Today marks 66 years since the world's first Putt-Putt course opened.
The very first Putt-Putt Golf course was created by Don Clayton in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA back in 1954.
Putt-Putt is the only patented game of miniature golf and began in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1954. In the 1960's Putt-Putt franchises began opening outside of the US, in locations such as South Africa, Australia and Japan. There were also courses in the UK, the first of which opened in Sunderland in 1968. Others followed at Flamingo Land in Yorkshire and in Buxton, Derbyshire. However, information on these UK courses is limited.
You can read the Putt-Putt story on the Putt-Putt Fun Centres website.
Tournament Putt-Putt
On the competitive side of the game, official Putt-Putt tournaments have been played since 1959. The first local competition took place in 1955. You can read about the history of the PPA and APA on the Professional Putters Association website.
Televised events
The game has been televised quite a bit over the years, with ESPN in the USA carrying tournaments. Every year they air repeats of Putt-Putt tournaments as part of ESPN 8: The Ocho's programming.
You can watch a number of events from the 1970s to the 2000s on the Putt-Putt Funhouse YouTube Channel.
Playing Putt-Putt
The closest Emily and I have got to being at a Putt-Putt course are some postcards, game tokens, a jigsaw puzzle and a photo one of my family took at a course while in South Africa.
Saying that however, I did win a free round at Putt-Putt of Warren in Ohio last month. I'm looking forward to playing there in the future.
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| A Putt-Putt postcard from South Africa |
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| I do have some Putt-Putt tokens in my collection. I'm always on the lookout for more though |
A look at Putt-Putt courses in the USA and South Africa
Luckily some of our fellow miniature golf enthusiasts, bloggers, minigolf rivals and friends have shared photos of some of their favourite Putt-Putt courses with us.
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| Putt Putt in Richmond, Indiana. Photo by Tom and Robin at A Couple of Putts |
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| The Putt-Putt Fun Center course in Hickory, North Carolina photographed by Pat Sheridan of The Putting Penguin minigolf website |
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| Pro Putter Matt Bellner playing the Putt-Putt course in Arlington, Texas |
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| The Putt-Putt miniature golf course in Three Anchor Bay in Moullie Point / Sea Point, Cape Town, South Africa. Photo by PJ Goedhals |
Find out more
Check out the Putt-Putt Golf website for more information on Putt-Putt brand minigolf. You can find out more information about Putt-Putt tournaments on the Professional Putters Association (PPA) website.
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