Quail Point Golf Course, Medford, Ore. unveiled nine holes of a new, natural-grass putting course in April. Designed by two-time PGA Tour winner and 1977 U.S. Amateur Champion John Fought, the Quail Point Putting Course features actual “holes” where players “tee off’ and then navigate through undulating “fairways” and around creative landscape features that even include water hazards.
“We are very excited to add the new putting course to Quail Point and create a great family-oriented recreational amenity for the region,” said Vince Domenzain, General Manager of both Quail Point and the adjacent Centennial Golf Club, both of which are managed by OB Sports.
“We anticipate that Quail Point Putting Course will become a hub of social activity, as well as a popular venue for creative fundraising events, putting tournaments, putting shootouts, and even a great place to settle ties after playing the Quail Point or Centennial courses,” Domenzain added when the course opened.
Contacted two months later by C&RB, Domenzain reported that with the coming of better weather and the ending of the school, interest in the course has really picked up, with a June weekend attracting over 100 players. “It’s really proving popular with family and kids,” Domenzain said.
Putters are provided for players, and the cost for the nine holes is just $5 for adults and $3 for juniors. Many players take advantage of discounts for multiple “rounds” to play 18 holes at a time, Domenzain said. The course is already proving popular with groups, too, with three future events now booked where the course will be rented out for several hours at a time.
The Quail Point Putting Course will expand to 18 holes with the addition of a second nine in mid-July that Domenzain said will feature even more “movement and challenges” for players.
In both cases, the courses take up space that was previously used as open chipping areas. “We always planned to do something with [the space],” Domenzain said, “and the putting course idea just proved to fit in perfectly.”
Each course probably takes up the area of “a couple of short par 3s, maybe 150 yards deep each, and almost as much distance wide,” Domenzain said. The putting courses run along a lake on the property that provides a “nice look and view” for players, he adds, and the courses also get great visibility from a freeway that runs adjacent to them on other side and now leads from the same exit to a new city-run sports park with multiple baseball, softball and soccer fields.
Between that park, which recently hosted a major, 88-team regional soccer tournament, and a new water park that is scheduled to be built nearby, Domenzain expects an increase in knowledge of, and attraction to, the putting courses as another popular recreational option. Quail Point has even instituted “putting sheets,” spaced out in 10-minute “putt-off times,” to make sure those who want to play the new courses can do so when the idea strikes and without a lot of waiting.
“You can call and reserve times,” Domenzain said. “Already we often get groups of three or four pairings or foursomes that all want to play together. But even when we had 60 people on a Sunday, it worked out well and everything moved along steadily.”
Overall, Domenzain said, the putting courses, which are open for the same dawn-to-dusk hours as the golf course, are proving to be a concept that offers “a great way to introduce the game to a family and provide an enjoyable activity within an hour or less.”
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