By Charles Neid
Chad Neal, the proprietor of Bigfoot Park Golf at The Ellicottville Distillery (5462 Robbins Road, by Holiday Valley Tubing Park) is chomping at the bit to open the Japanese inspired “super mini golf” he built in 2023. If you’re not familiar with this new outdoor activity popping up all over the U.S., we’ll give you the run down. It’s a mixture of mini-golf, croquet and traditional golf. There are 18 holes that are 8 inches in diameter with fairways ranging from 35-105 yards at some courses (36-86 yds at Bigfoot), and you play with one club. And the ball is the size of a billiards cue ball, but made of hard plastic. The ball generally rolls over the ground to go into the hole and the score is tallied like traditional golf with pars for each hole. It’s easy to acquire the skills to grasp the game and gain confidence in the sport, yet it’s still challenging and competitive.
Neal has to wait for the saturation in the meadow he converted into an 18-hole course to alleviate so he can get back out there to set up the flags, tee boxes and start landscaping. “I really want to make it pretty and pleasant to the eye out there; I’m trying to grow more wildflowers and other non-grass type flora to give it a more natural feel. Since the ball usually doesn’t fly in the air, unless you try (which isn’t recommended) it should stay inside the fairway and boundaries. When I first built it, I originally only had the course in mind, now I want the pleasantries as well. I’m going to set up a couple sitting areas down by the mighty Great Valley creek that people can walk to on some nature paths bordering the course. I’ve got so may ideas to make that area something special for Distillery and Bigfoot clientele to enjoy away from the hustle and bustle of the village.”, he said.
This year, as well, Neal told The Villager that the specials he is posting are on his webpage bigfootparkgolf.com and his Facebook page for the “early worm”. He is quoted saying he is offering memberships to play any time all season, except for tournaments and benefits for $230 and double membership for $375 which includes club and ball. Neal also has a few sponsorship spots on the course as well. During the spring season he will be open Fridays-Sundays and charge a fee of $20 per person for an all you can play day. Also, he will take reservations for weekday play as well by calling 716-541-4059. Bigfoot Park Golf will be open all week-long starting June 22. He explained the prices go up a bit after the spring session, but there are many discounts to find.
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Neal stated they can host parties in the pavilion provided on grounds by Ellicottville Distillery in conjunction with them. He also said “On June 20th we will have our first Tournament of the Season that is part of the North Eastern tour called the IPGAA Travelers Tour that has four other courses involved; it’s hailed as A Park Golf Tournament Series.” The courses range from central Ohio, here in Ellicottville, Akron, New York where the flagship course in America, Destroyer Park Golf resides, 1Club in New Jersey and Rines Creek Park Golf in Nova Scotia, Canada. More information will be available very soon on that, he added.
The first leg of the series starts at Bigfoot and is deemed the Sasquatch Crown. It will be a single player match with two 18-hole games played. This will also benefit a local charity TBA and will provide a lunch and soft drinks, with adult beverages available in the Distillery’s tasting room. As the season is gearing up and Neal is ready to get the grass mowed and land-scaped, his other plans and projects are on-going, he is patiently staining signage and quietly coming up with ideas to bring more folks down to 5462 Robbins Road – four miles east of the village.
Neal said he feels “the pressure to get the park golf course open!” And he says he is putting most of it on himself. “Springtime makes the lay of the land very soggy as it sits low from the hills where the families of Sasquatch live. It makes for a lush green park golf course when the bogged soil dries for the summer. It’s a real natural setting and the game makes it even nicer.”
The weather here is so very unpredictable, so if the grass soaks up the moisture in the ground, the faster he can get the texture he desires for the right kind of play. Neal said he will be doing a lot of work, but that as soon as it’s viable Bigfoot Park Golf will be open for springtime play. Remember to not make direct eye contact with the Sasquatch. And call, message or contact through the website.