Ingersoll mini-putt hoping for a visit from local hockey star

Ingersoll Key Putt employees Kingsly Voorn (left) and Jordyn Ferguson, both 15, pose with the life-size cutout of women’s hockey star Ella Shelton. The goal is to have the local superstar come for a round this summer. (Contributed photo)

Lee Griffi, Editor

The three students working at the Ingersoll Key Putt have set a lofty goal for this summer – a visit from Canadian hockey superstar and local Ella Shelton.

The facility is owned and operated by the Kiwanis Club of Ingersoll, and it is managed by 17-year-old Arjen Voorn, who said the idea came from other locally themed holes such as one paying tribute to astronaut Jeremy Hansen and Beachville, where the first-ever game of organized baseball was played.

“We were in a meeting one day with our committee with people from the Kiwanis Club and me and the two other employees. We were just kind of bringing up ideas, and they wanted to get some of the younger people's opinions, and someone brought up Ella. Since our focus is on younger people at the course, we wanted to have an obstacle focused on that.

The Shelton cutout was introduced last week and the feedback has been very positive so far.

“We had an event recently with the Chamber of Commerce of Ingersoll. And they all loved it a lot. It's a good way of like showing the pride of Ingersoll,” he added.

The next step is waiting to hear from Shelton’s manager, who was totally onboard with the idea.

“Her manager sent us the photo of her, and we got permission from her to use it. We're going to reach out again and see if she might want to come down and maybe sign it or like take a photo with it.”

A Key Putt social media post encourages people to play a round, take a photo with Shelton, and share it on social media while tagging the Olympian.

“Let’s see if we can get Ella to visit the course and check out the obstacle celebrating her incredible accomplishments,” it added.

The course held a tournament last weekend, thanks in part to a ParticipAction grant. Some of that money was used to purchase prizes for competitors. Voorn, who is heading to Wilfred Laurier University in September to study social work, explained he and his co-workers love seeing people from the community enjoy the facility.

“I love seeing returning faces come down. We had a seven-year-old boy have his birthday party with us this year. It’s great seeing him come back, and he always has so much fun. Just getting involved with the community is just what we love to do.”

The Key Putt has three sponsors this season who contribute money for free golf days for the public.

“Those are usually our busiest days, and it's just a lot of fun.