Types of mini golf courses
Eternit
Used in the European and World Minigolf championships.
First Eternit: Opened 1958, Hamburg, Germany. Invented by a German businessman named Pless. Obstacles designed by Hamburg University of Arts. The course doesn't exist anymore.
Construction: Prefabricated cement fibre pieces, fibre glass and metal obstacles positioned within a metal framework.
Length of runs 6.25m. Width of runs 0.9m. Target circle 1.4m. Holes: the WMF states the diameter of the cup should be between 10 & 12cm, the depth is not specified. 25 standard hole designs.
A tournament course in every respect but don't expect it to last a summer in sunny Hastings. You're not meant to tread on it! Rebound shots are the norm hence the standardised metal borders.
Not very interesting to the general public. You need specialist equipment to play it properly, a normal golf ball will be of no use at all. A smattering of these courses can be found in the UK & US.
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Beton
Used in the European and World Minigolf championships. Standardised, as you'd expect from the Swiss.
First Beton: Opened 1953, Locarno near Lake Maggiore, Switzerland. Invented by Paul von Bongni who specified 18 holes and the order in which they are played. This course still exists, name of the club is 'Bosco Isolino'.
Construction: Concrete with metal rail borders. Rebound shots are the norm hence the standardised metal rails.
Length of runs 12m. Width of runs 1.25m. Target circle 2.5m. Holes: the WMF states the diameter of the cup should be between 10 & 12cm, the depth is not specified.
Mildly more interesting to the general public. But again you need specialist equipment to play it properly. Don't know of any in the UK or US!
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Swedish Felt Run
Used in the European and World Minigolf championships.
Harald Sjölund, the founder of Swedish company City Golf AB (1938) invented the felt courses.
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Harald Sjölund Picture courtesy of City Golf |
Construction: Felt on pressure-treated wood with wooden borders.
Fiendishly difficult, very Scandinavian ie made of wood. You need specialist equipment to play it properly but don't expect to score under 50 on an 18 hole course for a while. It is portable though and relatively durable. The only ones I've heard of in the UK are of the 'B' type, a smaller version of the full competition specification.
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'B' type
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Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf
Construction: Felt on concrete.
Classic UK crazy golf imported from USA in the 1960s. Moving obstacles, bright colours, plateaux, ditches, undulations and borrows.
Durable and very popular.
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Mini Golf
Construction: Felt on concrete.
More akin to putting on an artificial surface. However there are still plateaux, water hazards, undulations, bunkers, borrows and rocks. You're average golfer will be entertained by this one.
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Adventure Golf
Construction: Felt on concrete.
As with mini golf with the addition of pipes but the setting is a lot more spectacular with waterfalls, fountains, loads of landscaping and masses of rock work. They tend to be thematic, pirates, jungle you name it. Very, very popular and expensive. Prices to match.
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Thinking of setting up a mini golf course, go here.
Got a question go to the forum and start a new topic.
