Growing up in rural upstate New York, I played outdoors as much as possible when the temperature permitted. I say temperature as we had snow normally by the end of November and I can recall many spring Little League baseball practices cancelled in April due to the snowstorms. As long as it was not bitterly cold and for some reason bitterly cold was defined as not below 18 degrees with the wind chill, I was outside with my friends playing. We would play football, soccer, basketball, baseball, ski and sled. We would also when the snow as gone and the ground thawed play mini golf. This was not mini golf where you went to a roadside mini golf and received a golf club and golf ball but backyard mini golf where we made up the course. Our backyards consisted of trees, grass, hills and woods; lots of woods because woods is what comprises rural upstate New York.
As kids, we used our imaginations to create holes and obstacles from
what was around us. One hole we had to putt around an area where we
knew a turtle always would hang out. Another hole was through my Mom's
cherished garden. I would hear my mother on occasion comment to my
father that the wildlife was eating at the items in the garden and
that she wants a better fence around the garden. My father would
respond in that calm demeanor of his that there is only so much he can
do to keep the wildlife out of the garden. While the wildlife
certainly did get into my mom's garden there were times that my
friends would make an errant putt through the garden and unfortunately
end that plant's growing season.
Our only limits were our imaginations in creating these mini golf
courses which entertained us for hours in not just playing them but
seeing what we could create from the resources around us. For example,
that wheel barrow that we had for work around our house became an
obstacle. Rakes, shovels, tree branches and all sorts of odd shapes of
rocks made for some of the most challenging miniature golf course
holes and we loved them all.
There were some summers that my family would drive from rural upstate
New York to Virgina Beach, Virgina. I am sure that being the youngest
of the children I was not a joy to be in a car for that long of period
with my two sisters and parents. When we did arrive in Virgina Beach,
my parents would take us to Around the World Mini Golf. That course
was like a mini golf mecca to me. While I did not know it then, my
experiences with my friends and those family summer trips to that
course would later serve me in a professional journey in providing
authentic miniature golf for events.
My friends and I absolutely loved the joy of creating a mini golf hole
that was entertaining and challenging. We did not call it challenging
as kids but we called it "No Way anyone will get a hole in one on
this". When one of us did get a hole in one on one of our crazy holes,
that friend would jump for joy and yell I beat your crazy hole. We
would all laugh together and for the rest of the summer that memory
would be repeated to all of us by the friend who did get that hole in
one. As I write this, I can still see the crazy holes that we created
and then recreated as the summer went on.
Fast forward some 29 years later to the early spring of 2010 and a
client who we had provided a variety of arcade game & casino rentals
for a few years asked if we could create a unique (9) hole mini golf
activity for their annual company picnic. While I had certainly played
on mini golf courses since my time in upstate New York and at times
seeked them out when I was traveling on business, I had not given it
much thought to create such a product in the event company that I
owned. After performing a tremendous amount of research to discover
what was in the event marketplace, we agreed in the middle of June to
proceed with this endeavor.
What I discovered in the research that my company performed is that
overwhelmingly the majority of event mini golf courses that were
provided for events were simple, boring and did not create any
memories for the individuals who played them. Before even
conceptualizing the holes, I thought back to my youth and the feelings
my friends and my family had when I played mini golf with them. There
was a huge gap between my mini golf experiences and what was available
in the event marketplace.
I understood as an event company, budgets would not permit replicating
mini golf courses that we play at theme parks, resorts towns and
boardwalks. Furthermore, these courses would not be financially and
logistically feasible in the event space. Thus, our objective became
creating authentic mini golf and putt putt rental courses that could
replicate the memorable experiences that these iconic places provide
us that were also economically & logistically feasible for the event
space.
November 2020-2021 Jersey Shore Event
October 2020 A food truck festival rents our NEW Putt Putt Course
August 2020 Thomas Jefferson University rents our new 9 hole Putt Putt course
July 2020 Mini Golf becomes the perfect solution for the pandemic
June 2020 Launched Our Putt Putt Courses
February 2020 Rutgers University had us return for another student activity event
January 2020 utgers University put in a 9 hole custom designed mini golf rental
December 2019 The International Council of Shopping Centers
October 2019 Exelon Corporation trade show
October 2019 WOW Entertainment travels to the United Kingdom
September 2019 Camp Romper rented a branded 9 hole mini golf course
June 2019 We saw the most mini golf holes rented in a one month period
October 2018 United Nations Foundation
September 2018 Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
August 2018 We go south to the Palmetto State
July 2018 Shiseido rents 9 holes for a New York City rooftop
May 2018 Denver International Airport has another 18 hole mini golf rental
September 2017 The Academy Doctors of Audiology
July 2017 Jim Beam Brands rents 1 custom mini golf hole
June 2017 1st installation of 18 custom designed holes to the Denver International Airport
May 2017 Prudential at the headquarters in Newark
January 2017 18 hole rental to Memorial Sloan Kettering mini golf fundraiser
September 2016 Saint Joseph's University of Philadelphia
July 2016 Our busiest July up to this point
June 2016 Norfolk Festevents for their Harborfest Festival
March 2016 ESPN Sportscenter has us create a 21 foot custom designed mini golf hole
January 2016 3 hole mini golf rental is sent to the Hilton in Baltimore, MD
December 2015 With our growing inventory of custom designed mini golf
July 2015 ESPN has another 9 hole custom designed mini golf rental
May 2015 We go to the beautiful city of Indianapolis
January 2015 6 custom designed holes are installed at The Burden Mansion in New York City
October 2014 The Philadelphia Flyers have us back again
July 2014 ESPN selects the company
June 2014 The flagship store of Bloomingdale's in New York City rents 4 holes of mini golf
Winter of 2013-2014 After 3 years with our initial course design
September 2013 he Philadelphia Flyers rent 9 holes of mini golf
July 2012 We are in the suburbs of Philadelphia at Centecor
June 2012 We travel to the main campus of The University Of Maryland
April 2011 The Community Food Bank of New Jersey