Putt-Putt Clash

CALL FOR ENTRIES & PUBLIC EVENT

What is Putt-Putt Clash?
Design and build the best mini-golf course! In this competition, you get to explore the design space of a mini-golf course. Everyone has been to a mini-golf course where the holes are just flat green surfaces, with a wedge shaped obstacle here and there – boring! There are so many fun and interesting things you can create for a ball and a putter. We want to see that creativity!

When, Where, and What do I need to prepare for?
The 12 unique built courses will open to public play Saturday July 30th, Noon to 8pm (final hours TBD).

The event will be held at Blackmouth Design, on Bainbridge Island. The address is 7689 NE Day Rd W, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.

We will provide all the golf balls, putters, and score cards.

At the event, an entry fee of $10 gets a player a putter, ball, and ballot. After playing, they get to vote on their favorite course. Voting will close at 7:30pm Saturday. After tallying the votes, we’ll announce the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners, and award the cash prize ($500 for 1st, and if attendance is good, we’ll put the proceeds towards 2nd and 3rd place cash prizes as well).

We understand that transporting an entire mini-golf hole is not so easy. So, it is highly likely you’ll transport it in a disassembled state. Entrants will be permitted to setup starting Friday July 29th, between 12pm and 6pm. Additional setup can be continued Saturday morning, starting at 8am, until the event opens at Noon.

Contestants will be expected to dismantle and dispose of their own courses.

Rules
1. The course must fit within a 8ft x 16ft footprint (that’s just about the size of a typical parking space). It can be smaller, 8×16 is the maximum size.

2. Please consider the safety of attendees. So no ball launchers or crazy ramps that can lead to balls flying through the air at concussion height. Try to keep the ball on your course, which should have appropriate sidewalls. If you want to create a section where the ball can fall off, it should fall onto another part of your course, and not onto the surrounding area.

Starting an hour before the event start on Saturday, we will do course inspection where we may ask you to modify (or remove) a feature if we think it is unsafe. And if during the event we determine your hole is unsafe, we will close it until it can be modified.

3. Have a clear location to tee off and a clearly marked final hole. That being said, you are not limited to having only one start or only one finish (we wouldn’t want to stifle your creativity with norms). Additionally, make no requirements on the size of the hole, but standard hole size is 4-¼ inch diameter.

4. If your course is powered it must be self contained – feel free to incorporate human powered mechanisms, or battery systems if you want lights or sounds. Generators and compressors are not permitted. While there is electrical on-site, logistically we can’t provide an extension cord for every hole.

How to Enter
Email your submission to puttputtclash@gmail.com

Your submission should include your name (or names of team members), a contact phone number, a brief description of your personal background, and, if you’d like, the elevator pitch for your course concept.

We will reach out within a few days to let you know your submission has been accepted, and to provide additional information.

Submissions will be accepted on a first-come first-serve basis, so don’t wait!

Tips and Advice
Construction materials – Think 2x4s, plywood, PVC, rain gutter, carpet, cardboard, papier-mâché and the like. Unless you intend on keeping your course after the event (and feel free to) it will be deconstructed and what can’t be reused, will likely end up in a landfill. So please consider using materials that are already destined for the trash anyway. Ask around for leftover construction supplies, look for shipping pallets and cardboard boxes. A short pile carpet makes for pretty good putting green, and many flooring stores and installers will have old carpet or carpet scraps for free. Or buck all norms and make a completely biodegradable course. Go wild!

Don’t make your course too difficult – It’s tempting to want to make something challenging, but frustration won’t lead to fun for most players. No one likes a course that takes 20 strokes (or 20 minutes) to complete. Instead, consider making hazards that greatly reward skilled shots, but don’t harshly punish bad ones. Think shortcuts.

Make it human friendly – The course is for a golf ball as well as the person putting. Make your course walkable. That means either make everything strong enough to support that kind of weight, or make it clear what is for standing on, what is just for the ball, and what is decoration. This can be done with physical barriers or visual cues.

Test your hole – Play your course to troubleshoot it before the event begins. Make sure the ball can’t get stuck anywhere that is irretrievable (sorry kiddo, your ball is somewhere inside this 20ft long coil of tubing).

Levelness – The event will be taking place on mostly level ground, but it is gravel. Be prepared to level your course onsite, to recreate your test conditions.

Color and theme – The setting, props, and scenery contribute significantly to a player’s experience, so don’t underestimate the power of a paint job and a theme!

We can’t wait to see what you come up with!
May the best hole win!