GOLF INFORMATION ARTICLES

Mini Golf

Mini Golf is recently gaining popularity among Golf and non-golfing aficionados. A miniature version of the game of Golf, Mini Golf is played in a felt-covered putting course with varying obstacles on each hole. Also called adventure Golf, midget Golf, mini putt-putt and goofy Golf, this recreational pursuit draws out the serious and heavy side of Golf with its playful and entertaining setup.

Onset of Mini Golf
The origin of this prevalent game was formed in 1867, in St. Andrews, Scotland. Founded by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, the 18-hole Mini Golf course called “The Himalayas” was created for the Ladies’ Putting Club to allow ladies to play Golf, as it was unacceptable for women during this time to swing clubs past their shoulders. The boom in miniature-sized Golf Courses emerged during the 20th century when Thomas McCulloch Fairbairn, a Golf enthusiast, revolutionized the game by creating an artificial green instead of grass, allowing Mini Golf to be mass-produced all across the United States. By the 1950s, Mini Golf courses were exported to Australia, Argentina, Japan, and South Africa, and since then have grown increasingly throughout other countries worldwide. Today, Mini Golf courses present different challenges and creative designs in each hole, offering amusement and anticipation for its visitors and players.

The Mini-Game Fun
Unlike Golf, Mini Golf only makes use of Golf Balls and a putter as distances of starting areas to the hole are not more than 10 meters. Courses usually have nine or eighteen holes, with obstacles creatively boundless from wells, windmills, and animals to replicas of popular places. This fun setup provides a relaxing, laid back environment, allowing visitors to get comfortable despite not having much knowledge with actual Golf techniques and rules.

Mini Golf provides players a venue to bond with their group of friends and families, and is also a suggested activity for those couples getting to know each other. With a reputation of being the economical version of Golf, many people crowd Mini Golf courses as admission tickets are remarkably inexpensive and equipment is readily available to be rented out. Holes are also shortly distanced from each other, making it easier and less tiring for both children and adults to finish the course without the use of Golf Carts. It is for these reasons that the number of Mini Golf courses and players are of greater magnitude than Golf Courses and players existing all over.

Competitive Game
With the popularity of Mini Golf in all parts of the globe, promotion of Mini Golf as a competition sport was first initiated by countries in Europe and the US, with participants coming in from nations like Japan, Australia, Thailand, Taiwan and New Zealand. World championships are organized bi-annually by the World Mini Golfsport Federation (WMF), with reigning champions Marco Templin of Germany and Elisabeth Gruber of Austria for the men and women’s category respectively, and Germany for the team category. Renowned Mini Golf competitions in the world are the US Masters, British Open, US Open, Irish Open, and World Crazy Golf Championships.

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