150 years of miniature golf

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the world's first miniature golf course.

The world's first miniature golf course

The Himalayas Putting course at St Andrews was created in 1867 specifically for female players to use. We visited and played The Himalayas in 2012. It's a wonderful layout and a must-do for fans of minigolf or 'regular' golf.



To mark the occasion, The British Golf Museum at St Andrews has created a special exhibition - Shining Examples: 150 years of the St Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club - which runs until March 2018.

What a view

You can read more about the history of the St Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club on their website. It's interesting to note there had previously been a small putting area set-up before 1860, while the 9-hole course opened in 1867.

The first hole on the 9-hole course sees you putting across a path

Today there is a 9-hole and an 18-hole course, both open to the public for a nominal charge.

A nice long tee-shot

We're looking forward to a return visit to St Andrews, a visit to the exhibition and a few more games on the famous links minigolf course.

Emily putting on The Himalayas

Visit The British Golf Museum at St Andrews and the St Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club websites to find out more.

The British Golf Museum was closed on our visit to St Andrews. Still, not going in gave us even more time to play The Himalayas

The Himalayas is a real pleasure to play

The Himalayas sits next to the Old Course at St Andrews

A long minigolf hole

 

Lots of challenging lumps and bumps

Look how hilly that route to the cup is

Playing the first hole on the 9-hole layout

The Rules

Other key dates in world minigolf are:

• 1916 - The first minigolf course in the USA. James Barber opened the 'Thistle Dhu' layout in Pinehurst, NC.
• 1926 - The very first Crazy Golf course in the UK opened on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire, England.
• 1926 - The first artificial miniature golf course in the USA. Garnet Carter created the 'Tom Thumb' miniature golf course near Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, TN.
• National Miniature Golf Day always falls on the second Saturday in May. In 2017 this will be on Saturday 13th May.
• Miniature Golf Day is always on the 21st of September, which is on a Thursday in 2017.
• 30th September marks the day we visited our first course on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2006.

Visit the World Minigolf Sport Federation's website for details of World Championships taking place this year, as well as events from their 62 member nations.

Check out the online Crazy Golf Museum for more information about the history of minigolf.

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