Like regular golf, miniature golf began in Scotland.
Mini golf, like regular modern golf, was created in Scotland. The Old Course at St Andrews was in use as a golf course as early as the 15th century and is considered the oldest course in the world. It’s also where miniature golf began.
In the Victorian era golf was becoming increasingly popular but women weren’t allowed to play – swinging a club above one’s head was thought to be unladylike. The caddies of St Andrews had a small putting area where they would play in their free time. Women began to play there as well, which led to tension between the caddies and the women and so a separate space was created for women to play.
The Ladies’ Putting Green, a miniature links course with hills and hazards, was created in 1867 at St Andrews. Nicknamed “the Himalayas” it became the first miniature golf course in the world (which is still open today for all genders to play on).
Thistle Dhu
The Himalayas at St Andrews is like a regular golf course: one large green space with taller grass separating each hole. The first course with distinct boundaries between isolated holes, more like how we see mini golf today, was James Barber’s home course “Thistle Dhu” in Pinehurst, NC in 1919. His course had 18 holes, each could supposedly be made in one shot, with simple obstacles, brick lined putting greens, and was played on drained sand instead of grass.
Despite Thistle Dhu being a private course word got out as newspapers reported on it and guests of Barber’s would tell others. Today the Pinehurst Resort has a putting course called Thistle Dhu, named in honor of Barber’s course (but it’s not the same course).
Tom Thumb
The first mini golf course that we would absolutely recognize as mini golf was Tom Thumb Golf. Created by Garnet Carter in 1926 on the top of Lookout Mountain in Georgia, the course was created as Carter was developing 700 acres. During the construction of a full golf course he created the Tom Thumb course supposedly to entertain children of his Fairyland Inn hotel guests and/or to give regular golfers something to do until the full course was ready.
Carter’s Tom Thumb course was significant because, unlike previous miniature courses, it was open to the public (not a part of someone’s home or a private club) and it was over-the-top whimsical. It extended his Fairyland Inn hotel theme with character statues, hollow logs, obstacles, etc. The course also used fake grass made from recycled cottonseed hulls processed with green paint.
Windmills, ramps, tunnels
The early 20th century was a boom time for mini golf. Tom Thumb Golf was patented in 1928 and franchised across America. By 1930 Carter and his competitors had created an estimated 25,000 mini golf courses. Mini golf could be found on roadsides and rooftops, indoors and outdoors – anywhere that could support 18 holes of novelty golf.
Wanamaker’s department store sold a line of “Tom Thumb fashions” for mini golf. Movie studios feared the popularity of mini golf would hurt ticket sales and so they added clauses to actors’ contracts that forbid them from playing or being seen on mini golf courses. That said actress (and founding member of United Artists) Mary Pickford had her own Art Deco style public mini golf course, the Wilshire Links, built in 1930.
Like most fads mini golf boomed and faded. By the 1930s the popularity of mini golf began to diminish as people moved on to other fads. Civic legislative restrictions also limited the game’s presence. But mini golf never fully went away. It stayed alive because it was an inexpensive family friendly activity that everyone (including women, children, people of color) could participate in (unlike regular golf).
After WWII mini golf became popular once again. Like tiki culture there is a kitsch fun to mini golf. Putt-Putt golf courses was founded in 1954 as a more serious par-2 chain of “no-frills, all-skills” courses. Around the same time Ralph & Al Lomma founded Lomma Enterprises which became the largest supplier of mini golf courses – courses that weren’t serious at all and featured playful obstacles.
Mini Golf today
Today mini golf continues to entertain around the world. There are over 38,000 registered members of the World Minigolf Sport Federation, playing competitively on courses around the world.
The Miniature Golf Capital of the World is Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. Myrtle Beach has about 1 mini golf course just about every 2 miles and features some really fun courses. Puttshack is a brand name mini golf company that offers high-tech upscale indoor mini golf in cities around the country. Atlas Obscura has a list of some especially interesting courses around the world.
