Three holes of golf are coming to Parham Bridges Park in Jackson.
The golf will consist of three greens and six tee boxes. Normal clubs will be used but foam "Almost Golf" balls will limit distance to a third of a normal golf ball.
Undeveloped land will be cleared behind the existing Parham park playground with two bridges over the Hanging Moss creek. Long range, other amenities will be added such as more tennis courts, pickleball courts, an outdoor exercise facility, clubhouse expansion renovation, new running track and more.
The mini golf project, called First Tee, is one of the first of its kind in the nation, promoted by a new organization called Park Golf whose goal is to introduce young people to golf, especially those not normally exposed to the game.
Speakers at the ribbon cutting said this will bring golf to the people where they live, breaking down geographic and logistical barriers to golf. The 49-year goal is to do this all over the nation, starting in Jackson.
Organizers said Jackson and Parham Park was the perfect place to start and praised the city for working cooperatively with their group.
Park Golf is a three-hole, par 3, short golf course with artificial turf built in a local park. It is free to the public. The Park Golf Course will be behind the Dr. Hugh G. Ward Playground at Parham Bridges.
The event began with remarks from the partners in the project. It concluded with First Tee Kids, PGA TOUR Professionals, and community leaders hitting ceremonial first tee shots at the Park Golf site.
“We are thrilled to be selected as one of the pilot locations for Park Golf and are excited to be a part of the first pilot project. We hope the blueprint we created can be reproduced in additional national parks,” said First Tee — Central MS Executive Director Margo Coleman. "The concept was intriguing and made a fantastic program location for our First Tee Chapter. Bringing golf to where the people are is a perfect fit for our chapter as we take programming to existing youth programs, community centers, and camps in the Jackson metro area."
Here's a story on the project published last year in the Northside Sun.
https://www.northsidesun.com/mini-golf-course-coming-parham-bridges-no-…
