Par for the Course- Golf Flags for Kids

A portable golf set my kids and I designed and built for impromptu guerrilla games on demand- any park, any time.

Supplies included about 30 small printed sheets of felt and 18 sheets of plain white felt, and 18 3/4-inch wooden dowels that were 36-inches in length. We raided my sewing box for contrasting colors of embroidery floss- The whole project set us back about $25 a bit less than going out for mini golf. The flags convert to banner garlands which we'll decorate the play room with when the winter rains start up.

First thing I did was to cut a template out of paper which would get one full flag out of a sheet of felt. Standard felt sheets are 9 by 12 inches. You could use another type of fabric for this project,but we like felt because it is stiff and the flags stand up straight making the numbers easy to read from a distance. If you used a softer fabric, like jersey cloth for example, you could iron interfacing between the flag layers to make it stand up.

I also marked out 7 one-inch parallel lines onto the template. These will be traced on the white felt backing to show where to slide the dowels through. You don't need to be precise on the placement of these, but I put marks at 3/4 of an inch,1 1/4 inch,2 1/2 inches, 3 inches 5 1/4 inch, 5 3/4 inch and 7 inches. Make sure your slits are at least 1/2 inch from the vertical flag edge.

Trace the flag template onto18 sheets of colored felt and 18 sheets of white felt.

Cut the flags along the marked lines. Felt is very friendly to little hands and this is a great place for the kids to jump in on the project.

Using an X-acto knife, cut the parallel dowel slits.

We cut numbers from felt then hand sewed them to contrasting color circles. This part took the most time but was a great way to spend a few rainy afternoons.

Next we hand sewed the felt circles to the flag fronts.

With the sewing machine and a running stitch I attached a white felt backing to each flag.

Another easy step! Thread your dowel through the slits so that the flag stays attached, it should tuck into the last slit into the back of the flag. Repeat 18 times, another great kid job.

Pack up your game and hit the park. Spacing, terrain, its all up to you. We used empty strawberry baskets for holes. My daughter likes to set up a smaller course where it is possible to make a hole-in-one on each hole. My son likes to spread it out more with tree obstacles, puddles and bark chip hazards. We picked up our putters at the thrift store for about $3 each.

This design is super versatile. You can remove the dowel and run heavy twine through the back of the flags to create a fancy banner.

We strung up the flags and had some friends over for a BBQ