Mini Golf at Panther Links

Florida Tech March 3, 2014

MiniGolf at Panther Links was a semester-long design project that challenged first-year engineering students to design and build a mini golf hole. Working in teams, the students tackled problem solving, construction skills and engineering principles, while accounting for aesthetics, build quality and difficulty (each team determined their hole’s par).
The experience helped students demonstrate:

Interdisciplinary teamwork
Verbal and written communication skills
Design-related problem solving skills
Knowledge of their chosen major and other engineering majors
Construction skills

[divider] Nearly 200 golfers enjoyed the nine-hole course—they combined chance, putting skill and geometric analysis, while seeing fundamental engineering principles at work.

[quote]“Ultimately, I wanted the general engineering students to build something fun and interesting that would incorporate multiple engineering disciplines (so they can better select their major) and be able to showcase the projects to campus so everyone could see what a freshman engineering student is capable of.”[/quote]

—Matthew Jensen, assistant professor

[divider] THE CHALLENGE
Each team’s mini golf hole was judged on the following criteria:
(20%) Construction quality (determined by judges)
(30%) Aesthetics and fun-ness (as voted on by the participants)
(20%) Accurate CAD drawing of the design and or major feature(s)
(30%) Final presentation and write-up
Penalties:
(10%) If you run over budget (based on receipts submitted for reimbursement)
(2%) Every half stroke above/below your designated par based on the average score of participants