Miniature golf course opens Saturday in Washington

Published 7:38 pm Thursday, August 3, 2017

Tomorrow, families will be able play a few rounds of miniature golf at Washington’s newest entertainment venue.

The grand opening of Animal Adventure Miniature Golf is set for Saturday at 11 a.m. The golf course is an expansion of Pelican’s SnoBalls — the course winds through the trees of what was once a densely wooded lot behind the shop — and, come Saturday, will give families another entertainment option in Washington, according to owners Harold and Linda Curtis.

“Somebody brought up how there’s a not a lot to do in Washington. Now that’s not true,” Harold Curtis said. “We have more for the kids and the community to do.”

The couple said they knew when they opened Pelican’s SnoBalls that they wanted to expand and, drawing on their own family experience, a miniature golf course was a logical addition.

“We have six children — all grown now — but we always played putt-putt with them, and we always enjoyed it,” Harold Curtis said.

The Curtises broke ground on Animal Adventure Miniature Golf in December and cleared the wooded lot themselves. Linda Curtis created the design for the course and, with a background working at a nursery, also designed the elaborate landscaping. Black-eyed Susans, roses, hosta and many other species line the green felt holes and cement pathways winding through the trees. Above, strings of lights drape from tree to tree to provide nighttime lighting, in the daytime, the trees provide a respite from the heat.

“When it’s hot outside, it’s cool back here in the shade,” Harold Curtis said.

The name of the 18-hole miniature golf course comes from 36 replicas of exotic animals tucked in the landscaping surrounding the course. The animals came by way of Texas from Australia and the Phillipines, and ultimately will be used for educational purposes — by next summer, children visiting the course will be able to read about the animals at stations next to each.

“We want the kids to be able to enjoy them, but they’re not something they can jump or play on,” Linda Curtis said.

The Curtises said with Animal Adventure, they aimed to create not only a family friendly venue, but a safe one, where parents will feel comfortable dropping off their older children for a round of miniature golf.

The ribbon cutting is set for 11 a.m. and the course will be open to players Saturday. The first 50 customers will be recipients of giveaways.

For more information, visit Animal Adventure Miniature Golf on Facebook. Pelican’s SnoBalls is located at 1328 Carolina Avenue in Washington.