New Bunkers & Bumps Putting Course boosts guest per capita spending
By News Release | November 9, 2021
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Adventure Golf & Sports (AGS) is introducing Bunkers & Bumps (B&B), a new style of putting course offering entertainment venues such as FECs, hotels / resorts, restaurant / bar operations with an entertainment component, and other venues, the opportunity to incorporate the family and date night fun of mini golf play into the overall guest experience. “Our clients have come to us to expand on a market trend of natural putting courses, as compared to traditional miniature golf, and integrate it into their operations. Those that implement this new style of fun putting courses will be creating the opportunity for increased guest per-capita spending, boosting other revenue centers such as food and beverage, while enhancing the guest experience and bottom-line performance,” comments AGS president Scott Lundmark.
“This new style of putting course is like a miniaturized real golf course but only putting the ball with enhanced topography, artificial putting and rough turf, along with faux sand bunkers protecting or challenging certain shots…a real game changer.
“Our company is familiar with this approach as it is similar to courses we designed in the past with the difference being the older courses were much more flat and did not have the faux bunkering. In fact, for the past 13 years, we have designed, fabricated and installed similar courses on ship decks for Royal Caribbean and Regents Seven Seas. Our courses have been located on rooftops for Ponce Market and Holiday Inn and indoor venues such as Great Wolf Lodge.”
Recently the company launched its Modular Advantage course using interlocking patented, flexible, permeable panels to create land-based courses that look and feel like concrete but replace the need for concrete or optional construction methods such as sand-filled turf mounted on crushed stone and fines. The AGS system is very popular because of its low cost, quick installation and low maintenance.
“An eighteen-hole Bunkers & Bumps course is condensed to fit 12,000 square feet and a nine-hole course will fit in 6,000 square feet, which is easily converted into 18 holes by adding two golf hole cups per hole,” says Lundmark.
According to AGS, their system allows the fabrication and installation of a unique course using green technology, which is a welcome benefit to many purchasers. The higher grade of artificial putting turf also includes water drainage features. The panel system made from recycled materials is permeable, offering instant drainage and does not contribute to runoff or erosion.
The AGS proprietary bump system permits the AGS installation team to cover bumps with a special material allowing water to flow through, and permits easy attachment of the rough turf.
“New technology has been the driver of more than twenty products offered by our company,” according to Arne Lundmark CEO and Chief Designer.
AGS will introduce other new products besides Bunkers & Bumps at the November 2021 IAAPA Expo trade show booth # 4867, including: RailShot – a new miniature golf concept permitting changeable shapes; and 360GOLF – a new high-tech mini-golf interactive game using a new-tech ball and sensors throughout the course to create automatic scoring and an immersive game experience with sound and lighting effects.
The recently expanded AGS design team has created B & B designs for two new cruise ships, a rooftop and an outdoor venue for installation in coming months. The fabrication and installation crew have created a prototype at the AGS Michigan headquarters, including new B & B standards and ADA access.
AGS is a global leader in the design, construction, fabrication and installation of fun, interactive, cost-effective miniature golf and sports products and services. Modular products, feature a patented interlocking panel system and include mini golf, putting greens and courses, pickleball, shuffleboard, bocce ball, croquet and golf hitting bays. These products are frequently installed for indoor and outdoor applications including rooftops and cruise ship decks. Other products include Bimini ring toss, bean bag toss and mini golf obstacles.