As you most likely already know, golf was a sport that was invented centuries ago. Although what you might not know is that mini golf was not far behind the invention of regula golf. Miniature golf as we know it today was first shown in a London newspaper back on June 8th, 1912. It did not take long for this new idea to be incorporated in the United States, where it first came into play in 1916. The golf course that hosted this new miniature course was none other than the famous Pinehurst that nearly everyone knows today!

This was difficult to maintain at first, because it was the grass and greens of a normal golf course. It was not until 1922, ten years later, that an artificial green was created. After this huge step in the evolution of mini golf courses, a man named John Garnet Carter really evolved this miniature sport. He patented the game and helped take it around the country in 1927. In the Great Depression, mini golf courses around the nation were put to a halt.

It was not until 1954 that mini golf courses took another large leap forward with the foundation of the Putt-Putt corporation. The corporation helped standardize mini golf  while still allowing for each course to be unique in its own way. It was also around this time that people began to introduce wacky obstacles onto the course like pipes and windmills. These still make for some of the most fun mini golf courses to play today!

A lot has happened since 1954 with one major step coming into play that has made mini golf courses even more popular. Besides them being a popular tourist attraction, one major evolution that has arguably come off the golf courses, is the introduction of miniature golf competitions and tournaments. 

Mini golf tournaments have been around since 1930, but they are much more common now. They are so popular that there is actually a professional mini golf league within the United States that travels around the country and hosts tournaments. The prizes are so large that you could win over one hundred dollars just by playing mini golf. Just like real golf tournaments they have purses with the money being split amongst the competitors. 

Not only is there a professional mini golf league in the United States, but there is also a World Minigolf Federation. While these are not necessarily the evolution of the mini golf courses themselves, it does affect the courses in a secondary way. By this we mean that the quality of mini golf courses have increased over time to either host a professional tournament, or simply grab tourists' attention.

After reading this article we hope that you have a newfound appreciation for mini golf courses. The history and evolution of these courses start back further than even we had in mind. Again we hope you had as much fun reading this article as we did writing it and stay tuned for more articles like this coming your way soon!

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