Putt-Putt Fun Center
Encyclopedia
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
amusement centers and miniature golf
Miniature golf
Miniature golf, or minigolf, is a miniature version of the sport of golf. While the international sports organization World Minigolf Sport Federation prefers to use the name "minigolf", the general public in different countries has also many other names for the game: miniature golf, mini-golf,...
courses in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. Although the official name of the company is Putt-Putt Fun Center, since the company's founding in 1954 Putt-Putt has marketed franchises under the names of Putt-Putt Golf, Putt-Putt Golf and Games, and Putt-Putt Fun Centers.
Services
The chain is known primarily for its development of its Putt-Putt brand of miniature golfMiniature golf
Miniature golf, or minigolf, is a miniature version of the sport of golf. While the international sports organization World Minigolf Sport Federation prefers to use the name "minigolf", the general public in different countries has also many other names for the game: miniature golf, mini-golf,...
, however Putt-Putt locations may include indoor activities such as restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s, laser tag
Laser tag
Laser tag is a team or individual sport or recreational activity where players attempt to score points by tagging targets, typically with a hand-held infrared-emitting targeting device. Infrared-sensitive targets are commonly worn by each player and are sometimes integrated within the arena in...
, amusement arcade
Amusement arcade
An amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...
s; and outdoor activities including miniature golf
Miniature golf
Miniature golf, or minigolf, is a miniature version of the sport of golf. While the international sports organization World Minigolf Sport Federation prefers to use the name "minigolf", the general public in different countries has also many other names for the game: miniature golf, mini-golf,...
, kiddie rides, bumper boats
Bumper boats
Bumper boats are an amusement park ride that uses inner tube shaped watercraft that can be steered by the rider. Some are driven by electric motors, some by gasoline engines, and some require the rider to propel the craft by pedaling. Most are equipped with water guns for duels with other riders...
, batting cages
Batting cage
A batting cage is an enclosed cage for baseball players to practice the skill of batting.It is usually made of netting or a chain-link fence and rectangular in shape. A batter stands at one end of the cage, with a pitching machine at the opposing end...
, climbing walls, and go-karts
Go-kart
thumb|A [[Kart racing|racing kart]] at the [[Commission Internationale de Karting|CIK-FIA]] European Championship 2008A go-kart is a small four-wheeled vehicle...
.
History
The company was begun by Don Clayton in Fayetteville, North CarolinaFayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville is a city located in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is the county seat of Cumberland County, and is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a U.S. Army post located northwest of the city....
, in 1954, where he created the first course. He charged 25 cents per game, and in 1955 the company began franchising and expanding to new locations. By 1959, the first professional Putt-Putt Tournament was played, and in 1960 Putt-Putt went international, opening locations in South Africa, Australia, and Japan. The heyday for Putt-Putt was in the 1980s as they added additional attractions (like video game rooms) to their facilities. At one time there were over 265 Putt-Putt locations in the United States containing more than 1,000 18-hole golf courses.
In 1966 Putt Putt Golf Courses released an album called "Putt Putt Golf Courses of America presents Gee Gee Shinn and his Band." The album contains sixteen songs. The album cover has two photographs showing the eight member band in the middle of a Putt Putt Golf course. In one photo, the band is joined by twelve young woman with the hair stylings and clothes of the period.
Founder Don Clayton retired in 1994, and his daughter Donna took over as chairman. Clayton died in April 1996 at age 70. David Callahan became CEO of Putt-Putt Golf Courses of America in 2000, where he started putting plans to revive the company, which had gone from 105 courses to 70, into action. By 2004, Putt-Putt Fun Center began advertising additional services with the intention of "trying to re-brand with a new concept", in the words of Mr. Callahan.
Miniature golf vs. Putt-Putt
There are several significant differences between Putt-Putt's brand of miniature golf and other versions:- Par is set at 2 without exception on each Putt-Putt hole; in other varieties of mini-golf, par typically varies from 2 to 6. (Prior to 1960, par for an 18-hole round on a Putt-Putt Golf Course was 48, with 12 holes assigned a par of 3. The birth of the Professional Putters' Association, with scores of 30 or less for 18 holes being common, resulted in the lowering of the par the next year.)
- Putt-Putt's short holes are designed so that a hole-in-one can be scored on each hole with a skillful putt, often through the use of banking; the metal rails facilitate accurate caroms. Most mini-golf courses include holes that are impossible to ace, and those that can be aced often rely on luck due to extremely long holes and randomly placed obstacles. Additionally, the borders of each hole usually are made of rocks or uneven brick, making accurate banking difficult.
- When playing Putt-Putt, a player finishes a hole before the next player takes his first putt. In miniature golf, typically, each player takes his first putt, then the player farthest from the hole takes his second putt, as in real golf.
- Traditionally, Putt-Putt courses have no over-riding "theme" and have a spartan look about them. Many traditional miniature golf courses have themes (such as a story book or a religious theme), while more modern mini-golf courses twist in and around manmade mountains, lakes, caves and waterfalls, with the resulting water and elevation changes often in play. Recently, themes such as jungles and volcanos have been making their way to Putt-Putt courses, complete with caves, foliage and plaster animals, though the themes never come into play.
- Putt-Putt courses reward holes-in-one with a ticket that typically allows the player a free game if he collects three, or in some cases a scratch-off game card. In addition, the player's ball (red, green, blue or yellow) is traded in for an orange ball, which prevents the player from claiming an additional ticket for that round. Some courses use a set of lights to allow the winning of tickets only for two colors of ball at a time, and announce the names of the golfers who score winning holes-in-one.
- Generally, Putt-Putt golf courses are considered more appropriate for competition; miniature golf tournaments are popular at Putt-Putt courses but rare at other courses, due to the difference in skill level required. The rare ESPN-televised miniature golf tourney is always at a Putt-Putt course.