The San Francisco 49ers and Stadiumlinks will have golfers swinging from the seats June 8-10 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. (Courtesy of San Francisco 49ers)
Fore! Golf returns to Levi’s Stadium in June. The San Francisco 49ers, in conjunction with promoter Stadiumlinks, will transform the NFL venue into a nine-hole course, where golf enthusiasts can hack away at the home of Super Bowl 50.
The three-day event June 8-10 follows last year’s transformation of the Santa Clara stadium into a duffer’s paradise. This year brings a revamped course design with new tee box locations and hole placements incorporated into the playing field. The top five scorers split $2,000 in prize money.
The cost to play a nine-hole round starts at $75 to $85 a person depending on tee time, 49ers officials said. Online bookings are available in groups of two and four people. A VIP package, a new wrinkle this year for an additional $65, provides access to an exclusive lounge, VIP tee boxes and a private practice range, plus a Stadiumlinks T-shirt.
All players receive 18 complimentary golf balls to be played during the event and free use of standard golf clubs at each hole. A mobile application that keeps track of live scores and adjusted yardage posted at each hole for more accurate club selection are upgrades this year.
49ers’ seat license holders get first right to register for the course through a presale, officials said. Tee time bookings will go on sale May 8 to the general public at stadiumlinksgolf.com.
The 49ers plan to use some current players in marketing and promotions ahead of the event, which falls during offseason training this year, and hope to involve them in staging it, 49ers spokesman Roger Hacker said. It’s too early to say who may participate, he said. Last year, Stadiumlinks was held in July during training camp, resulting in the 49ers having limited access to players.
The transformation of stadiums into golf courses is a trend dating to November 2015 when the San Diego Padres first partnered with equipment manufacturer Calloway to convert Petco Park into a nine-hole course.
Since that time, a number of NFL and MLB venues have invested in these special events, including Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, and Atlanta’s Turner Field, both done with Stadiumlinks. Topgolf has extended its brand beyond its own golf centers with Topgolf Crush, which has set up at stadiums including Seattle’s Safeco Field and Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
San Francisco 49ers President Al Guido said he could not discuss terms of the Stadiumlinks deal. Last year’s event at Levi’s Stadium did pretty well, drawing roughly 2,400 participants over three days, Hacker said.