Hle lot of fun

If miniature golf is your game, we've got the rundown on places where you can take up the challenge.

By Janet K. Keeler, Matthew Waite, Babita Persaud, Joy Platt, Jim Ross

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 7, 2000

[Times photo: Dirk Shadd] Caleb McFall, 2, of New Port Richey sinks a putt on his first outing at Congo River Golf in Clearwater.

Forget baseball; miniature golf is truly America's pastime.

Scotland is the birthplace of the game of golf, the older, more respected sibling, but miniature golf is an all-American creation. Where else could hitting a fluorescent ball through the moving blades of a windmill become sport?

The first courses sprouted up in the 1920s. The game fell on hard times through the Depression and World War II and then returned with a vengeance once the baby boomers started looking for something to do.

Today, it can cost $2-million to build a course with computer-controlled, animated creatures. Forget wooden snakes hanging from trees and tiki gods scaring children. Bring on the themes of adventure golf, where hills and waterfalls provide the challenges and unshaven pirates hang from flagpoles.

Tourist hot spots like Florida are fertile soil for miniature golf courses. And even in the punishing summer heat, there's no letup in interest at the many courses around the Tampa Bay area.

So take the kids, the sunscreen and your sense of humor to a miniature golf course near you. Plaid pants not required. -- JANET K. KEELER

Pinellas County

Captain Bligh's Landing

• 630 Gulfview Blvd. S, Clearwater; (727) 443-6348
• Hours: 10 a.m to last tee time at 11 p.m. daily.
• Prices: $6.50 for adults; $5.50 for children 3-12; free 2 and younger. Second round same day, $3 for adults, $2.50 for children.

Captain Bligh's, on Clearwater Beach, is as much a feat of engineering as it is a miniature golf course. Real estate being tight on the beach, Captain Bligh's manages to fit 18 holes (plus a bonus hole at the end) into a plot of land that shouldn't fit nine.

With more twists and turns than an Arkansas back road, the course is surprisingly easy to follow and goes from ground level to two stories up high. Some holes go underneath others.

There's plenty of challenge to it, and the waterfalls throughout the course make for a nice atmosphere.

Captain Bligh's could use a coat of paint. The greens have been pounded flat by thousands of stomping feet, making them REALLY fast. But overall, the atmosphere and the challenge make it a nice diversion from the nearby beach.

Celebration Station

• 24546 U.S. 19 N, Clearwater; (727) 791-1799
• Hours: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays; 10 a.m. to midnight Saturdays; noon to 9 p.m. Sundays.
• Prices: $4.99 each; free for 3 and under. Three rounds for $12.

Miniature golf is just one of a dizzying array of activities offered at Celebration Station. There's probably not a fifth-grader in Pinellas County who hasn't been to the mega-amusement center for a birthday party.

Celebration has two 18-hole courses, both with waterfalls and drop-off holes. Course A is a level playing field. and Course B offers hills.

Besides miniature golf, Celebration Station has a video game arcade, laser tag, go-carts, bumper boats and playland rides. And if you're hungry, you can fill up on hot dogs, pizza, subs and sodas at the concession counter.

Avoid the weekday and weekend crowds by playing on weeknights.

Congo River Golf

• 20060 U.S. 19 N, Clearwater; (727) 797-4222
• Hours: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday
• Prices: $6.50 Monday through 4 p.m. Friday for adults; $6.95 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday for adults; $5.45 for seniors; children 4 and under play free with paying adult. Second round same day, $3; or play all day for $9.

[Times photo: Jill Sagers] It looks as if one golfer never made it out alive after facing the hazards at the jungle-themed Congo River Golf in Clearwater.

Explorers Stanley and Livingstone would feel at home at the jungle-themed Congo River Golf. You, however, might be a little nervous when you see the hat and shoes of an unfortunate soul gobbled up by (gasp!) quicksand.

Nevertheless, press on for a fun and challenging game. Even if you're not a fan, you can appreciate the bougainvillea, banana trees and other lush landscaping that mask bustling U.S. 19 just a parking lot away. The whimsical touches, especially the small plane that has "crashed" into the side of a hill, are entertaining.

The most unusual hole is No. 10, a tilted wooden boat that you actually play on the deck. Don't panic at the many water hazards on the course; you will probably putt your ball into at least one and discover that they are shallow.

There is a soda machine halfway along the course and another at the finish.

Gulf Golf

• 11605 Gulf Blvd., Treasure Island; (727) 360-8143
• Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily in the summer; 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily in the winter.
• Prices: $4.95 for adults; $3.95 children 12 and under; $4 for seniors. Second round same day, $2; or play all day for $10.

If you're looking for tradition, you'll find it at Gulf Golf. The 18-hole course was built in 1959, and manager Dick Spinner says it's the oldest privately owned miniature golf course in the country.

The course has the traditional trick hazards of 40 years ago, such as a windmill with moving blades. A lighthouse, barn and other features are patterned after those at a Pittsburgh amusement park. The course also includes Big John, a huge statue wearing boots and bandana, waving a small golf club.

Spinner proclaims No. 17 the toughest hole on the course, because if you miss the cup, you'll end up in a sand trap. There's a 19th hole good for a free game if you make it in one shot.

A golf driving cage and a basketball hoop shoot give the family more options. If you play on weeknights, you're less likely to wait.

Soda and refreshments available.

Missing Links

• 1201 East Bay Drive, Largo; (727) 584-8088
• Hours: 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily.
• Prices: $5 adults; $4.50 seniors; $3.50 kids 5-12; free for kids 4 and under.

If your family can't quite play together, take them to Missing Links, where the little kids can miniature golf, the bigger ones can try their luck in the batting cages and Mom and Dad can practice their swings on the driving range. There's even a putting green. Afterward, everyone can get their licks from a double-scoop ice cream cone or try sundaes and milk shakes.

Plus, you probably won't have to battle tourists for play time because of Missing Links' distance from the beaches.

Pirate's Cove Adventure Golf

• 423 150th Ave., Madeira Beach; (727) 393-8879
• Hours: 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.
• Prices: $6 for adults; $5 kids 12 and under, $1 off for seniors; 3 and under free. Second round same day, $3.

In Buccaneer country, it's tough to beat a course with a rogues-of-the-sea theme.

At Pirate's Cove Adventure Golf, you'll be excused if you yell "Argh, matey!" or "Surrender, you cowardly scum!" while negotiating the caves and the water hazards. Swarthy pirates, waterfalls, sharks and treacherous stairs are bountiful at the two 18-hole courses here.

The challenge is about even on Blackbeard's Adventure course and Captain Kidd's Adventure. Look out for the water hazard on hole No. 9 on Blackbeard and the skeleton cave on hole No. 14 on Captain Kidd's.

A hole-in-one on the mystery hole, which changes throughout the day, entitles the lucky golfer to a free game.

A small video game room and sodas and ice cream are available. Expect a breeze on summer nights off the nearby Intracoastal Waterway and the only slightly farther away Gulf of Mexico.

Polynesian Putter

• 4999 Gulf Blvd., St. Pete Beach; (727) 360-9678
• Hours: 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily
• Price: $3

Before there were the waterfalls and hills of adventure golf, there was the Polynesian Putter in St. Pete Beach.

Built more than 30 years ago, this straightforward -- and flat -- attraction is devoid of the bells and whistles that are the hallmark of newer courses.

That understood, the Polynesian Putter is tops for young children and those new to minigolf. The price is right, $3 for everyone, and the course is decorated with lots of tropical plants and palm trees for shade, a stonelike tiki god and jungle animals such as a striped tiger and winding snake.

Ruins de El Dorado Adventure Golf

• 5301 Gulf Blvd., St. Pete Beach; (727) 367-7396
• Hours: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily
• Prices: $6.50 adults; $5.50 seniors and kids 11 to 15; $5 kids 5 to 10; free for kids under 4. Second round same day, $2.

If you're looking for miniature golf with a view, check out the Ruins de El Dorado, a few blocks north of the Polynesian Putter. The Ruins backs up to the Intracoastal Waterway, a lovely backdrop to a challenging and modern facility.

The Ruins has two 18-hole courses, a waterfall and a hillside layout. Day manager Larry Allen touts the courses' unique layouts and says watch out for the No. 12 hole on course 2 and No. 9 on course 1. On No. 12, you'll have to "thread the needle" over a water hazard, and on No. 9, the cup is in a blind spot. Course 2 Allen says, is the more advanced of the two courses, built 12 years ago.

Smuggler's Cove Adventure Golf

• 15395 Gulf Blvd., Madeira Beach; (727) 398-7008
• 19463 Gulf Blvd., Indian Shores; (727) 517-7664
• Hours: 9 a.m. to last tee time at 11 p.m. daily
• Prices: $6.75 for adults, $5.75 for children 12 and under; alligator food $1.99. Same day second round, $1.

No, you're not seeing double. There are actually two Smuggler's Cove Adventure Golf facilities about 4 miles apart on Gulf Boulevard in south Pinellas County.

You can feed baby alligators at both, though tall fences keep you separated from the minireptiles.

The Indian Shores course has a Spanish galleon theme and a quirky little hole, No. 171/2, that allows you to whack points off your score if you play it right.

The Madeira Beach course boasts a shipwreck and some interesting water hazards. Take care on hole No. 11, where a tornadolike funnel pushes your ball to the green . . . or so you think.

The Madeira Beach location is a little easier and a little more crowded than its Indian Shores sibling.

Best times to beat the crowds and the heat are early mornings and weeknights. Soda and ice cream also help.

Hillsborough County

Ace Golf Range & Batting Practice Center

• 820 S Kings Ave., Brandon; (813) 651-4653
• Hours: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
• Prices: $4.25 for adults; $3.25 for children 12 and younger; free for 3 and under; 99 cents extra for second round.

[Times photos: Ken Helle] Anthony Clisso, 12, strides toward his ball just as it leaves the course and goes into a water hazard at Ace Golf Range & Batting Practice Center in Brandon. He’s playing with Tonia Clisso, left, and Denise Magee, center.

Tina Adkins of Riverview gives daughter Leah, 7, a few pointers at the 16th hole at Ace Golf Range in Brandon. When you tire of minigolf, you can move on to Ace’s driving range.

Ace Golf Range in Brandon has a miniature golf course with pirates, flamingos and dolphins, along with a driving range and golf clinics for those who want to advance to a real course.

Celebration Station

• U.S. 60 and Interstate 75, Brandon; (813) 661-4557
• Hours: 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday; 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday
• Prices: $3.99 for nine-hole course; $4.99 for 18 holes; children 3 and under free

Celebration Station in Brandon has three courses (two with nine holes and one with 18), arcade games, go-carts, bumper boats, batting cages and lots of pizza and candy to keep the kids energized.

Congo River Golf

• 4011 E Busch Blvd., Tampa; (813) 988-9888
• Hours: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday
• Prices: $6.50; children under 4 free.

Just yards from Busch Gardens is Congo River Golf, with its blue waterfalls, bedrock boulders, rope bridges and zebra-striped plane, which looks as if it crashed into a boulder. It is rigged to "explode" -- flames shooting into the air -- every half-hour. "You can feel the heat," said Frank Camel, course manager.

Congo River also has live alligators, which you can feed for $1.95, hooking a little piece of processed meat at the end of a bamboo pole and lowering it into the pond by the first tee.

The alligators are only 3 to 4 feet long and are sent back to the breeder when they get too big.

Malibu Castle

• 14320 N Nebraska Ave., Tampa; (813) 977-6272
• Hours: Summer hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday
• Prices: $6.25 for adults; $5.25 for seniors; $5.25 children under 12; and free for 3 and under.

Another fantasy golf experience is Malibu Castle in north Tampa, with its gingerbread houses, windmills and pagodas. This is a one-stop fun facility and also has go-cart racing.

