2nd Annual Putt Putnam County Recap

Course setup, we even had a few homemade putters in the bucket by the door.
Course setup, we even had a few homemade putters in the bucket by the door.

Earlier this month we had our 2nd annual ‘build a mini-golf hole’ competition, which was held at new location at the Makerspace downtown. Well, sort of… too many holes to have it inside, so we lined them up on Franklin Street sidewalk in front of the Makerspace the first Friday of November. And what perfect weather it was for playing a round!

Always love to see creative mini-golf holes and this year’s build was no exception. The guidelines are on our Putt Putnam County webpage, but the basic idea is simple: get together a group of folks and build a hole. We provide materials, create/add you to a team & mentors if you need it, plus a time/place to play when done. And of course those cute little pencils and a scorecard.

Getting past the rotating mermaid tails to reach the treasure is tough with Under the Sea built by the Green family.
Getting past the rotating mermaid tails to reach the treasure is tough with Under the Sea built by the Green family.

This year there were a few more family built holes, but it was a mix of different team entries. Of the eight holes there, a personal  favorite was Antigravity – you can view a video here of this creative hole in action. This year there were a lot more moving part entries, a category we added this year. Under the Sea’s motion was impressive (and it’s assembly/disassembly capability) and the steam punk look of Time Turner’s entry turned out even better than the builder’s thought.

Time Turner, a steam-punk hole built by 11-12 year old kids, used a BBQ rotisserie motor and old bicycle inner tube to rotate the clock face (which has a paddle underneath). The pulley and golf ball tee were 3D printed & the clock numbers were cut using the Makerspace laser cutter.
Time Turner was built by 11-12 year old kids using a BBQ rotisserie motor and old bicycle inner tube to rotate the clock face (there’s a paddle underneath). The pulley and golf ball tee were 3D printed & the clock numbers were cut with the Makerspace laser cutter.

Our goal next year is having an earlier completion date at a First Friday event downtown and more community organization built holes. Start coming up with your ideas now; you don’t need to be involved in Castlemakers to participate & have fun!

Thanks to all the participants that built holes, mentors that coached the younger teams, and everyone that came out Friday evening to enjoy the fun. And to Headley Hardware for donating some of the project materials.

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