Indoor golf becoming reality

[peter_p]

Myriad World Resorts, an Alberta company, is going to build a 7000+ yard indoor golf course in Tunica County, Mississippi, which is near Memphis. It will be part of a casino complex called Myriad Botanical Resort and the course will fit into a structure a mile long and forty stories high, according to a Golfweek article.

Has anyone heard who is going to be the designer? and would you go out of your way to play at the first indoor golf course on real grass?

Is it really golf in a climate controlled environment, without wind and palatable humidity?

[Tommy_Naccarato]

NO

[Brad Klein]

You'll look in vain  in any of the reports for any detailed information as to how this thing is supposed to be built or how the cover structure is to be supported. The costs of this thing compared to any possible return are likely to be completely unworkable.

[RJ_Daley]

I saw a TV report about life in Tunica MS.  With all the gamblin and drinkin an such, thay seem like thayr a goin plum nuts.

[Forrest Richardson]

I am the designer. Interestingly, my client has me under contract to perform all work outdoors, except CAD work, which we must perform underwater.

[Brad Klein]

underwater . . . .or "in your underwear?"

[Forrest Richardson]

Ahhh, perhaps that's the problem — we knew something seemed awkward.

[Bill_McBride]

For the International Golf Show in San Francisco, 1971, I once built a 60 yd par 3 hole inside the Civic Auditorium. The tee was in a balcony of the main auditorium and the entire hole was surrounded by netting.   The hole was designed by Robert Trent Jones' staff to replicate the 15th at Spyglass Hill (I recall that is the downhill par 3 with water short left). We built the water hazard out of rubber inner tube sandbags and black heavy vinyl which were placed to (at least in theory) contain the water.  Then sod was placed to create the banks of the pond, the green and the surrounds.  It was really quite pretty.  Golfers lined up to hit pitch shots down onto the green.  The only problem was that balls would hit the stretched vinyl and puncture it, and soon we had a flood on our hands  .  There was much patching and cursing!   The show was pretty much a flop and didn't happen again.  Wish I had photos of the golf hole.  Any Northern Californians remember this event?

[A_Clay_Man]

Maybe the third owner can make a go of it?

Maybe in Canada this would work?

[Peter Galea]

Nae wind, nae golf.

[A_Clay_Man]

Now it will be; Nae fan nae gowf

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Personally, I think anyone who would want to play golf indoors is the type of person that would also wear woman's tights.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.........

Panhandle Bill,
Only in San Francisco..........

[Thomas_Brown]

"Is it really golf in a climate controlled environment, without wind and palatable humidity? "

Watch the Bob Hope in Feb. and ask yourself that question.

[Forrest Richardson]

Well, thanks to Dr. Klein we have figured out what was wrong. It was "underwear" as he suggested. Most of our computer work had been done without underwear, but underwater. I borrowed some from a neighbor and now everything seems to be going well.

There have been some comments about wind and I thought I'd share what we are doing about that. The link below shows some examples of what has been considered...

http://www.howdencoolingfans.com/home/index.cfm?node=53

[igrowgrass]

There going to grow grass indoors?  Its only been done a few times and not for extended periods of time.  It is possible, but highly unlikely that it will be healthy turf over time that you can play golf on.

[Doug Siebert]

40 stories seems a bit much since no one hits the ball even half that high.  Unless the course is going to be really hilly, I guess!  Or maybe they plan to line the fairways with redwood and giant sequoia

[GDStudio]

As far as growing the grass, I am sure I have some buddies from college that could help out in that area as they were quite ingeneous at closet greenhouses

[peter_p]

Update, this is still being built. From their website the Myriad Botanical Resort is a multi-attraction, themed resort planned to be located in Tunica County, Mississippi. Covering 540 acres along the Mississippi River, the resort will be dominated by large, cable-supported enclosures reaching heights of over 200 feet. These enclosures will be translucent on their lateral sides and transparent above to allow light to support growth of world-class botanical gardens.

A June 2006 Memphis DAily news article mentions a IMG arrangement. Would that make them the Memphis Tigers?

http://www.memphisdailynews.com/Editorial/StoryLead.aspx?id=93127

[Kalen Braley]

20 stories should be well high enough for even phils wedges...so it looks like it'll be a double decker course...

The front 9 on the bottom and the back 9 on the upper level.

This should be sweet...but why Mississippi?  Are the summers there really awful with humidity??  

[W.H. Cosgrove]

Are these the same big thinkers who built Mall of America and whatever the mega mall is in Edmonton?  

This may work, I don't like shopping, my wife doesn't like golf.  We have trouble taking vacations that meet our needs.  In this place I could tee it up and she could go to Nordstroms.  When she wanted to SHARE some purchase all she would would have to do is wait until I putted out!  Then off to another store while I continued my round!  

Who would need the caddy, her for her bags or me for my clubs?

[Doug Siebert]

20 stories should be well high enough for even phils wedges...so it looks like it'll be a double decker course...

The front 9 on the bottom and the back 9 on the upper level.

This should be sweet...but why Mississippi?  Are the summers there really awful with humidity??  

No problem, they'll just air condition it!  Global warming, what global warming?

If they built this, it'd surely be the new world record for the largest open enclosed structure.  I think its currently held by a hangar in Germany for some airship that never got built.  I think its a few hundred feet tall, like a quarter mile long and half as wide.  In other words, not even remotely close to 540 acres.

A pint of Guinness says this is never built.

[Steve Lang]

 

GOLFERIA?

[Jfaspen]

Personally, I think anyone who would want to play golf indoors is the type of person that would also wear woman's tights.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.........

Panhandle Bill,
Only in San Francisco..........

That's probably easy to say from warm sunny southern cal..  Up here in Michigan.. we have several inches of old snow on the ground, it's very cold today and the wind is blowing.. even if we got great weather for this time of the year (50's) it's unplayable for about a week..

If there was indoor golf around, I'd probably give it a shot.

It is what it is..

[Gary Slatter]

I have often wondered who would be first to build an 18 hole course in a quarry and then put a top on it - the one in Burlington Ontario has always made me think of this when I drove by.  almost weather proof!  Apparently it's expensive for them to "naturalize" the hole when they are finished digging, why not build a course?