Miniature Golf Gets Into The Swing Of Hole-some Fun

By Kevin Reed

Final hole. Score tied. The defining momment where champions are born and legends are forged.

You approach the tee and scan the course ahead of you - a long par 3 that slopes upward and doglegs to the left. A hole you've mastered a dozen times before and know you can do so again IF you can just make it past the windmill...

Windmill? Okay, so you're not at Agusta, or even the community pitch'n putt for that matter, but a series of links where kitschy obstacles like castles, volcanos, barrels, loop-de-loops and other assorted whimsical statuary has replaced bunkers, professionally designed landscaping and pristinly manucured greens and fairways.

Affordably fun and family-friendly, without the need of any prerequisite skill, miniature golf has remained a favorite of both young and old for nearly a century - so much so in fact that the pastime routinely draws more participants than other higher-profile activities such as camping.

For all it's appeal as a game aimed at the masses, miniature golf was once the exclusive playground for the well-to-do set.

Built on the estate of James Barber by noted golf course architect Edward H. Wiswell in Pinehurst, North Carolina, not far from the famed resort and country club, the series of links featured grass bunkers but none of the adornments found on todays courses.

Barber's backyard lark became an instant hit with his peers, as well a with movie stars and celebrities, who quickly took to establishing "garden Golf" courses of their own.

It was a pair of enterprising New Yorkers, Drake Delanoy and John N. Ledbetter, that todays course operators can thank for helping bring miniature golf to the public.

In 1926,the two set about searching for an appropriate central location in which to start their venture. But where? With open space being at a premium in the big apple, Delanoy and Ledbetter cast their eyes upward - namely up on the roof of a skyscraper near Wall Street.

The small course was a perfect fit on top of the building, and throngs of enthusiasts were soon putting their way along while enjoying the spectacular view. In all, Delanoy and Ledbetter would go on to erect 150 other rooftop cources throughout the city.

By now, the once passive diversion had developed into a full-blown craze with small time mom and pop miniature golf operations seemingly sprouting up overnight. Also making an appearence on the scene were the first brand name franchise courses marketed as Tom Thumb Golf. Following a specified layout and design, the Tom Thumb courses were the first to incorporate the obstacles and play-through hazards that are now a staple of miniature golf layouts around the world.

Toward the close of the 1930s, there were an estimated 50,000 courses located throughout the nation with four million Americans playing each and every day.

With the competition tightening for customers, operators began getting creative to maintain the novelity of their courses by outfitting their links with ornate landscaping like shrubs, rookeries, hedges and fountains. Others took their game indoors and added artificial plants and trees.

Business tapered off dramatically when the nation entered World War II, and the game slipped into a period of dormancy. With the coming of the baby boom generation, however, miniature golf would experience a renasince.

The invention of astroturf led to the use of a variety of synthetic outdoor carpeting which greatly reduced expensive routine maintaince and made courses more profitable. New venues in the form of family fun centers - huge mega-activity establishments that not only offered multiple courses but also batting cages, bumper boats, video arcades, go-carts and water slides - also became the industry standard.

Today, the game has advanced to a much higher level with the formation of the World Minigolf Sports Federation (WMSF), the workd sanctioning body for an ever-growing number of professional miniature golf players and their respective affiliates, of which the U.S. ProMiniGolf Association is a member.

Sponsoring the Masters National ProMiniGolf Championship, played each September in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the tournaments annual winner goes on to represent the U.S. in the Minigolf World Championship.

And, for those still laughing at the notion of mature adults trapsing about on miniature golf links playing for serious cash, take note: The International Olympic Committee, prompted by leverage from the WMSF and other international organizations has, as of October 28, 2000, granted the game of miniature golf provisional status - the first step towards inclusion as an official competion sport in future Olympic Games.

About the Author:

A native of San Diego, California, I now make my home in Illinois with my wife and two daughters and work as a freelance writer. Suite 101 has been a part of my " favorites" list from the day I first ran across it and became a member. I look forward to joining the ranks of these talented editors and bringing a bit of a fun and interesting subject to share with everyone. Enjoy....

Article courtesy of http://www.suite101.com.