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Corrections Officer by Day... Video Game Designer by Night: Mansfield Man Wins Golden Tee 'Design-a-Hole' Contest

Posted on: Tuesday, 8 September 2009, 08:00 CDT

MANSFIELD, Ohio, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Jim Little is a regular guy who works for the Ohio Dept. of Rehabilitation and Corrections. But this regular guy is about to become famous in sports bars everywhere, because he's also the creator of the prize-winning virtual golf hole, "Tropical Torment," to be featured in the upcoming release of Golden Tee LIVE 2010.

Golden Tee, the #1 coin-operated video game in the country, is found in more than 100,000 bars nationwide. Over the next year, more than 5 million people will play it and experience Little's "Tropical Torment."

Little's life officially changes on September 10th at Boomer's Grill in Mansfield, his favorite watering hole. That's when Golden Tee LIVE 2010 will be unveiled by its creator, Incredible Technologies (IT) of Arlington Heights, IL.

Little, an avid real golfer, plays Golden Tee for fun. When he entered IT's Design-a-Hole contest, his goal was to create an ultra-realistic hole, like one he'd find on a golf course. "Golden Tee," Little says, "is a way to compensate for Ohio's long, snowy, golf-less winters."

That resonated with Golden Tee's creators, because that's how the game came to be in the first place. Back in 1989, a passionate golfer/IT designer named Larry Hodgson was longing to play year-round golf...in Chicago. So, he designed an uber-realistic video golf game and asked co-worker, Jim Zielinski, to design a virtual course.

Now, 21 years later, Hodgson, Zielinski, and the IT team keep the popular bar game--which has grossed more than $2.5 billion to date--on top by creating a steady stream of new courses, technical upgrades, and fresh twists, like the Design-a-Hole contest.

IT will showcase the video of its new theme song, "It's Golden Tee," which is written and performed by country rocker/Golden Tee fan Ira Dean, formerly of Trick Pony. See the video now at www.youtube.com/goldenteegolf

And of course, there's the unveiling of Golden Tee 2010. Among many upgrades, there's new commentary from sportscaster Jim Nantz and PGA pro Peter Jacobsen, plus five spanking-new courses.

But, chances are, no one will be more thrilled than Jim Little.

What: Golden Tee LIVE 2010 World Premiere Where: Boomer's Grill, 1400 W. Fourth St., Mansfield, OH When: Thursday, September 10, 2009, 7:00 p.m.

SOURCE www.goldentee.com

Source: PR Newswire

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