SAN FRANCISCO – Playing golf in a major league baseball stadium might sound ridiculous. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
Everyone I met playing the Ballpark Back 9 at Oracle Park on a wonderful Tuesday evening was having a blast, even if only a few of them could get shots airborne. Count me among the new supporters of this type of golf. The experience exceeded all expectations.
I’ve always enjoyed alternative golf – especially short course rounds and night golf – but this Topgolf-meets-sports-geek cranks the fun up an extra notch simply because of the venue.
It’s not really about the golf. You only get 18 swings, two shots per “hole”. It’s about touring an iconic stadium like you’ve never seen it. I’ve been to plenty of Giants games but never been privileged enough to get inside the home dugout or the Gotham Club, the interior bar where all the bigwigs hang out during games. The Back 9 “course” takes golfers to those spots and others, from the highest levels of the concourse to the bowels of the basement where pipes are painted in Giants orange and black.
If you live in the Bay Area, I can’t recommend enough giving this once-a-year golf adventure a swing. Tee times costing $114-$190 (food and drink are included for the “Tour” ticket package) are available until Sunday Nov. 9. In its fourth year, the Ballpark Back 9 serves as a fundraiser for The Bay Golf Club, the TGL team of Shane Lowry, Min Woo Lee, Wyndham Clark and Ludvig Aberg who compete every winter in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Their faces and team logo are splashed throughout the stadium.
If you don’t live in California, why should you care about this event? Because a similar experience is likely coming to an iconic sports stadium near you. A company called Upper Deck Golf travels the country hosting similar rounds inside New York’s Yankee Stadium, Chicago’s Wrigley Field and LA’s Dodger Stadium with more MLB stadiums “coming soon”. Golf experiences inside football stadiums such as Michigan Stadium, Buffalo’s Highmark Stadium and Seattle’s Lumen Field are in the works. Even the most casual or beginning golfers who are fans of these teams will have a hoot getting inside their favorite stadiums for a few swings.
More about the Ballpark Back 9 experience
I’m sure you have so many questions. I know I did before showing up for the first time. No, you don’t need to bring your own clubs, although you can if you wish. Balls and clubs are provided. They’re decent enough. I did bring a glove and wore a golf hat, though, to simulate like I was playing real golf.
If you do feel obligated to bring a club, grab your highest lofted wedge. Five of the nine holes play less than 100 yards. The longest hole stretched to 160 yards, which supposedly played 135 yards with the elevation change down to the field. The wind off the San Francisco Bay kicked up as the round went along, making club and shot selection tougher.
Golfers are given a scorecard, although most don’t use them. I didn’t. My buddy and I just hit shots and enjoyed the walk going up and down stairs, through tunnels and riding up and down elevators. If you do want to keep score, the rules are simple:
– If your shot hits the flagstick and stays within the colored circle, it’s a hole in one. On the 37-yard first, my friend Rusty Seymour hit a chip that bounced once and hit the stick, which created spin that caused the ball to circle the hole halfway down inside the cup before settling above ground. Almost a real ace!
– A shot inside the colored circle is considered a birdie. I hit it tight on the 141-yard fifth.
– A shot on the green goes for par. My percentage was really weak as it’s hard to judge the elevation drops.
– A shot off the green nets a bogey. Guilty as charged!
– A shot that lands outside the field of play drops to a double bogey. Hole “caddies” (ushers) monitor every hole to discourage players from swinging for the fences or knocking a Barry Bonds bomb into McCovey Cove.
I loved the festive atmosphere that felt more like a happy hour. A deejay is spinning tunes through the loudspeakers. The stadium lights are changing colors from bright white to purple to set the mood. During my round, the Golden State Warriors were competing on the scoreboard big screen, so you could watch a little hoops, too.
Watching the non-golfers swing always provides another source of entertainment. Lots of couples and women feel more comfortable participating in this type of environment than going to an actual range or course. That makes the BallPark Back 9 more casual and inclusive, which I applaud. We wrapped up in a little over two hours while taking our time to soak it all in.
The round finishes in “extra innings” at a couple of makeshift, astro-turf putting holes. You’re supposed to get one chance, but Rusty and I vowed to stay until one of us made the final putt. We took significantly longer than one good golfer and one decent one should.
Missing all those putts at the end brought the evening full circle. It’s not golf without a dose of poor putting antics, am I right?
Would you pay to play golf inside a famous baseball or football stadium? Give us your take in the comments below.