A Little Miniature Golf History
The sport of miniature golf , which focuses solely on putting, can be traced back to its origins in Scotland. St. Andrews’ Ladies Putting Club had the world’s first putting course in 1867. “The Oldest Mini Golf In Existence”
From this point until the early 1920s, miniature golf courses began appearing at esteemed resorts across America. The wealthy industrialists who could afford to visit would play these small but beautiful putt putt par s on executive courses.
The American origin of miniature golf as we think of it today, however, got its start in 1916. The legendary golf Mecca of Pinehurst, North Carolina saw the opening of the Thistle Dhu (“This’ll do”) course, which was putting only. One enterprising golf fan took notice, and came up with a unique surface comprised of cottonseed hulls, oil, sand and dye. It wasn’t long after that when the top of the New York skyline held well over 100 rooftop putting courses.