Selects: How Miniature Golf Works

Key Takeaways

Miniature golf originated in 1867 in St. Andrews as a women's putting club.
The game evolved in the U.S. with pioneers like James Barber and rooftop courses in 1926.
Innovations in artificial greens and obstacles fueled a significant boom in the 1920s.
Its affordability cemented miniature golf as a national pastime during the Great Depression.
Don Clayton's Putt-Putt, starting in 1954, focused on skill and expanded globally.
The sport features professional tours and competitive play, with rare perfect scores.
Miniature golf courses today range from elaborate themed attractions to historically significant sites.

Host Chuck Bryan expressed a strong fondness for putt-putt, recalling nostalgic childhood activities like arcades and birthday parties.
Host Josh Clark shared rich childhood experiences playing miniature golf at Stone Mountain Park and during family vacations on Lake Erie.
The hosts enjoyed both skill-based courses and those with typical themed obstacles like windmills and volcanoes.

Miniature golf's origins trace back to the 19th century, with the Ladies' Putting Club of St. Andrews established in 1867.
The St. Andrews course was partly a response to Victorian-era social constraints, which deemed a full golf swing improper for women.
The Ladies' Putting Club, nicknamed 'The Himalayas' for its undulating terrain, is still operational today.

James Barber in Pinehurst, North Carolina, built an 18-hole course called Thistledew in 1924, reportedly coining the term 'miniature golf.'
Prior to this, courses were sometimes referred to as 'Liliputian golf,' referencing characters from Gulliver's Travels.
In 1926, entrepreneurs Drake Delanois and John Ledbetter opened a rooftop course in New York City, sparking a trend of approximately 100 similar locations.

In 1926, Garnett and Frida Carter opened the Fairyland Club in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which included a miniature golf course called Tom Thumb Golf.
They are credited with adding stationary obstacles and hazards, using construction materials and fairy tale-themed statuary.
Thomas McCulloch Fairburn invented a cost-effective technique for artificial putting greens using crushed cottonseed hulls and oil, crucial for the expansion of miniature golf.

In August 1930, the Commerce Department reported 25,000 mini golf courses in the U.S., with half built in the preceding eight months.
Miniature golf successfully transitioned from a 1920s fad into the Great Depression as a national pastime due to its affordability, often costing a nickel.
Local entrepreneurs created 'rinky-dink' courses using found objects and PVC pipe as lower-cost alternatives to franchised courses.

In 1954, Don Clayton developed Putt-Putt Golf and Games in Fayetteville, North Carolina, aiming for a more skill-based game without excessive obstacles.
His first course, built with a $5,200 investment, recouped its cost in 29 days, demonstrating significant customer interest.
The Putt-Putt franchise expanded rapidly, reaching 256 courses globally at its peak, with only three perfect games recorded in 65 years.

Only three individuals have achieved a perfect score in Putt-Putt's 65-year history, highlighting its deceptive difficulty.
Rick Baird, a miniature golf pro from Charlotte, achieved a perfect game in 2011, with a documentary capturing the tension of the final holes.
The Lomas brothers, Ralph and Al, patented mechanized course components in 1955, introducing moving obstacles like windmills and ramps.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is a notable hub with over 50 courses along a 30-mile stretch of Highway 17.
Unique courses include a death-themed course in a Palatine, Illinois funeral home basement and a KISS-themed course in Las Vegas.
'Parking' in Lincolnshire, Illinois, is described as a pinnacle course, while 'Golf Gardens' on Catalina Island is considered potentially the hardest in the U.S.