DIY mini golf set for your workstation

Ever tried your hand at workstation game? I had a habit of folding bus tickets into tiny folds and hit them a couple of inches like a carrom board coin.

The most classic of them all is the Newton's Cradle, but today we have office desk basket ball, mini nine pins, desktop snooker, Rubik's cube.

Office desks and workstations are a world in themselves. Their look and feel reflects the nature of a corporate office and at times its hierarchy in variations, despite the mundane nature that has come to define all things corporate in the current era.

You can jazz up your office cubicle in many ways. It does not matter if you are start-up, self employed struggler or a top management person in a multi-billion dollar corporation.

An office desk game to distract your eyes and brain briefly from those stress-inducing emails and phone calls, is one such option. Here is an example of a golf set that you can make with things around home to use at your workstation.

It is low cost and worth your time.
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What you need:

-- a tray base: I used a wrapping case that came with a gadget purchase (You could also try the lid of a shoe box, or an old tray around home that you want to discard. Make sure it has edges to contain the felt sheet)

-- green felt sheet that fits into the container

-- a crochet needle 

-- a large bead that rolls well

-- a styrofoam cup, or another throw-worthy container that you can use scissors on

-- a pair of scissors or a craft knife

-- marker pen or pencil

-- optional - ice-cream stick/popsicle stick/ craft stick

-- optional - tacky glue

-- optional - a ruler

Am saying tacky glue is optional because, if your base is the right size with good edges that will not let the big bead or tiny ball roll off the board, you can always stick the felt to its base. I decided to make this not as a serious golf set or a toy set to learn the game's rules, but simply as something to take the anxiety off someone's workstation time.

As for me, I did not worry too much. I picked the styrofoam cup and marked out a U-shape to cut. In my head, I could not forget those little hiding holes of Jerry in Tom and Jerry series.

And it is to help mark the shape of U out that the popsicle stick comes in handy.

Next on, it is about cutting it along of course. 

When you cut this hole, make sure your bead/ball goes in easy.

I kept it aside. And cut the sheet of felt to fit into the tray. This is a no-fuss project and I did not prefer decor of any sort, lest it clutter the desk space.

Remember, when you fix the sheet on the base, there is a bit of trimming, and rounding off that you will need to do depending on the corners of the walls.

You will also need to even out the felt sheet over the base. Here is where the tacky glue comes in handy in case you want to glue it up on to the tray. In case you stick it through, try roughing the base a little to let the surfaces stick better.

If you want a hilly terrain for the golf holes, you can use a lump of cotton here and there under the felt sheet. I decided otherwise to avoid a mess.

After this, invert the styrofoam cup where the U-hole sits perfect on the felt-sheeted tray.

And, it's time to play! If you want the ball to roll better, you may try out a smoother surface - maybe a green coloured sheet of construction paper. 

This one does not have a hole on its base, unlike a normal golf course would. If you want a hole on the base, an option is to raise the felt base using cotton or packaging styrofoam below it, cutting a hold big enough to fit the bead or tiny ball, and using a tiny bowl from a doll kitchen set.

Try and think of other objects that can come in handy for the piece.

PICTURE COURTESY: Radhika M B

For permission to reuse, write to: radicreative@gmail.com