Gross National Turns Driving Range Into 'Little Chipper' Course

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- If you're a golf course -- or any business for that matter -- you've always got two goals.

Maximize your resources and recruit new customers -- especially young ones. Gross National in Minneapolis found a rather creative way to do just that.

The driving range doesn't get a ton of use, or should we say didn't, before General Manager Dave Bratland got his idea -- a way to maximize the space, and even more importantly, get kids interested in golf.

"Really, what we've tried to do here is to create a golf course for really, the really young kid," Bratland said. "You know, three, four, five, six, all the way up to eight, nine years old."

On the weekends, Gross National's driving range is transformed into what they call their "Little Chipper" course: Six holes, all 45-70 yards in length, with 15-inch oversize cups.

"I've had such great compliments from families saying, you know, we take kids to the driving range all the time, but this is something different for them to do, they actually feel like they're on a golf course," Bratland said. "It's just a great way for them to be introduced to the game."

Attracting kids to golf has never been more important. Participation in the sport has been on the decline for a decade, with courses in Minnesota and nationwide closing as a result.

"Getting kids in the game is probably the most important thing that we can do right now," Bratland said.

The course is for kids, make no mistake, but it's not only for kids. Turns out, adults can play it too.

"I play it all the time with my kids," Bratland said. "Honestly, I think I probably like it as much as my kids do. It's fun to play. It's different. It's low-stress. I just come out here with my lob wedge and my putter, and it's a lot of fun."

The "Little Chipper" course is open Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Labor Day weekend.

Bratland said other courses have already come to Gross to check it out and inquire about possibly adding their own.