5 minute read
Putting Perfection
Swing into the end of summer by hitting the green at your local mini-golf spot
BY JILL ARMSTRONG
Fewer beach days and the dreaded return to school signal the end of summer. One way to keep the spirit of this treasured season alive is by rounding up the family or a few friends for a game of miniature golf at one of these stand-out courses across the state. It’s time to tee up!
Chuckster’s Ice Cream & Miniature Golf, Hooksett
Home to the world’s longest mini-golf hole, Chuckster’s has become a destination attraction. Right off I-93, this spot offers two 18-hole courses to challenge even the most competitive mini-golf enthusiasts. The Fire Tower course, built into the side of a hill, features multiple levels and stairs, while the Cave course is entirely ADA accessible. Both courses contain plenty of water from calming ponds and streams to powerful geysers and waterfalls.
“They aren’t like the traditional courses I went to when I was growing up with the windmills and clowns and things like that,” location manager Mark Lorenze said. “It’s more of a purist mini-golf course.” For Lorenze, hole five on the Fire Tower course is one of the most amusing — and potentially confusing — requiring guests to purposely hit the ball into a stream and await its return on the green further down.
After a round — or two! — (those with enough energy can tackle the second course for a discounted rate), Lorenze suggests popping inside for an ice cream cone. “It’s fun to talk to people when they come in,” he said. “They’re looking to have fun. I mean, what’s better than mini golf and ice cream?”
Interested in a full day outing? Visit the original Chuckster’s location in Chichester. In addition to mini-golf, this family fun park offers batting cages, bumper boats and ziplines among other attractions. chuckstersnh.com
Captain’s Cove Adventure Golf, Hampton
Maneuver around tilted shipwrecks, pesky sand traps and grounded anchors at this nautical-themed course. Captain’s Cove, with its towering white lighthouse and decorative dangling lobster buoys, will transport guests to a charming seaside fishing village, the ultimate summertime scene.
This coastal course is owned by husband-and-wife duo Brian and Dorothy Piehler, who are celebrating their 20th season in business. Dorothy enjoys hole three best, because it’s the easiest for sinking a hole-in-one. “It’s the sand trap,” she advised. “You’ll want to go straight through the sand trap.”
She’s also partial to hole 17, which purportedly is the hardest, longest and hilliest on-site. If couples end the course in need of a tie-breaker, she’ll send them back out to hole 17, in her words, “to see who the true champion is.”
Hole six, with its long, sloping curves, also makes for a nail-biting, single-stroke attempt. Finally, if guests can manage a hole-in-one on the final hole, they are rewarded with the coveted “Captain’s Treasure,” a secret prize only few will claim!
For discounts on rates at Captain’s Cove, consider purchasing rounds on their website before visiting. smallgolf.com
Blackbeard’s Cove Indoor Blacklight Adventure Golf, Claremont
For a unique adventure, one to surely help beat the heat, consider a round of blacklight adventure golf at this custom-fabricated course in Claremont. Winding through the renovated halls of an old mill building, the 18-hole course at Blackbeard’s Cove is filled with vibrant features, including a blue-spotted, neon orange octopus, a glowing skull perched on a bed of seaweed and the ferocious jaws of a great white shark.
Along the walls hang custom panels portraying action-packed scenes of skeleton pirates in a fiery underworld. Spot the bright golf balls scattered throughout the panels — a full moon in one, the contents of a treasure chest in another. Even one of the buildings, coined Hastings’ Tavern, serves as an homage to the owner’s late grandfather.
Nicholas Koloski and his family opened the blacklight adventure golf course two years ago following the pandemic, adding to the American-style grill and the escape room experiences they operate in the same building.
These attractions bring fun close to home, and for Koloski, working in the industry of fun is all about creating family memories.
“When I’m not here anymore,” Koloski shared about his future legacy, “people will still have the memories. It’s all about that.” He recalled piling into the family station wagon and visiting Funspot as a kid, even talking shop with the original founder, Bob Lawton, who has since passed.
Koloski plans to expand operations further, opening axe-throwing corrals, rage rooms (a new concept where people can relieve stress by destroying objects in the confines of a room) and two more escape rooms — making four in total — in the months to come. pirateminigolfnh.com
Check out this directory for more information about these courses and other fan favorites from around the state.
Blackbeard’s Cove Adventure Golf
101 Mulberry Street, Claremont pirateminigolfnh.com escapefactorynh@gmail.com
Captain’s Cove Adventure Golf
814 Lafayette Road, Hampton (603) 926-5011 smallgolf.com
Chuckster’s Ice Cream & Miniature Golf
9 Bailey Road, Chichester (603) 798-3555 chucksters-hooksett.com
Mel’s Funway Park
454 Charles Bancroft Highway, Litchfield (603) 424-2292 melsfunwaypark.com
Paradise Falls Mini Golf
252 Lee Road, Moultonborough (603) 476-5909 paradisefallsminigolf.com
Pirate’s Cove Adventure Golf
Locations in Lincoln, North Conway, Weirs Beach and Winnisquam piratescove.net
