Senior, Lawrence Pierre, played the hole he and his peers designed.
On Tuesday August 3rd the WHSAD Summer Bridge program went to the Putting Green Mini Golf course as a session field trip. The overall theme of the golf course was global warming and the effects of climate change. Each golf course was based around a current issue or solution regarding global warming.
The students who attended the golfing trip wrote about their experiences at the golf course- their stories are listed below.
Summer Bridge- Mini Golfing
by Kimberly Castro on Tuesday August 3rd, 2021
Today, Tuesday August 3rd the summer bridge students and SYEP workers took a trip to a miniature golf course with the guidance of our teachers. I personally loved it! I’ve never been mini golfing before and having the opportunity to do it with my friends and incoming freshman students was great, seeing everybody engaging and having fun after not being able to do this kind of activities since the pandemic started was a unique experience that made me realize how much we need human interaction, being able to know each student better not through a screen but actually having them in front of you, watching everyone so excited transmitted me happiness. I was in charge of taking some of the pictures and while I was at it I got to appreciate the unique designs each mini golf course has, it’s so impressive how the designers were able to create a different scenario and make it so creative even though it wasn’t a huge space, not only is this a fun place to go to but it’s also very educational to make people more aware of climate change and how important it is to take care of the planet we live in, once I was done playing I sat and just admired the amazing view, it made me feel so calm and relaxed. Now more than ever we should keep taking care of ourselves so that we can finally go back to normal or at least try since I know nothing is going to be the same anymore, we need so much from each other even though sometimes we don’t realize it, we need to feel like we are alive again and enjoy every little thing.
My Experience at the Mini Golf Course
by Aaron Ortega Tuesday August 3rd, 2021
Considering that today was my first time playing any type of golf, I had a fun experience. Walking into the place I didn’t even notice it was a mini golf course until I was handed my ball and club but once I got on to the course I was surprised. It looked very unique compared to other golf courses I’ve seen before. It looked like the place was put together with recycled pieces. Even though it was, it was still fun to play all of the unique courses. My favorite course was easily number 4. Though it’s simplicity of being a small course, it was surrounded by water and looked like the city here in New York. I also found it very interesting that course 8 was created by people that attend the school. Knowing that my school’s work is out in the public for people to see and use is mind blowing. I look forward to one day creating something that can be used by the public.
The Designs of The Golf Courses
by Pedro Astudillo Tuesday August 3rd, 2021
Today we went to The Putting Green mini golf located next to Domino park. I had never gone to this mini golf location and I didn’t know what to expect. To be honest I knew the area was not big so I thought that there wasn’t going to be many different holes to play or different areas. Although I had these thoughts and expectations when we got there I was in complete amazement at what a beautiful and creative mini golf area it was. There were I believe 18-20 holes, and all of them were all very unique in their own way, with all of the holes proving very creative challenges for the players. The one thing that you can’t help but notice is the amount of recycled material used in this mini golf course. The first thing you see when you walk up the steps to enter the golf course is this big globe. The globe had a mini flag sticking out of NYC showing where we were, and the most important thing to talk about is the use of bottle caps as the ocean and both North and South poles. Hole 2 was made with a lot of plastic bags that were used to make octopus. There were also fishnets used as decoration for the hole. Hole 4 was such an interesting hole to make. The challenge here was the hole was Manhattan and since Manhattan is an island it was surrounded by water making you be very patient and meticulous with your hits. There was also another hole that used sea shells, mussel shells, and fish cages as decoration. They also had little signs with history on the meaning behind the shells being used, which was that there used to be a lot of mussels in the area and they got fished for a lot in the 1900s. The last thing I would like to mention is the hole design by my schoolmates. I for one did not even know this was a project in the works. Mr. Koestner mentioned it to me and I was caught in complete shock especially because I was looking at the designer ( Lawrence) myself. I thought it was really impressive to have something that you designed in a public place like this mini golf area. Honestly it was also pretty challenging and yet simple. To wrap this up it was a fantastic trip, everyone had a great time. I think that all the freshmen have already made a great relationship with the teachers and their classmates so everyone was talking a lot which was nice to see.
Trip to Putting Green
by Felisha Solis Tuesday August 3rd, 2021
The trip to Putting Green was a fun trip. With 18 areas filled with lessons on things that are impacting the world. And made with recyclable items to give more feel to these lessons. Unlike other sports golf is a game with whoever scores less wins. One of my favorite areas was the tidal waves, here in this hole you had to make sure where you placed your ball would give you an accurate line or lead close to the whole. The only challenging part about the tidal wave was how if you didn’t hit the ball hard enough it would go far or close to the hole. One of the most challenging areas for me was the forest fire hole. Here it is a bit tricky due to having to do multiple tries on getting the ball to the other side. One area that interested me was the putting area that had a skeleton of a whale, and a polar bear stuck on a piece of ice showing that global warming is impacting the ability for polar bears to survive. Even though I didn’t get to try all of the holes I had a fun time getting to play mini golf.
Link to Putting Green Miniature Golf if you want to learn more: