The people who showed up for the 2018 CGA Season Tee-Off event at Aqua Golf in Denver on Saturday proved adept at following directions.
As one CGA staffer noted when some would-be participants came up to inquire about the proceedings, “Just have fun; that’s all that we ask.”
Mission accomplished.
In the first of what very well might become an annual happening, the Season Tee-Off function drew about 150 people on Saturday, according to CGA manager of programs Matthew Walker, who helped launch the event along with Denver Golf director of marketing Leslie Wright.
Those who came on Saturday had their choice of several free activities — miniature golf at the 36-hole facility, hitting balls into the lake at the driving range and getting 10-minute lessons from PGA and LPGA professionals including Rick Timm, Susie Helmerich, Chris Hamilton and John Cassidy.
There were contests — for holes-in-one in miniature golf, chipping contests to targets in the water, and even for guessing how many tees were in a sealed jar. The stakes were pretty high for the tee-guessing game: tickets to the U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor early this summer and free rounds of golf at CGA-owned CommonGround Golf Course.
The day was punctuated by yells and screams and high-fives from people who made holes-in-one on one of the two miniature golf courses at Aqua Golf.
“Everyone had one (in our group) so everyone is leaving happy,” noted Moe Oro, a CGA member who brought his daughter and son and a friend of his son. “My son is always eager to get out golfing, and this was a good way to get my daughter out too and just have some fun today.”
The four-hour-long Season Tee-Off was hosted not only by the CGA, but Denver Parks & Recreation (Aqua Golf is a City of Denver facility, located across Florida Avenue from Overland Park Golf Course.) In addition, the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado held a rules seminar on site that was attended by about 40 junior golfers and their parents.
“I think this is another great example of coming together with the CWGA (which integrated this year with the CGA),” said CGA executive director Ed Mate, who was among those on hand on Saturday. “This is the kind of thing they’ve been more active in — with the golf Experience events — than we have. They have a great relationship with the City of Denver. It’s another example of ‘we’re better together.’ Looking out here today, it’s really gratifying to see families (enjoying themselves) and everybody working together.”
A call from Walker to Wright asking about a possible facility to host a Season Tee-Off led the event taking shape. And with Denver Golf wanting to give Aqua Golf more exposure, it seemed like a win-win.
“I thought this would be a perfect facility because you can teach, do the putting and really get some exposure for Aqua Golf because a lot of people don’t know it’s here,” Wright said of the facility, which is just off Santa Fe Drive, but isn’t readily apparent from the road. “(Staffers) take real pride in how they maintain this facility and keep it pristine.”
Some of the people who came to the Season Tee-Off had heard about it in advance. Others just happened upon the event on Saturday. That included Stephen Dwyer, who showed up with his sister and his young kids, Anne and Beau.
“We just kind of came upon it,” Stephen said. “We didn’t know it was going on today. I used to play at Aqua Golf all the time before they redid it many years ago, but we just happened to come here today. It was great.”
Mate and former CWGA Match Play and Senior Match Play champion Laurie Steenrod, now a CGA Executive Committee member, got into the spirit of the day by competing in a friendly putting contest (below).
Given how the inaugural event came off, the Season Tee-Off might just become a fixture on the local golf schedule.
“It’s a first, but from what I can tell — the driving range is full, there are plenty of people on the miniature golf course — I think it’s something we’ll want to do every year,” Mate said.
