My family LOVES to play mini golf– especially at one of those highly themed challenging courses with lots of hills and tunnels and obstacles. Which is why we always make this one of our DIY summer camp field trips!
It seems to me that the southern part of the United States, especially in high-tourist locations, has cornered the market on the miniature golf experience. We up here in the greater NYC area are lacking when it comes to cool mini golf attractions!
Our favorite mini golf “chain” is Pirate's Cove Adventure Golf– and you can see a list of all of their locations here!
But if you are looking for some great places to play- here is a guide of The Best Miniature Golf Course in Every State– written by someone who visited every single one!
My older kids are sticklers for “the rules” when it comes to playing mini golf- but my little ones- not so much. They will simply pick up their ball and move it to a more desirable location when necessary! So Steve and I split them up to lessen the arguments over “rule following”!
We also allow the older kids to play in the group ahead of the younger kids, that way we can judge whether or not the younger ones are taking too much time to play a hole and decide when to ask them to pick up and move along. While I want my kids to have fun, I also want to make sure that we are ruining the experience for golfers behind us!
Looking for more great ideas of things to do with your kids this summer?
If you are looking for ideas on things to do with the kids this summer- check out my DIY Summer Camp resource page!
- Free Printable Summer Schedule
- Hiking with Kids: How we created a “Sunday Morning Hiking Club” and a free printable hiking tracker!
- Geocaching with Kids
- Visiting Caves with Kids
What's your favorite summer “field trip”?
LNweaver says
I like that tip to have the older kids go first. You’ll be able to see how long a hole should take that way. Going at your own pace is ok at home, but like you said, you don’t want to impact the other patrons.
Jennifer says
Our family all learned to play the game of golf together. Just as you mentioned, my husband and son argue with my daughter and I over following the rules. But all in all, we always manage to enjoy ourselves.
Howard Reed says
I think it would be great to take my children to play and help them learn about the sports that my father and I enjoy. Even though they are quite young, I think helping them understand different interest will help them learn how to play with others, as well as learning to take turns and share. I think taking them to challenging courses will also help them in learning problem solving. Maybe I am thinking too deeply into it, and just let them enjoy themselves.