If you’ve ever wanted to hit golf balls from the top levels of a Major League Baseball stadium, your time has come. Upper Deck Golf is coming to PNC Park in September.
The company specializes in setting up greens on the field of a football or baseball stadium and letting fans try to hit them from up in the stands. No drivers or long irons are allowed so no one can blast a ball out of the stadium.
The draw, in addition to the novelty, is a chill atmosphere. The website’s promotional images feature golfers drinking Coors Light and wearing baseball jerseys. The company recommends showing up early and staying late to “enjoy the great music, cold beers, food and multiple golfing challenges with your friends and family.”
Each hole is between 75 and 150 yards, teeing off from a driving range-style box in nine different locations around the stadium’s higher levels. Upper Deck will have nine greens set up on the field with holes and flags, plus an inner circle around the pin. Get the ball on the green, and it’s a par. Land it inside the inner circle, and it’s a birdie.
That means you won’t be walking around the field itself putting divots in the Pirates’ tightly maintained field. But you will get to walk around PNC Park for a while and see the stadium’s exquisite views.
Upper Deck has taken its business to many of the country’s famous stadiums. It tends to book a venue months in advance and sell out quickly. In addition to Pittsburgh, it’s been to Chicago’s Wrigley Field and has upcoming events at St. Louis’ Busch Stadium, Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park and the Bay Area’s Levi’s Stadium, among others.
After your nine-hole round, you can participate in a few golf challenges for prizes such as baseball tickets. There’s putting, chipping and long driving using a simulator. Upper Deck recommends stopping by the clubhouse bar, too.
Upper Deck will be in Pittsburgh from Sept. 21-23. Golfers can sign up for the VIP List for “exclusive access” to tee times once they come out. A standard round is usually priced at $79.99 per person.
Learn more and register at https://upperdeckgolfing.com/pncpark.
Harrison, a rising senior at Denison University, is a Union Progress summer intern. Email him at hhamm@unionprogress.com.