Miniature Golf, Anyone?
Donna Reiner, a local historian and a good friend of Get Your PHX, has written many articles over the years for the Arizona Republic and others about Phoenix history and memorials. This month, she is sharing her article on miniature golf.
Question: While playing miniature golf, if your swing goes wide, should you yell “two!”, rather than “four!”?
We use her services when we list properties of historic significance to help us tell the stories behind the homes.
We are happy that Donna is allowing us to re-publish some of her articles on a monthly basis. If you or your business ever needs a historian, let Donna know at laydeescholar “at” hotmail.com.
Dog legs, sand traps, water hazards, woods, and irons. While golf has a long history, miniature golf seems to have appeared in the early part of the 20th century. Perusing through lots of old newspaper articles, one will find references to miniature or mini golf especially in the Los Angeles area as early as the 1920s.
What was the attraction of this “sport/game”? It took less time to play, took up far less acreage to build, needed no special equipment for the player since the putter was provided, and cost a lot less than the full sized game would.
The Valley of the Sun became a mecca for golf courses and golfers, but it also became home to a number of themed miniature golf courses.
Reed E. Price and Nephi Allen, partners in a construction firm, became intrigued with the concept and eventually built three such courses in Phoenix. Price had seen several courses in Los Angeles and decided to copy the idea (with permission). Working with Robert Gosnell, Price proposed a course next to the new Green Gables restaurant on 24th Street and Thomas Road. Gosnell insisted that the course’s theme match the restaurant’s.
When the course opened in November 1951, young and old entered through a gothic castle entrance to play miniature golf. One of the most challenging holes was approached by hitting the ball over a drawbridge. Not an easy feat when you consider that the drawbridge when up and down on a regular schedule and you had to plan carefully when you putted in order for your ball to make it across.
In December of the following year, Price and Allen opened Westwood Acres at 2410 W. Thomas. This 18-hole course had a western theme. However, the theme later changed to a Hawaiian theme and was called Hono Lea.
Alpine Valley at 27th Avenue and Northern opened in February 1960. Yes, you could see the Alps, a Swiss Chalet, a castle, and even a Swiss Church while playing this course.
Like a full-sized course, players had a score card. There was also a par score which thousands of kids and adults across the valley tried to achieve. Unlike those full-sized courses though, players might discover prizes for a hole-in-one such as a free game. Naturally there were always some mischievous players who tried to circumvent rules in order to cash in on the “prizes.”
Price and Allen did install the course at Legend City, but as everyone knows, that site did not last. And the other themed parks Price and Allen built eventually could not compete with newer places and closed. Times and interests change, but for those who played these courses, the fond memories remain.
