Local Inventors Launch Golf Game That Blends Putting, Puzzling

As a golf writer, my love of golf is only surpassed by my love of words. When the weather is too dark and dreary to be out on the course, but I still need to scratch that competitive itch, you’ll often find me filling out a crossword puzzle, doing a word scramble, or trying to decode a cryptogram in one of those puzzle books that seem to only exist in airport gift shops.

So, when a press release arrived in my inbox about a putting game that doubles as a word puzzle — and one with Gig Harbor connections, no less — you can see why it caught my eye.

The game is GolfWords, and the premise is simple: golfers simply roll out the 13-foot GolfWords mat, which includes a grid of letters of differing point values, not unlike those you’d typically see on a Scrabble tile. There are multiple ways to go from there, but the “Scramble” version of the game has proven to be the most popular — in that version, each golfer putts six balls, then attempts to make the highest-scoring word possible using their six letters. You can also try to make the longest word possible, putt to letters in a certain order to spell specific words, plus many other variations.

“It is addictive in the best possible way,” says co-inventor David L. Hoyt.

If Hoyt’s name sounds familiar, you’re probably a puzzler. Hoyt is one of the most renowned puzzle masters on the planet, the author of the “Jumble” word game that is syndicated in newspapers worldwide and played by millions every day. Hoyt has also invented dozens of other popular word games, though GolfWords is the first to blend his dueling passions.

“I make word games played by millions of people each day, and I love golf. GolfWords perfectly blends these two passions of mine,” Hoyt says. “As [co-inventor] Don Parker and I developed and began to play GolfWords with people, it quickly became clear that we had something special.”

Hoyt and Parker, a longtime PGA professional, first met in Chicago before relocating to Gig Harbor earlier this spring and taking their new venture to the mainstream. Over the past several months, the game has been a regular feature on the patio at Gig Harbor Golf Club, where the two men are both members, and has been popular with families looking for fun ways for kids to learn through golf, clubs looking for a new amenity to their 19th hole, and golfers looking to work on tempo and speed in a fun, competitive environment.

As a longtime teaching professional, Parker says that he knew the game would serve as an effective training aid, but may have underestimated just how popular it would become with even casual golfers.

“[The way the game] challenges putting set-up, and control can reap dividends on the course,” he says. “But, the best feeling is the delight we see in people playing the game. Golfers and non-golfers are catching on quickly and finding words, surprising themselves, and sharing a lot of fun.”

For now, the game is only available on the duo’s website, GolfWords.com, with shipping currently available in time for Christmas.

“I’ve never seen a reaction to a game like we’re seeing with GolfWords,” Parker says. “Everybody loves it!”