NEWS
What makes the perfect Golden Tee design?
Truthfully, there’s no perfect formula to follow in the creation process, no recipe to reuse and repeat, but you know one when you see it. From the tricky par-3s near the end of the round, to the always-popular drivable par-5s, to the reachable par-4s jam-packed with obstacles, it’s the details on the designs that separate it from everything else.
Jim Zielinski, Golden Tee’s co-creator and course designer, has been the primary architect for these designs. As we embark on the 25th anniversary of Golden Tee, you have Jim to thank for your virtual golfing highs and lows. And while Jim has been the mastermind behind much of what you play, five holes have come from the players and passionate fans of the game.
The Design-a-Hole Contest has given you the opportunity to go from fan to contributor in Golden Tee over the past five years. The contest has changed slightly over time, but the overall theme remains the same.
Get your dream golf hole in Golden Tee 2014.
Having a spot in your favorite game would be enough for most, but were not stopping there. At stake in the 2014 Design-a-Hole Contest is Golden Tee immortality but also much, much more.
As if getting your dream design in Golden Tee 2014 wasn’t enough, the rewards for being Design-a-Hole Champion are far greater.
The design will immediately go from drawing, sketch, video, etc. to living, breathing creation in the next 2014 update. Better yet, the winner of this year’s contest will be able to play their design whenever they please on a Golden Tee 2014 Online Home Edition.
Forget about just playing your design. Play your design, online, with your golfer, in your home! This year’s winner will receive their very own Showpiece cabinet (retail price $3,999) along with a year subscription of online play.
Those who come up just short of the top prize will also be rewarded.
Each finalist will receive their very own special edition Golden Tee Player Card celebrating the accomplishment. Golden Tee LIVE Gift Cards will also awarded in the following amounts: Second-place will receive a $300 GT LIVE Gift Card, third-place a $200 GT LIVE Gift Card, while the remaining finalists will each walk away with a $50 GT LIVE Gift Card.
The Name of the game remains the same.
Design any par-3, par-4, or par-5 you’d like to see in Golden Tee. You can sketch it out using pen, get fancy with a computer program, create a video, draw it up on a cocktail napkin, steal your son’s colored pencils to create a masterpiece, or do anything that you feel will help actively portray your creation in the best way possible.
Not an artist? Have no fear. The design itself is what’s most important. If you do have a background in art or architecture—like our winner did last year—take full advantage of your skills. If not, use your Golden Tee logic to get by. A solid hole suitable for Golden Tee will get recognized, regardless of how beautiful the design may or may not look.
Playing golf on the moon may be your dream, and it might even look cool on paper, but it will not be picked. Be original, be creative, but be realistic. Well, Golden Tee realistic. Elevations and distances are critical, and keep that in mind when you craft your creations.
Once your designs are complete (and you can submit as many as you please), you can email it to design-a-hole@itsgames.com. Please include your name, hometown, contact number, par of the hole and, of course, the name of your design.
Attachments will be accepted. Please use reasonable file sizes and common file types. If you’d like to mail a hardcopy of your design, you may do that as well.
Design-A-Hole
c/o Incredible Technologies
200 Corporate Woods Parkway
Vernon Hills, IL 60061
Name, Hometown, Contact Number and Hole Name
The submission period of the 2014 Design-a-Hole Contest will remain open until April 15, a deadline that should be rather easy to remember for various reasons.
At this point, our Design-a-Hole Judges—aka the astounding Golden Tee development team led by course guru Jim Zielinski—will review every single submission sent in. At this point, they will determine the finalists for this year’s contest.
There is no set number of finalists; it all depends on the designs. The better the batch, the more we’ll reveal when that time comes.
Once the judges have taken a week to look them over, we will reveal one design each day on Goldentee.com as well as the Golden Tee Facebook Page. Every finalist will get his or her deserved spotlight, and at this point we’ll welcome any and all feedback. In fact, it serves as a huge portion of this contest.
Although the judges will have the final say on the winner, your input on how each design will be valued a great deal. Even if you didn’t submit, we encourage you to participate. Once all designs have been revealed, the feedback will be analyzed and the 2014 Design-a-Hole champion will be crowned.
Need a little inspiration to get you started? The GT Judges are here to help.
While we won’t be overly specific with course locations yet, there will be an ocean course along with a links-style course in 2014. You can build your designs around these locations, but by no means limit yourself to these two spots.
“A good Golden Tee hole will be obvious, regardless of whether the location fits,” said Jim Zielinski. “We can make it fit. While we love seeing some of the creativity and unique ideas out there, the holes with Golden Tee sensibility seem to resonate more. If you can find the perfect of combination of creativity and feasibility, there’s a good chance you’ll be a finalist. That’s what we’re looking for.”
Translation: Have a blast, be different, be creative, but keep in mind the game and how your design could translate.
