Volume 2, No. 19. October 11, 2002
A Tiger
of a time
Tim Heinly started
the final round up by three strokes, but the Allentown, Pennsylvania, golfer
squandered his lead. Down by one coming to the Twin Falls course’s 18th
hole, he made an incredible birdie putt to force a playoff, which he won on
that same hole to the cheers of the gallery crowded around the green. “I
don’t know if you could have written a script for a finish any better,”
said Darin Van Tassell. “It was very tense and highly competitive, which
was neat to see on a miniature course.”
Van Tassell is co-owner of Hackers Golf Park in Statesboro, Georgia, whose Twin
Falls course served as the site of the Harris Cup National Miniature Golf Championship
September 28. Harris Miniature Golf Courses, Inc. in Wildwood, New Jersey, introduced
the tournament to its clients last year as a marketing tool. This year Harris
teamed up with Children’s Miracle Network for the nationwide tournament
that involved about 30 courses.
“We wanted to give our course owners an opportunity to give back to their
communities and give them a way to cross-market and promote with other businesses
in their communities,” said Sophia Disney, the company’s marketing
director. “A tournament seemed the best way to do it, and teaming up with
Children’s Miracle Network seemed a good way to create continuity throughout
the entire tournament.”
All proceeds from the local qualifying tournaments held in July and August went
to local chapters of the Miracle Network (the entire tournament raised about
$45,000, Disney said). Golfers played for prizes offered by local sponsors and
for the big prize, a trip to east-central Georgia. If that doesn’t seem
prize-worthy enough, the top four finalists split a purse of $5,000, with the
winner taking home $2,000 and a trip for two to Walt Disney World in Orlando,
Florida, for the annual Children’s Miracle Network celebration in March.
“We had participants from Oklahoma, Colorado, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia,
New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York,” Van Tassell said. “It was
a terrific cross-section of America.” Ironically, it was a local man, Paul
Uribe, who nearly won the cup, shooting a 42-46 to tie Heinly, whose 39 in the
first round was two strokes off the par-40 course record. Heinly, representing
Sittler Golf in Allentown, scored a paltry 49 in the second round but prevailed
in the playoff. Both golfers were cheered on by a gallery of about 100 people,
who moved from green to green as the finals progressed and behaved just as a
gallery at professional tournaments would, Van Tassell said. “We did everything
you’d do at a major golf tournament, just scaled down,” he said.”
“What was neat was taking a leisure activity and really stepping it up
a few levels in terms of the competitive dimension,” said Van Tassell who,
along with CO-owner Larry Bryant, had experience organizing collegiate and professional
baseball tournaments and so volunteered their course for the Harris Cup final.
“It is a whole new avenue for course owners, and it has a huge marketing
dimension.”
Disney said at the least participating courses gained notice in their local
communities. “People recognize you when you do something like that.”
She said no course lost money doing the tournament—golfers paid to play—and
some parks profited by players practicing on their courses several days ahead
of their local tournaments.
Harris plans to field the tournament again next year, choosing a finals site
by the end of October so that courses can begin planning their qualifying rounds
throughout next year. “We’re hoping it grows every year,” Disney
said. “It takes a little while to catch on, but once it does. ..”
Once it does, miniature golf on the whole wins big.
©2002, Minton Enterprises
LLC
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