times reported, and felt immediately that it would be a good fit for the smaller of Riverwood National’s two courses.
“I just thought it was a perfect scenario for [the Vintage executive course],” he said. “It’s for the golfer who just wants to enjoy their experience.”
Already, he told the Times, the holes have led to several rave reviews. “People love it,” he said. “They literally drive across the road to tell us.”
Riverwood National plans to promote the 15-inch holes through the rest of summer, with Vintage Executive hosting junior events at the course in the beginning of August. The club is also planning a night golf event in September that would use glow-in-the-dark balls and the 15-inch cups.
The club is also running specials to get regular golfers to the course, the Times reported, with post-1 p.m. costs of $20 for a twosome to play the Vintage Executive Course, $27 for a threesome and $32 for a foursome.
In Bethel, Maine, reported the Oxford Hills Sun Journal of Lewiston, Maine, The Bethel Inn Resort has announced plans to conduct a two-day experiment with the larger holes, replacing its traditional 4¼-inch- diameter cups on its 6,700-yard, Geoffrey Cornish-designed course with 15-inch cups on Sunday and Monday, August 17 and 18.
“The two days will include special events, contests, prizes and discounted green fees for golfers who want to sample this widely discussed new dimension to the game,” Director of Sales & Marketing Brad Jerome said in a news release, the Sun Journal reported.
The Bethel Inn Resort will be the first major facility in the Northeast to offer the opportunity to play using the larger holes to the golfing public, Jerome said.
At 3 p.m. on Sunday, August 17, the resort will hold a four-person, nine-hole scramble with holes refitted with the 15-inch cups, the Sun Journal reported. Participants may sign up as a four-person team or as individuals who will be assigned to teams by the Bethel Inn pro shop.
The event will also include chipping and putting contests using the larger holes, and after 3 p.m., tee slots will be available for players who do not wish to participate in the scramble.
On Monday, August 18, tee times for 9 or 18 holes will be available all day, the Sun Journal reported. All 18 greens will feature the standard-size holes as well as the 15-inch holes, to give players an option.
The resort was urging golfers to call early for tee times, because there has been a strong interest among golfers of all levels to see how much the larger cups will lower their scores, Jerome said, according to the Sun Journal. Estimates of improved scores range from five to eight shots per nine-hole round, it was noted.
The resort’s head professional, Mark Mallory, said he was looking forward to hosting the special events surrounding the experimental introduction of the larger holes, the Sun Journal reported.
“In addition to reducing our green fees, we will be offering $2,000 in resort spending money as prizes for holes-in-one and for the special chipping and putting contests,” Mallory said. “We are anxious to see the reactions of high- and low-handicap golfers to this unique experiment.”
The resort’s managing partner, Allen Connors, emphasized that there are no plans to convert to the larger hole size on a permanent basis, the Sun Journal reported.
“We see the larger holes as a way of increasing interest in the game, with special events like those planned for August 17 and 18,” Connors said. “We also envision some of our golf groups wanting to experiment with them, especially groups with higher handicaps and infrequent golfers.”
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