Putt-Putt Golf & Games

• 2400 E Busch Blvd., Tampa; (813) 932-9182
• Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
• Prices: $4.50 for adults; $3.50 for children.

The owner of Putt-Putt Golf & Games says his is not a miniature golf course. It's a putt-putt golf course.

"The difference," says Charles Futch, "is like the difference between Xerox and copy machine."

Putt-Putt is an organization based in Fayetteville, N.C., which promotes competitions among players. "It's a developed skill," Futch says. "Not everyone can do it well."

Pasco County

The Fun Center and Drive Inn

• 8301 U.S. 19 (just south of Ridge Road), Port Richey; (727) 847-8336
• Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday; 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; noon to 11 p.m. Friday through Sunday
• Prices: $3 for adults; $2 for children under 12

The best thing about the Fun Center is the price: three bucks for 18 holes.

West Pasco, despite its population, has very little choice when it comes to minigolf. You won't find the kinds of courses you would in Pinellas or Hillsborough counties, but the Fun Center and Stop N' Play, both on U.S. 19, will save on gas and admission.

The Fun Center has the standard tricks and turns of a typical minigolf course. It isn't nicely landscaped, and the course could use a touch-up.

But the play isn't bad. And the go-carts behind the course are $3 for 14 laps. How can you complain?

Stop N' Play

• 10933 U.S. 19 (at Hammock Road), Port Richey; (727) 862-6666
• Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 10 a.m to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
• Prices: $2 for all

Stop N' Play is a rarity in these parts: It's indoors. No fighting the rain, no bugs, just all the noise from the video games that line the course to throw off your swing.

The course is nine holes, and they're not an impressive nine holes -- more for families and large birthday groups than the Tiger Woodses of minigolf.

But if you have small children who like games, Stop N' Play is worth the time.

Hernando County

Putt N Play

• 404 Suzanne Drive, Spring Hill; (352) 666-4653
• Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday
• Prices: $5 for adults; $4 seniors and children 12 and younger

[Times photo: Kevin White] The face says it all as Phyllis Suggs of Weeki Wachee just misses a hole-in-one at Putt N Play in Spring Hill.

The landscaping at Putt N Play in Spring Hill is in line with that of a real golf course. On each hole, the bright green Astroturf is surrounded by thick foliage and abundant blooms. Three ponds are scattered around the course, and a large waterfall near the third hole is visible from U.S. 19.

There are no windmills or water hazards for this course, just steep slopes and fast turns. Par for the course is 41.

Putt n' Sputt Inc.

• 9227 County Line Road, Spring Hill; (352) 686-4777
• Hours: 3:30 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 3:30 to 11 p.m Friday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday
• Prices: $3.50 adults; $2.50 children 12 and younger. Prices are for all-day play.

Though less ornate, Spring Hill's Putt n' Sputt offers a different set of golfing challenges. All holes are lined with concrete barriers like miniature Jersey walls. There is no adornment here, not even flags to mark the holes. This course is for serious putters and has a par of 50.

Citrus County

Adventureland Miniature Golf & Driving Range

• 6440 S Florida Ave. (U.S. 41 S), Floral City; (352) 726-7001
• Prices: $4.50 for players ages 16 to 62; $3.50 for players 62 and older; and $3.50 for players ages 5 to 15. Players age 4 and younger play for free.
• Hours: 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 8 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

When it comes to miniature golf, Citrus County is a one-course town.

That course is Adventureland, an 18-hole layout between Inverness and Floral City. It's fun enough to satisfy non-golfers and challenging enough for people who play the game and wish to practice their putting skills.

The course features genuine flagsticks in each hole, water hazards and even sand bunkers (well, white-frosted turf, anyway.) No windmills or goofy alligators here. Plenty of bumps and curves on the greens. The course record is 42.

Be especially careful on holes 14 and 15. Their severe slopes require precise shots, and the proximity to oak trees makes squirrel interference a distinct possibility.

The check-in shack isn't much to look at, but a new building is nearly complete, and proprietor Cindy Ioerger hopes to have it ready soon.