Mini-Golf For Beginners - OrthoVirginia

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Close Alert Mini-Golf for Beginners

by OrthoVirginia Team

Mini-golf is not a hard sport to learn. Some challenges include learning how to hit the ball, how to maneuver around the obstacles and at what angle to hold the club. Once these basics are figured out, playing is about having fun and improving your skills. Mini-golf is something that families or groups of friends can enjoy playing together.

Basic Tips

1. Know the difference between mini-golf and putt putt. Mini-golf courses are designed with crazy obstacles and usually take multiple shots to get to the hole. Putt putt courses are designed to have many hole-in-one shots and are typically low scoring games. A putt putt courses will have a par of two (an average of two strokes per hole to get the ball into the hole) while mini-golf courses have a par of two to six. Because of the difference in design of the courses as well as the different pars, the games are not the same. Don’t expect to score low in mini-golf like you do in putt putt due to the many obstacles in mini-golf.
2. Make sure you are using equipment that fits you properly. The top of the handle of the mini-golf putter should be about waist-high when the putter is touching the ground.
3. Look around at the hole before you take a shot. Make sure you are aware of any obstacles on the course and have a game plan for how to get around these obstacles. One of the easiest ways to overcome obstacles is to pick a target and draw a mental line from the ball to your target.
4. Speed matters. You never want to hit the ball so hard that it’s bumping into everything but you also want to put some power behind your swing to move the ball. Surface also affects speed so pay close attention to what kind of surface you are playing on. If there is a turf or grass-like surface, the ball may need more strength behind it compared to a smooth or concrete surface.

Rules

• The competitor who plays the round in the fewest strokes is the winner.
• There is a 5 to 7 stroke limit to each hole.
• You can move the ball 6 inches from the wall to play it without penalty.
• All players must use the balls and clubs supplied.
• You must move from hole to hole with your group.
• You must start each hole from the tee area or starting point.

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