When it debuted in 2015, The Links at Petco Park was as popular in San Diego as craft beer and fish tacos. Three days of tee times to play inside the stadium of the San Diego Padres sold out in a matter of hours. So this year, Callaway Golf and the Padres added two days and extended the hours, and it sold out again.
The additional days and tee times allowed 2,700 golfers to experience the event this fall as opposed to 1,600 in 2015. Callaway Golf marketing manager Nathan Adelman said the expanded availability and upgraded course proved to be big hits.
“The enthusiasm was just as much as a year ago, if not more,” Adelman said. “We had a lot of come back, many of whom said they had an even better time this year, and we also had a lot of people participate who didn’t get to play last year. There was more energy in the stadium this year because we spaced the tee times closer so there were more people in the park at once.”
Among course upgrades were tee boxes staged at four levels of the stadium as opposed to three a year ago, but the opening tee shot, hit toward center field and the San Diego skyline, remained at home plate.
From the tee boxes, golfers get two shots at an outlined green with a colored pin flag. A circle drawn around the flag serves as a birdie target. A ball hitting outside the circle but on the green is a par; any shot landing outside is a bogey. The best-ball score is recorded for each hole.
Course architect Geoff Shackelford, who worked on the Olympic course in Rio, consulted on this year’s layout to enhance the course experience.
“He helped shape greens, bunkers and hazards to be true to where golf shots would be coming from,” Adelman said. “One of the reasons this event appeals to people is that despite being in a baseball stadium it’s an authentic golf experience. It’s a legitimate golf course.”
Shackelford also helped Callaway stretch the course a bit, extending the length of the longest shot to 165 yards. The shortest was 68 yards.
Two other changes included the incorporation of live scoring and a partnership with Pro Kids and The First Tee of San Diego. Pro Kids sold mulligans and generated more than $23,000 in donations, Adelman said.
“That’s really rewarding for us to see,” said Adelman, who also noted that imitators of The Links experience are coming out of the woodwork, including the Atlanta Braves, who hosted a similar event that didn’t involve Callaway or other equipment partner.
After last year’s event, Adelman said Callaway officials spent the year brainstorming how to upgrade the experience and had conversations with 15 organizations about holding a similar event for them. Ultimately, Adelman said, Carlsbad-based Callaway chose to focus on its core business and improving the event in “our backyard.”
“We need to focus on selling golf equipment,” he said. “It’s a lot of energy and resources to pull off an event like this. We want to continue to focus on doing it here and doing it the best.”
Adelman said the event is an ideal environment to introduce people to Callaway equipment because golfers hit the company’s clubs on each hole, which are manned by a Callaway staffer. A collaborative effort with the Padres is also a big reason for the event’s success, said Adelman, adding: “I have an inclination we’ll be back.”
