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Don't let the seemingly low scores fool you, this is really a decent course worth playing if you happen to be on the Connecticut shore. What you will find here is a classic shoreline boardwalk
miniature golf. When we say shoreline, we mean shoreline. As in, the only thing that stands between this course and Long Island Sound is about 10 feet of sidewalk, a metal railing and a 15 foot drop to
the water. It provides a very nice atmosphere to the course, with the sea breeze helping to cool a hot day and the boats cruising the water making the whole scene quite active. (Note: you probably don't
want to play this course on a damp, dreary day. Chances are you'd catch pneumonia somewhere around the 10th hole.) What really makes this a classic boardwalk mini-golf is no so much the location, but the type of mini-golf. It is an obstacle course, complete with time-honored classics such as the windmill, lighthouse and covered bridge. The whole course screams "inexpensive, touristy way to pass an hour." The obstacles all seemed to be in good condition, but the one thing we did notice is that it was fairly easy to putt around all the obstacles, making them somewhat worthless. Most depressing was the fact that you could putt around the loop-de-loop on one hole. The difficulty of the course dropped significantly due to the ease of avoiding the obstacles.
The course itself was well maintained for the harsh conditions it must endure during the year. They pumped in some good tunes to help you pass the time while waiting for the group ahead of you. The
grounds were manicured and everything was freshly painted. Unfortunately, this is another course that insists on using thorn bushes as part of its landscaping and it isn't cool when these bushes are
overgrowing onto the walkway. Little kids won't be very happy when they go to putt a ball and end up with a thorn or two in the leg. Adults probably won't be that happy either if they caught one in the
leg. That's why it still amazes us every time we see a course that uses thorn bushes. The carpets also needed some overhaul. The seems between pieces stuck out and played a bit of havoc with the path of
the ball. In some areas, there was a discernible dip where the two pieces of carpet came together. Although not nearly as bad as some courses we've seen, these imperfections do interfere with play a bit.
They pale in comparison, though, to one of the biggest design flaws we've seen in a mini-golf course. While we're not big fans of the starting mat (those ones that have three holes to place your ball in)
to begin with, the ones at this course were especially bad. There were set behind the beginning of the hole, on the walkway leading up to the hole. Thus you had to putt off the mat and over the metal
piece that marked the beginning of the hole before you got to the carpet. With multiple bumps like that, it's very hard to hit a hole in one because you never know what direction the ball will take when
it drops off the mat and hits the metal piece. In addition, this course also had the terrible metal cups in the holes, which are conducive to nothing but shots that bounce off the lip or rim around the
lip. Although scoring multiple holes-in-one isn't essential to having a fun time at the mini-golf, the thrill of sinking one isn't something you want taken away by bad hole accessories.
Overall, the course has good general atmosphere, but lacks when it comes to the details. Creatively, it was nothing spectacular and there wasn't anything overly difficult about most the holes. All told,
it was an average course and about what you would expect from a boardwalk mini-golf.
Pat Sheridan (2001), The Putting Penguin
Best score reported:
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