“The Destroyer” Opens First “Park Golf” Layout in Upstate New York

Former professional wrestler Dick “The Destroyer” Beyer, who became beloved in Japan where the scaled-down version of the game is popular, has opened The Destroyer Park Golf Course in Akron, N.Y., to introduce it to the Buffalo area where he grew up.

Western New York native Dick Beyer, who became better known as “The Destroyer” through a professional wrestling career that made him especially popular in Japan, has opened The Destroyer Park Golf Course in Akron, N.Y., reported WIVB, a Buffalo, N.Y. television station. The new course, which had its grand opening on July 4, features the scaled-down version of the game for which there are 1,300 courses in Japan, WIVB reported.

“Park golf” was invented 30 years ago in Japan, and Beyer, a former wrestler and football player at Syracuse University who then had his heyday on the professional circuit in Japan in the late 1970s, learned to play the smaller version of the game while in that country, WIVB reported.

The now-83-year-old Beyer, who returned to Akron to teach physical education and coach in the Akron Central School District after retiring from wrestling, explained the game to the television station by saying “It’s played with one club, one ball, and the hole is bigger. [The hole is] about eight inches [and] you don’t have to remove the flag. The holes are between 20 and 100 yards but there are still par 3 and par 5 [holes], just like any other golf game would have.

“The most avid golf player and someone who’s new to a hand-eye sport will have a blast playing together,” Beyer added.

Members of the Nippon Golf Association came to Akron to help open the course, which is down the street from Beyer‘s home, WIVB reported.

The new course, which features “The Destroyer’s” trademark white facemask with red outlines as part of its logo, is charging $8 for 18 holes, which includes club and ball rental.