Short game in trouble? Try Qualifiers Golf
A new brand of golf is in town.
Providence resident Dan Brown’s brainchild, a chip-and-putt style of the game he loves, has been in full swing for about 15 months now. Brown blended elements of miniature golf and “real” golf, so golfers must use a putter and a wedge on each hole at Qualifiers Tournament Golf.
Brown believes Qualifiers will help golfers lower their scores, because it focuses on the neglected parts of the game.
“It’s between 60 and 70 percent of your final score,” Brown said, concerning shots on and near the green. “Putting is half.”
The indoor course, at 1490 N. 300 West in Logan, attracts not only golf addicts who pray for the snow to melt, but also those who are just looking for some entertainment.
Two men from the Utah State University Research Foundation, for example, often spend most of their lunch break at the 38-par course. Alan Thurgood and Boyd Boman estimate they’ve gone to Qualifiers about 30 times.
“It’s a way … to practice golf as much as you can with the conditions you have,” said Boman, a senior buyer at the foundation.
The $5 charge for the course is lowered to $3 for those who just want to putt. Orange circles are painted on or near the fringe of each hole for putters to start from; the chippers usually have to start behind a rock garden, some cactuses, or even water. Two of the hardest holes are probably the bunker shots, said Tyler Phillips, a Qualifiers employee.
“The challenging hole is the one coming out of the sand,” Phillips said. “It’s pretty tough to be consistent.”
Large groups crowd the place on weekends, with up to 40 or 50 coming in for church groups on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Discounts for big groups can drop the price to $1 per person, Phillips said. Birthday parties and family reunions are good excuses to rent the building for $129.99.
Phillips and Brown enjoy playing the course when they can. The course record is 31, and Brown’s best is a 32, which included several holes-in-one.
A hole-in-one on some holes, like the seventh, guarantee prizes for the lucky (or skilled) golfer. Golf towels, a dozen golf balls, and other prizes go to those who hole out certain shots, Phillips said.
The drawing for the monthly prizes, such as diecast cars, is reserved for those who get a hole-in-one anywhere on the course and “validate” it on the 18th hole.
“Validating” means taking a two on the three-par 18th if the running score up to that point is 55 or lower, or a three if the cumulative is 56 or higher, Brown said.
The 18th hole is the favorite of Aggie golfer Preston Otte, who prefers the challenge of getting close to the hole without coasting into the water on the gradual slope. Otte says he goes to Qualifiers more for the entertainment value than improving his game, because the artificial turf is too unlike real grass for him.
“A lot of it has to do with luck,” Otte said, a business management sophomore.
But Otte, who said the course probably helps his chipping, still goes every other Saturday night with friends.
“More than anything it’s just for an enjoyment and a good time,” Otte said.
The course opens around noon and closes at 10 p.m. during the week, and at 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
-marklaroc@cc.usu.edu