Country music star Rodney Atkins will be “watching you” if you come to Top Golf tonight for his concert. You can also yuk it up with a golfing legend tonight and Friday night.
Band members from Sister Hazel were scheduled to perform last night, and Black Dog tomorrow night.
While much attention is focused on Washington Road, golf patrons visiting Augusta have a chance to test their own skills just down the road.
Top Golf is a straight, one-mile shot down Alexander Drive from Washington Road. Tucked at the end of the appropriately named Topgolf Way, off Riverwatch Parkway, it is ready to greet visitors to its driving range, miniature golf, disc golf, and assorted other games.
“The game of golf is growing,” Sean Frantom, Manager of Sales and Community Engagement, told ABD. “When you look at something to do, and you come off the golf course, everybody’s going to want to play golf while they’re in Augusta. We hope that they’ll come out and hit some balls with us, because we’re open for business. We had great rates this week.”
Golf fans began arriving more than a week ago to enjoy the Augusta National Women’s Amateur (ANWA) and the Drive, Chip, Putt competition for young golfers. Frantom said that was reflected in foot traffic over the weekend, with numbers higher than last year, many of them out-of-town visitors.
Area businesspeople and families are also availing themselves of activities.
Most weeks, John Eckley is trying to cut commercial real estate deals for the Finem Group, a division of Meybohm.
For Masters Week, John and his wife, Sarah, along with four of their five children, kicked off a staycation earlier in the week with a stop at Topgolf.
“Especially in a week full of golf,” said Sarah Eckley. “We could take our kids and do some golf. They got to go to the National yesterday and experience some of that, and then can come practice today.”
She added she hopes visitors will take the time to explore everything Metro Augusta has to offer.
Augusta is full of wonderful things, great food, the Riverwalk, and things downtown are great to experience. Augusta & Co. (the Broad Street welcome center operated by Destination Augusta) connects people to lots of other fun experiences that are here,” she said. “I think it’s a really neat city. Maybe outside of Masters Week, people wouldn’t always think of coming here, but I think there’s so much to do.”
One thing not yet available for visitors is The Patch, the Augusta Municipal Golf Course, which underwent a major renovation thanks to a partnership among the Augusta National Golf Club (ANGC), Augusta Technical College, The First Tee of Augusta, and Masters Tournament Charities.
There was a soft opening in mid-March when school teams and organizations had the chance to play the 18-hole course. Frantom said he has talked with several people who played The Patch during its soft opening. He was told it still has The Patch “feel, but its appearance is next level.
“I think that is going to be a jewel for Augusta,” he said. When you hear the tee times start on the 15th (April 15, open to the public) and how far out they’re already booked, and what they’re doing, you can’t thank the Augusta National enough for what they do for this community. The Patch is just going to be a jewel that, luckily, we get to live and play right here in our backyard.
For more info on Top Golf’s week of activities, visit https://topgolf.com/us/augusta/
