If you’ve ever felt the thrill of a well-aimed putt, the electric energy of a successfully navigated mini-windmill, or the spine-tingle of that perfect off-obstacle ricochet, you’ll know there’s no sport quite like mini golf.
From its humble American origins, mini golf (also known as ‘crazy golf’ or ‘putt putt’) has rolled into countries worldwide, effortlessly fusing the competitive ethos of its parent game with the sheer joy of novelty obstacles, wobbly surfaces and hidden tricks that send you pinging off-course.
To celebrate this wacky sporting wonder, we’ve collected together some of the most creative, off-the-wall, and downright bizarre mini golf experiences the world has to offer. From glow-in-the-dark greens to hole-in-one hydraulics, this selection is a far cry from the rusty course you’ll find at your local arcade.
1. Dino Park Mini Golf – Phuket, Thailand
A prehistoric putting wonderland, this course transports keen golfers back to a land before time itself.
Found nestling just next to Thailand’s Marina Phuket Resort in Phuket, Dino Park is a full-on, multi-sensory golfing experience, featuring towering anamorphic dinosaurs (some of which will move and roar at seemingly random intervals), and holes located in a bubbling lava cave, under a gushing waterfall and at the base of an erupting volcano. If you like your mini golf with an added sense of primeval peril, it’s unlikely anything will tricera-top this 18-hole course.
Number of holes: 18
Open: All year round
Nearest hub: Hat Karon
2. CaddyShack City – Christchurch, New Zealand
A much-loved bastion of the New Zealand mini golf scene, Christchurch’s CaddyShack City has been welcoming putting punters into its ingenious fold for many years.
Housed in an unassuming warehouse on the outskirts of the city, each of this course’s 18 holes has a unique theme, ranging from a mind-blowingly detailed space station that rewards hole-in-oners with a moving, smoking rocket launch, to a candy factory that dispenses lollipops on every turn. Although the course could undeniably benefit from a lick of paint, it still sees steady streams of locals and visitors alike queuing up to tee-off.
Number of holes: 18
Open: All year round
Nearest hub: Christchurch
3. Lexington Ice Center course – Kentucky, USA
Visitors to the Lexington Ice Center, in famed horse-racing town Lexington, Kentucky, are in for a mini golf experience of biblical proportions, quite literally. The public leisure complex is home to three 18-hole courses inspired by scenes from the Bible.
With a course each covering the Old Testament, New Testament and the Miracles of Jesus, pious players can expect to navigate such religious iconography as the Tree of Knowledge, Jonah and the Whale, Jacob’s Ladder and Noah’s Ark. There’s sure to be a special place in heaven reserved for those who manage to finish under par – so long as they keep their language righteous should a ball frustratingly go astray.
Number of holes: 3 courses, each 18 holes
Open: All year round, only Friday to Sunday in winter months
Nearest hub: Lexington
4. Bubbeljungle Golf in the Dark – Leiderdorp, Netherlands
Glow-in-the-dark? Check. Murder mystery? Check. Trippy, freakish creatures positioned at every turn? You bet. Bubbeljungle’s mini golf course has crammed a good number of gimmicks into its 18 holes, but somehow, it seems to work.
As players enter, they are given their mission – to save famous, kidnapped singer Diva Laguna from certain death by playing one hell of a round of mini golf. Each hole contains a clue that is only revealed after its final putt, allowing the mystery of Diva’s disappearance to be slowly unravelled while a grumpy walrus in a three-piece suit looks on. What’s not to love?
Number of holes: 18
Open: All year round
Nearest hub: Leiden
5. Championship Adventure Golf – Merseyside, UK
For mini golfers who take the sport as seriously as its full-size counterpart, Championship Adventure Golf in Merseyside kicks things up a notch with its two 18-hole courses.
The Landmark Course features holes inspired by attractions and landmarks from the local area, whilst the Championship Course offers golf fanatics the chance to live out their wildest dreams in miniature – each of its 18 holes are replicas of famous ones around the world, belonging to courses from the USA’s Pebble Beach to Portugal’s Vale de Lobo. As such, this is probably the only chance you’ll ever have to score an unprecedented hole-in-one on the 18th at St Andrews.
Number of holes: Two courses, each 18 holes
Open: All year round
Nearest hub: Liverpool
6. Ahlgrim Funeral Services course – Illinois, USA
The idea of a mini golf course situated underneath a funeral home may seem a little macabre, but the story behind it is far less so.
Back in 1964, Ahlgrim Funeral Services’ director moved his business to new premises in Palatine, Illinois, and finding that he was now blessed with a roomy basement, elected to devote it to one of his true passions – mini golf. With nine holes themed (somewhat ironically) around a haunted house, the course has been providing comfort to Ahlgrim’s clients and delighting members of the public for decades since its construction.
Number of holes: 9
Open: All year round, but – unsurprisingly – closed during funeral services
Nearest hub: Chicago
7. Can Can Wonderland – Minnesota, USA
Boasting holes inspired by everything from Hot Tub Time Machine to Oasis’ Wonderwall, Can Can Wonderland is a wild, whimsical explosion of colour, with each of its 18 holes designed by local architects, visual artists, and electrical engineers.
Not only is the course a kaleidoscopic adventure for golfers, it’s also the first arts-based public benefit corporation in Minnesota, donating part of its profits to the Minneapolis-St. Paul artist community that sparked it into being. And as if these heartwarming credentials weren’t enough, any course with a final challenge named ‘The Mini Golf Hole Formerly Known as the World’s Longest Hole’ is surely worth taking a swing at.
Number of holes: 18
Open: All year round, Thursday to Sunday
Nearest hub: Minneapolis
8. Lauberhorn Crazy Golf – Wengen, Switzerland
Telling stories from the world renowned Lauberhorn Downhill Ski Races, this 18 hole course nestled among the sweeping, mountainous scenery of the Bernese Alps in the picturesque Swiss village of Wengen, can be as devilishly challenging as the event that inspired it.
The high-altitude Lauberhorn Crazy Golf course features such alpine treats as jingling cow bells, slalom gates, and an explosive snow canon, making it the perfect homage to the area’s famed ski heritage, as well as being somewhat of a gauntlet thrown down to all seasoned mini golfers.
Number of holes: 18
Open: May to October
Nearest hub: Wengen
9. Wizard Golf – Edinburgh, UK
In the city that saw the conception of everyone’s favourite boy-wizard, this newly developed course from Scrapheap Golf pays him more than a slight (sorting) hat tip.
Comprising 9 holes that only narrowly avoid several copyright infringements, Wizard Golf, in Edinburgh, allows magical mini golfers to hop aboard the ‘Scrapheap Express’, putt their way through the ‘Troll Cave’, and even swig down a ‘butterbrew’ or two as they go. Peppered with enchanted creatures and mystical decor, this mini golf experience is a must for any budding witch or wizard.
Number of holes: 9
Open: All year round
Nearest hub: Edinburgh
