Thousands of golfers will take to the stands of Everton’s home over the coming days as a unique experience plays out on the Liverpool waterfront. Upper Deck Golf has taken over Hill Dickinson Stadium, with nine tee boxes dotted around the ground. The aim? To hit the greens laid out on the pitch below.
Popularity and Timing
The event, held to coincide with the Open being held in Southport, has proved extremely popular with tee times extended so players can get involved from early morning to the evening. While the experience is well established in the US, this is the first time it has been held in Europe, providing a landmark for both Everton and Upper Deck Golf.
With tens of thousands flooding Merseyside to watch golf’s finest players take on Royal Birkdale, this summer represented a golden opportunity to test the event out across the Atlantic. For managing partner Marc Bender, Hill Dickinson Stadium was an easy choice for Upper Deck Golf’s first foray into Europe.
Why Everton?
He told the ECHO: “To have this be our first stadium was a very natural fit because the Open Championship is taking place this week simultaneously and there's a lot of people that get even more passionate about golf when the Open's taking place. To have it in most locals’ hometown, or near their hometown, between Liverpool and Birkdale, combined with the fact that you have a lot of people coming into town for the Open really lined it up to be a very successful event, which it has proven to be. We have several thousand people that are going to be here and we also know how passionate the Everton fans are. So why wouldn't we do it here as our debut international event?”
First-Hand Experience
The ECHO visited on Thursday - testing out the nine holes first hand - and did so among hundreds of excited players, many visiting the waterfront stadium for the first time. The event is the latest to showcase the versatility of the ground, following major spectacles in Rugby Union and Rugby League over recent weeks.
Upper Deck Golf rounds off the summer experiences - aside from a special Q&A with former boxing world champions Joe Calzaghe and Tony Bellew - but work is well advanced in planning similar activities across the coming summers - all of which boost the city region’s economy and the club’s finances.
Success from Day One
For Marc, the event has been so positive he could call it a success on day one. He said: “It's been great - lots of fun, which is just what we had hoped for. There have been a lot of smiling faces, beautiful weather, and, obviously, a lot of planning goes into this so to be able to see it all happen is pretty awesome.”
