BETHEL — Golfers hoping course owners will enlarge hole cups to improve their scores will get their wish this month at The Bethel Inn Resort.

Late Thursday afternoon, the resort announced that it will conduct a two-day experiment, replacing its traditional 4¼-inch diameter golf hole cups with 15-inch cups on Sunday and Monday, Aug. 17 and 18, Director of Sales & Marketing Brad Jerome said in a news release.

“The two days will include special events, contests, prizes and discounted green fees for golfers who want to sample this widely discussed new dimension to the game,” Jerome said.

The bold idea of using cups nearly four times the traditional size is being promoted by TaylorMade-AdidasGolf and was launched at a tournament immediately following the Masters, which included Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose in Georgia, Jerome said.

Some 100 clubs around the country are joining in with special events and tournaments.

With its 6,700-yard, Geoffrey Cornish-designed layout, The Bethel Inn Resort will be the first major facility in the Northeast to offer this opportunity to the golfing public, he said.

On Sunday, Aug. 17, there will be a 3 p.m. four-person, nine-hole scramble with holes refitted with the 15-inch cups. Participants may sign up as a four-person team or as individuals who will be assigned teams by the Pro Shop.

The event will include chipping and putting contests using the larger holes. After 3 p.m., tee slots will be available for players who do not wish to participate in the scramble.

On Monday, Aug. 18, tee times for 9 or 18 holes will be available all day. All 18 greens will feature the 15-inch holes, as well as the standard-size holes, so players have an option.

The resort urges golfers to call early for tee times since there has been a strong interest among golfers of all levels to see how much the larger cups will lower their scores, Jerome said. Estimates range from five to eight shots per nine-hole round.

Jerome said the resort’s head professional, Mark Mallory, is looking forward to hosting this special event.

“In addition to reducing our green fees, we will be offering $2,000 in resort spending money as prizes for holes-in-one and for the special chipping and putting contests,” Mallory said. “We are anxious to see the reactions of high- and low-handicap golfers to this unique experiment.”

The resort’s managing partner, Allen Connors, emphasized that there are no plans to convert to the larger hole size on a permanent basis.

“We see the larger holes as a way of increasing interest in the game, with special events like those planned for Aug. 17 and 18,” Connors said. “We also envision some of our golf groups wanting to experiment with them, especially groups with higher handicaps and infrequent golfers.”

For more information and tee times, call The Bethel Inn Resort Golf Shop at (207) 824-2175, ext. 402 or (207) 824-6276, or email golfshop@bethelinn.com.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com