In Search Of Mini-Golf ( 9. October 2006, 15:05 by Derek Young) ~ Putt Putt Putt
We found ourselves searching for mini-golf this weekend. You see, I spent a significant portion of my childhood in Southern California. My memories include the beach, Disneyland, strip malls, sixties ranch home communities, freeways, and mini-golf. I left California in 1992 for Tacoma. Whenever I returned to visit family or friends, I would stop by my ‘golf course.’ The games in the arcade changed. Where I used to play Centipede, then Dragonslayer, was Dance Dance Revolution. The course was looking a bit more rundown as the years passed. The three fiberglass dragons needed some love. Generally speaking, it seemed to age with me and my memories were intact.
Several weeks ago, when we were in Southern California, for my brother’s wedding, we decided to stop by my mini-golf course and play 18 holes. We drove down Beach Boulevard. Then we went too far. I missed it. We turned around and drove back the other way. I couldn’t find it. Then, I saw it. Where my mini-golf used to be was a half built mixed use building with three levels of commercial space and one level of retail. Behind it, on my preferred ‘back eighteen’, was an apartment building. Oh, sad.
After we got back to Tacoma, we were determined to try a bit of local mini-golf. Determined to get outside this weekend, we made our way to Tacoma Firs Golf Center on South Tyler. Tacoma Firs has a small 18 hole mini-golf course. It was interesting to see a course that tried to look natural. Our courses in Southern California were Technicolor with blue, red, purple, and green grass. The water was nearly always sky blue. The obstacles and ‘buildings’ were nearly always taller than us – like a miniature city.
Tacoma Firs is a more natural course. The water features look like creeks. The ‘grass’ is green. The obstacles are designed to look like trees, gravel pits, and sand traps. How novel. The course doesn’t have any active obstacles like windmills, swinging poles, or drawbridges. The course doesn’t have large hills or sweeping curves. It’s a simple course with simple objectives. The water traps are real. Twice my ball hit rock obstacles just right and bounced off the course and into a pond with tremendous bravado. While not the type of course I grew up with, it was still a decent game of putt-putt. We’ll try it again. At the same time, however, we’ll keep looking.
Anybody up for a round?
Link to Tacoma Firs Golf Center
p.s. Yes, I know that there’s mini-golf at Tower Lanes (or used to be at least). That doesn’t count…
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Parkland Putters should certainly count. Went there only while in college at PLU and it was a good time and pretty clean. Could certainly do without the freeway noise though.
1 | Posted by KevinFreitas | Oct 9, 03:48 PM
B&I had one when I was a kid, which wasn’t to terribly long ago. Have no idea if it is still around. They also had Ivan then so who knows.
2 | Posted by Jake | Oct 9, 04:04 PM
Parkland Putters is the biggest one around with something like 54 or 72 holes.
There’s also a bar out that way that has mini-golf out back. A few beers into a night, mini-golf gets pretty interesting. Anyone remember who has the mini-golf bar? (Tower Lanes doesn’t compete with this one because their course is not a big part of who they are.)
I love mini-golf, but stink. When I was in the Salt Lake City area, it seemed to have the highest concentration of mini-golf courses I’d ever seen. Good clean fun and all that.
3 | Posted by DavidS | Oct 9, 04:09 PM
The other option I don’t see up here is down in puyallup the Putting Zoo. They have the windmills, water features, and even an entire hole that spins. Also batting cages and go-karts.
4 | Posted by karin | Oct 9, 04:16 PM
The bar that has it is:
Cassidy’s Pub & Mini-Golf
(253) 531-2251 9621 Portland Ave E
Tacoma, WA
5 | Posted by Wads | Oct 9, 05:06 PM
“Putt Putt” was big where I grew up too.
My favorite was at a working dairy farm where you could get fresh made ice cream and play a round of “Udder and Putters.”
I am not kidding:
http://www.youngsdairy.com/minigolf.htm
Maybe Frisko Freeze can buy up some of the surrounding property and build a course!
6 | Posted by heather | Oct 9, 07:54 PM
Perhaps Metro Parks should build a decent putt-putt course…
What do you think? :-)
Yeah, a Trophy from Parkland Putters is something everyone should acquire, at least once! I still miss (or more likely just think I miss) Players and Spectators. (The old Ice Palace at 38th & Union that sort of collapsed once.)
Derek – Have time to form a putt-putt LLC?
Anyway, let’s do some kind of game before beverages on Thursday.
8 | Posted by Dave L. | Oct 10, 08:32 AM
There’s another course out near Sumner; I see it when I’m going from eastbound SR-512 to northbound 167. Looks cool, but I’ve never stopped.
That’s the Putting Zoo mentioned by Karin…
9 | Posted by jamie from thriceallamerican | Oct 10, 09:15 AM
The Putting Zoo looks pretty cool. Actually, I’d probably go as much for the go-karts as the putt-putt.
10 | Posted by DavidS | Oct 10, 03:15 PM
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