Drive for dough at Domino Park! Putting Green, an 18-hole pop-up mini golf course, is back for its third consecutive summer on the Williamsburg waterfront. This time, by popular demand, according to the organizers, a competitive league will start in July.
The golf course — boasting one of the best views in New York — opened back up on Memorial Day weekend, with the same climate change theme it has had since it first opened.
Climate change is the defining crisis of our time, according to research from the United Nations and many scientists across the world. Human activity is producing billions of tons of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, and fossil-fuel production at a record high. Those factors are making the average global temperature rise, and it’s changing ecosystems.
Each of the 18 holes was designed by a different environmental advocacy organization focused on a broad range of climate change themes — including green and blue infrastructure, animal habitats, and energy and emissions. The designs are mostly made with refurbished or recyclable materials, including bottle caps, wood planks, and oyster shells.
“The course encourages players to explore their own role in understanding and solving our climate crisis,” said General Manager of Putting Green, Michael Lampariello. “When you take a closer look, you see it’s about all these really complicated, challenging topics to discuss, but they’re broken down into such easy little fun bite-size pieces that are much easier for the public to interpret.”
The course will be open until October. On a busy weekend, up to 700 people show up to play a round.
The adult league will be organized by Volo Sports, a co-ed adult social sports club that runs different leagues in Brooklyn including soccer and volleyball.
The course is an initiative of the real estate company Two Trees, which is in charge of turning the iconic Domino Sugar Refinery on the Williamsburg waterfront into an office building. Two Trees Management is also known for spearheading the transformation of Dumbo from a largely-industrial area to a thriving — and pricey — neighborhood.
Some proceeds from the mini golf course will be donated to two local organizations addressing climate change effects in New York City: the Newtown Creek Alliance, the organization that is restoring a natural ecosystem in Greenpoint; and the Wildlife Conservation Society, an association that works to protect the world’s largest wild places, and the huge variety of creatures who live there.
“Newtown Creek Alliance is very hyper-local to North Brooklyn, while the Wildlife Conservation Society is also New York City-based, but they act internationally at a larger scale, so it was a good scope and balance,” said Lampariello.
