Off the Hook|Courtesy
The Eric Nyman Golf Simulators were donated by a VWU grad and are almost never opened to the broader Virginia Wesleyan community.
Putt-Putt After Dark was a mini-golf event held at the Cunningham Multi-Activity Center (CMAC) and the Eric Nyman Golf Simulators in the Batten Student Center at 9 p.m. on Sept. 6. The event was a blackout event and marked one of the rare times that the Golf Simulators are available for general student use, as they are normally restricted to the golf team alone.
The event was hosted by Off the Hook, with CNY event specialists providing the mini-golf equipment and glow bands. Simulator access and golf clubs were provided by the Virginia Wesleyan Golf team.
“We got a nice piece of technology here,” Evan Cooper, a freshman on the golf team, said about the simulator. “It’s nice to have it open every once in a while.” Cooper has been playing golf for four years.
There were about 12 people in the simulator from 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
“It was fun— I still have a lot to learn,” JB Brewington, a freshman Cybersecurity major, said. Brewington is on the track team, not the golf team. Several golf team members were present to manage, including Cooper.
The event in the CMAC was blackout, with nine mini-golf holes. Participants wore glow-in-the-dark bands and played with glow-in-the-dark putters and balls.
Em Dajc, a junior and Psychology major, said they liked the prompts, which were optional challenges on each course, which included challenges forgoing the putters and hitting the ball with your foot or hitting the ball between your legs. “It was kind of fun,” Dajc said, who said they particularly enjoyed the prompt on the ninth hole, which was to spin around five times before a putt.
The event was organized by Off the Hook, with sophomore Tia Durand taking the lead. She said she got the idea from her job at Ocean Breeze, a waterpark in Virginia Beach.
“We have a putt putt section next to us, a mini-golf area, so I was like ‘this would be fun,’” Durand said.
Bob Sutherland, who has been an assistant coach for the Golf team since 2008, was present at the event.
He said that Eric Nyman, (after whom the area on campus is named) who donated both golf simulators, is a Virginia Wesleyan Grad. Nyman is the CEO of Vista Outdoor Inc., according to the Virginia Pilot and many other sources, which owns Foresight.
Nyman graduated from Virginia Wesleyan in 1994 and is also a member of the board of trustees. He played basketball at Virginia Wesleyan, according to the university website.
“The one they put here is the first one they’ve ever installed anywhere,” Sutherland said. He said that although some DI college teams have similar technology, “no one in DIII has it.”
“It’s very accurate,” Cooper said, “obviously not the real thing,” Cooper said the accuracy of data collection and practice it offers is valuable for training the golf team.
The golf simulators replaced racquetball courts which previously occupied the area in an at the time controversial decision, largely due to the lack of information given to students that used the courts.
This was possibly the first time that students not on the golf team were allowed to try the simulators, although information on the subject was conflicting. It has been the largest event that uses the simulators since the system was installed in February.
“It’s fun watching these,” Sutherland said, referring to the non-golf players taking a stab at the simulators. He said that the simulators are usually closed for a reason—”It’s an expensive piece of equipment.” The Foresight Falcon, the open golf simulator that was open, retails at $14,999, according to Foresight, not including the screen or green.
He described hearing a non-golf player, who said that he swung so hard he almost threw the club. “We don’t need a club to go through the screen,” Sutherland said.
The mini golf in the CMAC had rather less possibility of property damage, although there was still a sizable crowd there.
Along with the nine-hole mini-golf field, there were refreshments and glowsticks provided.
“It’s a lot better than I was expecting it to be,” Brewington said.
Mini-golf is a difficult skill. “I hit it too hard,” Durand said. Dajc, when asked if they were any good, said “My entire goal when I’m playing minigolf is to hit the ball as hard as I can.”
Cooper said that being able to play golf “absolutely” allows someone to play better mini-golf, although it doesn’t necessarily go in the other direction. “Putting is one of the easier parts,” Cooper said.
By: Victoria Haneline
