2023 NBA Open
A tee-rific time on the course! Over 140 employees and friends/family participated in the 2023 NBA Open, an epic putt-putt competition that took place in our Atlanta and DC offices. Coworkers were grouped into teams, each responsible for coming up with a themed golf hole design.
The Atlanta office transformed overnight into a nine-hole course, complete with matching attire, background music and special effects. There was also a bonus competition for individuals to submit their own golf ball design. This year’s awards included Best Designed Golf Hole, Best Golf Ball Design and Champion Golfer of the Year. A secret panel of judges crept along the fairway, carefully noting details of people’s talents and designs. Creativity was out of this world at the Star-chitects hole, transporting players into the Star Wars universe where they golfed their way across the galaxy. The aviation studio took competition to new heights in the Danger Zone hole where competitors trespassed onto a foggy (cue the dry ice) airport runway. Players avoided going up in (fake) flames at the Dumpster Fire hole, dodging piles of trash and toxic waste along the way. True to their Bulldog roots and anticipation of Georgia-Florida weekend, the Landscape Architecture studio’s Junkyard Dawgs hole dared players to trek through a swamp to get to an epic UGA tailgate.
Putt-putting from inside the swamp (aka Director of Landscape Architecture Chris Fortner’s office) with no sight of the hole, players relied on the strength of their tap and sense of direction for the ball to travel where it needed to go. Despite a treacherous topography, NBA President Jeff Smith was able to sink a hole-in-one! “As a lifelong golfer, this was one of the greatest shots I have ever hit,” commented Smith. “After 3 or 4 mulligans in Chris’s dark office, my strategy was to just hit it as hard as I could and see what happened. Luckily, I neither broke anything nor spilled my drink.”
During the final awards ceremony, the Landscape Architecture studio received Best Designed Golf Hole, Project Designer Carl Weaver and Interior Designer Kelly Weaver took home Best Golf Ball Design, and Interior Designer Anne Mason was named Champion Golfer of the Year!
Best Golf Ball Design Award
Carl and Kelly Weaver
Champion Golfer of the Year Award
Anne Mason
Best Designed Golf Hole Award
Landscape Architecture Studio
The DC employees switched things up in their office, but that’s par for the course for those creative thinkers. Teams built their holes using supplies found in the office. Holes had to be par 3, and the overall winner was the person with the lowest golf score. The three-hole course—Haunted Hills, Miscellaneous Metals and The Island—meant there was less room for any fizzos from players. After a tough competition, Architecture Associate Emma Schaper was named the overall winner! “It was nice to know that four years of high school golf team finally paid off for something,” commented Schaper. “The NBA Open was such a fun event. While some holes were definitely harder than others (and maybe should have been a par 5 or more), it was really great to see so many creative course designs!”
Overall DC Office Winner - Emma Schaper
Thank you to everyone who participated and made this such a fun event. Until next year, golfers. Check out pictures below to see the rest of the amazing courses and golf ball designs!
