High-Octane 'Wild Golf' To Stir Up The City Streets Of Detroit

By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid

Golf is coming to the Midtown streets of Detroit.

On the night of May 19, two former college athletes will square off in a high-stakes duel of "Wild Golf," a hybrid version of traditional golf in which speed, not efficiency, is the determining factor. The match will run through the Wayne State University Campus and conclude in the warehouse district, according to pressandguide.com.

Wild Golf was dreamt up and popularized by Wilderness Xtreme Sports, a company that "design(s) creative variations on traditional sports, and stage(s) events which feature them." The goal in Wild Golf, a one-on-one sport, is to complete the course as quickly as possible, regardless of number of strokes. Quite simply, the first person to hit his/her ball into the hole wins.

Contestants use just three clubs, one of which is a putter, and wear protective gear to guard against stray shots. Unlike in traditional golf, players can hit at the same time.

"Night of Wild Golf," the event scheduled for May 19, will pit Mike Gierucki of Dearborn Heights, a former baseball player at Northwood University, versus Tony Ventura of Dearborn, a former soccer player at Schoolcraft College. The winner will be awarded a Wilderness Xtreme Sports pickup truck while the runner-up will take home $2,500. 

Per pressandguide.com:

"Picture throngs of Wayne State University students and young urban professionals lining Motown's famed Cass Corridor in an atmosphere that can best be described as equal parts neo-classic film "Blade Runner" and New Orleans' Mardi Gras.

Picture golf played at night and not on a traditional course, but on a city street to a pitched frenzy replete with fireworks, strikingly costumed dancers and fanatical wild golfers.

That's the premise behind the "Night of Wild Golf," an annual one-on-one contest between two former collegiate athletes set for March 1 on the Midtown streets of Detroit."