Big-Hole Golf Makes Putting More Accessible to the Masses

Well hi there! Wonderful to see you. Glad you found a few minutes to share with me today. Help yourself to a mug of coffee and a virtual treat. Say, are you a golfer? Not me. Just never really got into it though at one stage I did have an 11-club set of Chi Chi Rodriguez clubs and Hush Puppy golf shoes. No flies on me, eh! Trouble is...the dang holes are too small. Now someone has fixed that...

Big-Hole Golf is a recreational version of regular golf that helps beginners and disheartened casual golfers enjoy a good game. As the name suggests, the golf holes are 15-inch in diameter, instead of the regular 4.25 inches. Golf purists may scoff at the thought of this, but big-hole golf is gaining popularity, even among seasoned golfers. They call this big-hole version ‘fast and fun’, which they say is quite nice for a change.

The concept of big-hole golf is very similar to that of regular golf. You hit the same number of full shots as in normal golf, which is the heart of the game for most players. The bliss and frustrations of the game are still the same, it’s just that you’re a bit farther from the hole. While the traditional format of golf tends to be slow and difficult for newbies, big-hole golf is a lot more exciting. The idea is quite simple: faster rounds, less putts, more fun.

Big-hole golf is said to be the brain-child of Mark King, chief executive at TaylorMade Golf Company. When asked why he chose to make the holes 15 inches, he shrugged and said, “It seemed about the right size.” To put the idea into action, TaylorMade paid another Minnesota-based company called Par Aide to manufacture 15-inch hole-cutters, coordinated tee markers and shorter flags to distinguish from other regular flags that might be on the green. The company then held an event as a part of the Hack Golf initiative – to solicit fresh ideas for bringing more players into the game and retaining the current ones.

Bigger holes are much better for us hackers but...be careful if you play where there are snakes - such as Arizona or Australia. You can fit a lot more snakes (or bigger ones) in a 15" hole than a 4.25" one! Never reach into an open hole...use a stick first. You never know. 

See ya, eh!

Bob