Today I noticed a driving range that also had a miniature golf course on premises. Not being a golfer, I don't pay attention to those things, so it could be quite common, but it seemed unexpected to me. I would have thought that the driving range would appeal to actual golfers, who would look down on miniature golf.
But I suppose there's no reason why that would be. Many sports have miniature versions of one sort or another: arena football, indoor soccer, 3-on-3 basketball, table-tennis, go-karts, etc. In each of those cases, the folks in the big game wouldn't take the small game too seriously, but they don't seem to despise its existence.
So what's up with other sports. We should have miniature hockey. Okay, there's floor hockey and road hockey, but that's not as organized as the other small sports. Imagine pro road hockey, with teams of three on a squash-court-sized playing surface.
But back to the driving range and mini-golf course. It occurs to me that this place is a kind of deconstruction of golf. By driving the ball and then putting, you get the whole golf experience. It's just like how you could skate around for a while, shoot a puck at some targets, then run into a wall a few times, and you've effectively played a hockey game. But golf is probably the sport that could most benefit from this post-modern virtual experience: golf courses are big and expensive, you could save lots of money (and walking) this way. Just make sure that your golf-replacement experience centres are all located within walking distance of a bar, and it will be just like an afternoon on the links.
No comments:
Post a Comment