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TIME-CONSCIOUS golfers are now able to whizz round the 9-hole executive course at the Royal Golf Club (RGC) with the MINI-mum of delay after an extra large set of holes was introduced.
Formerly known as the Wee (a Scottish term for small) Monty after its creator Colin Montgomerie, who also designed the main 18-hole signature golf course, it now offers a quicker challenge so players can get back in plenty of time for a breakast butty in the café or on the road to work.
The designers hope it will also encourage more children to try out the sport and follows a range of global initiatives aimed at attracting a new younger audience.
Stephen Havrilla, general manager of the RGC, said: “We have had some good feedback from our members and guests regarding the changes to the course.
“The introduction of the two flags has created some excitement and a different challenge for many of the players.”
The move also comes as a result of the club’s partnership with Euro Motors, the official BMW Group importer in Bahrain, and it will now be known as the MINI Monty Golf course.
The 9 hole par 3 golf attraction, with holes ranging in lengths from 60 to 140 yards, is considered ideal for beginners, juniors and families, as well as experienced golfers wanting to improve their ‘short game’, particularly pitching and putting, while enjoying the cooler autumn climate.
The concept behind it was also to integrate the club’s Golf Academy into the MINI Monty allowing new players to the game to be introduced to the course.
The partnership also witnesses the launch of a completely new game that utilises the 9-hole course called the ‘MINI Monty Cup’.
Participants will play a non-traditional game of golf with a simple set of fun alternative rules. At each hole, a golfer can decide to target the larger or smaller cup. A hole out in the larger cup ensures the score remains the same, however, a hole out in the smaller cup deducts a stroke from the player’s score.
“Moreover, the course is designed with family engagement in mind which is why there is no age restriction,” Havrilla added.
The partnership sees the relaunch of the MINI Monty Family Day Package which offers special rates of BD15 for adult visitors and BD12 for adult members – while children can accompany adults free of charge.
“MINI is a brand with a sporty and active personality, which is why a fun 9-hole course at the Royal Golf Club seemed like a natural fit for the brand,” said Paul Yates, general manager of Euro Motors.
“We have gone a step further with the creation of the MINI Monty Cup – a fun-filled variant of the traditional game that we are confident will have participants enjoying themselves.”
The RGC’s recently appointed director of instruction Gavin Campbell earlier told GulfWeekly that he aims to bring some ‘fun’ into playing what many consider to be the world’s most frustrating sport.
And this newspaper also highlighted how golfing executives were concerned about a slump in attendance, mainly due to the amount of time required to play a round in the high-speed digital age where attention spans appear limited.
According to the National Golf Foundation, the sport had lost five million players in the United States alone in the past decade and 20 per cent of the 25 million golfers now active in the country were likely to quit in the next few years.
Golf, though, responded to its own warning cries of ‘Fore’ by thinking outside of the time-honoured traditions of the game that was invented in Scotland in the late 15th Century as it faced arguably its biggest struggle for survival in the 21st.
Among the innovations included soccer balls instead of a dimpled Titleist or Callaway, golf holes with a 15-inch diameter that look more like a bucket than the traditional cup similar to the ones introduced to the MINI Monty, and the ability for players to clock in and out of rounds and thereby pay for as long as they are on the course.
* In Bahrain tee times are available all day long so that family groups can enjoy the new course attractions at their leisure with no pressure, just lots of fun. Prices are inclusive of 9-hole MINI Monty green fee and club hire for the family with a maximum of two adults per tee time.
