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Historic Houston Miniature Golf Courses


Subdude

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That's funny Subdude, they had a location in SA that was always packed. Another question was there a miniature golf course on kirby close to the old kroger?

In a Tidelands thread there is a list of businesses on Main St in 1969, and Houston Golf Center is listed at 7710 Main between Braeswood and Kirby. Is that what you were referring to?

Where were other miniature golf courses in Houston? For me these rank up there with snake farms and dinosaur parks as great roadside attractions.

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In a Tidelands thread there is a list of businesses on Main St in 1969, and Houston Golf Center is listed at 7710 Main between Braeswood and Kirby. Is that what you were referring to?

Where were other miniature golf courses in Houston? For me these rank up there with snake farms and dinosaur parks as great roadside attractions.

Thats a good question, I love playing Put-Put. We used to go to the Castle on 610 and I10 I think it was. They also had a Malibu Grand Prix.

joe

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Thats a good question, I love playing Put-Put. We used to go to the Castle on 610 and I10 I think it was. They also had a Malibu Grand Prix.

joe

There was a Castle on I10 . . but not at 610. There was one I think on 59 close to 610 ? I remeber going to the one on I10 in JrH and HS... and they guys would always try to turn it into a driving range and knock one to the feeder.

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I played putt putt in the 60's and 70's somewhere way down OST. It was a great place especially at night. There were 3 different courses and we would play all 3. I remember if you got a hole in one on the last hole you got a free game. I also played at one on the Gulf freeway. It was nice too. I also played at the one on Southmore in Pasadena and played once at the big one in Galveston by Stewart Beach. They used to have a commercial about... Putt Putt For The Fun Of It.. I do remember all the words but I wont make y'all suffer :P

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I could swear there is a topic on this already. Games People Play on FM1960, Putt-Putt on Beechnut or W.Belfort, right there in Meyerland. There was also a Putt-Putt on Westhiemer @ Chimney Rock, back in the 70's.

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around '55 there was a miniature golf course at 1910 fannin, between calhoun (st. joseph) and pierce...

there is also an abandoned one now on e. james st. near alexander st. in baytown (c. 1970)

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I used to play at a Putt-Putt course on I-45 just north of Northline Mall between Airline and Tidwell.

This was in the mid to late 1970s.

Maybe this is a different one, but I know for sure there was one where Shepherd ends at I-45. It was sort of behind where the flea market is now. If I recall correctly, I think there was a multiple homicide at that site in the early '80s. If it wasn't that one, then it was at a similar one. I do know that a multiple homicide occurred at one of those putt-putt/go-kart places.

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snake farms and dinosaur parks?

I'm not one of those people who wakes up every day hoping someone will do or say something that offends me, but your ranking of miniature golf courses with snake farms and dinosaur parks is just pure elitist snobbery.

You may be surprised to know that miniature golf has been one of the most popular family pastimes in the country since the 1950s. It's always been one of the few places families could go for good clean outdoor fun at a reasonable cost.

There were any number of miniature golf courses, individually and corporate owned, but Putt-Putt was and still is the most familiar. Putt-Putt is the copyrighted name of the biggest national chain of miniature golf courses in the country. At one time, Putt-Putt had courses all over Houston, but it's now down to just one Houston area course, on NASA Rd One in Webster.

It has survived because it has managed to change with the times. Here's how Putt-Putt

describes itself on its website. "Today, Putt-Putt is transitioning into mini amusement parks with multiple attractions for children and adults. These new Putt-Putt Fun Centers may include go-karts, batting cages, kiddie rides, bumper boats, game rooms, laser tag, climbing walls and more."

I'm guessing that changing tastes in entertainment and rising land prices put a damper on Putt-Putt's growth prospects and caused it to shrink. Even so, it's still thriving and growing again in other parts of the state and around the country. Check out the Putt-Putt website. http://www.puttputt.com/home.html

There's even professional miniature golf, complete with a tour of tournaments and touring pros. Here's the website of Pro Putters of America. http://www.proputters.com/

The timing of your posting is perfect Subdude. The PPA Texas Open is going on this weekend at the Putt-Putt in Webster. Laugh at them if you want to, but I'm betting a lot of those guys are crying about it all the way to the bank.

And, oh yes, I played at a Putt-Putt course on the Gulf Freeway somewhere around Edgebrook or College Avenue.

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I'm not one of those people who wakes up every day hoping someone will do or say something that offends me, but your ranking of miniature golf courses with snake farms and dinosaur parks is just pure elitist snobbery.

You may be surprised to know that miniature golf has been one of the most popular family pastimes in the country since the 1950s. It's always been one of the few places families could go for good clean outdoor fun at a reasonable cost.

There were any number of miniature golf courses, individually and corporate owned, but Putt-Putt was and still is the most familiar. Putt-Putt is the copyrighted name of the biggest national chain of miniature golf courses in the country. At one time, Putt-Putt had courses all over Houston, but it's now down to just one Houston area course, on NASA Rd One in Webster.

It has survived because it has managed to change with the times. Here's how Putt-Putt

describes itself on its website. "Today, Putt-Putt is transitioning into mini amusement parks with multiple attractions for children and adults. These new Putt-Putt Fun Centers may include go-karts, batting cages, kiddie rides, bumper boats, game rooms, laser tag, climbing walls and more."

I'm guessing that changing tastes in entertainment and rising land prices put a damper on Putt-Putt's growth prospects and caused it to shrink. Even so, it's still thriving and growing again in other parts of the state and around the country. Check out the Putt-Putt website. http://www.puttputt.com/home.html

There's even professional miniature golf, complete with a tour of tournaments and touring pros. Here's the website of Pro Putters of America. http://www.proputters.com/

The timing of your posting is perfect Subdude. The PPA Texas Open is going on this weekend at the Putt-Putt in Webster. Laugh at them if you want to, but I'm betting a lot of those guys are crying about it all the way to the bank.

And, oh yes, I played at a Putt-Putt course on the Gulf Freeway somewhere around Edgebrook or College Avenue.

:o Sir, you misunderstand me. My grouping of miniature golf courses with dinosaur parks and snake farms wasn't meant as an insult to miniature golf. Quite the opposite - I love those places. See - here is a picture from a dinosaur park I visited last year in California:

P1000074.JPG

It is just unfortunate so few classic roadside attractions survive.

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Maybe this is a different one, but I know for sure there was one where Shepherd ends at I-45. It was sort of behind where the flea market is now. If I recall correctly, I think there was a multiple homicide at that site in the early '80s. If it wasn't that one, then it was at a similar one. I do know that a multiple homicide occurred at one of those putt-putt/go-kart places.

I think you're referring to the one that was on US 59 at the Westpark curve.

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Maybe this is a different one, but I know for sure there was one where Shepherd ends at I-45. It was sort of behind where the flea market is now. If I recall correctly, I think there was a multiple homicide at that site in the early '80s. If it wasn't that one, then it was at a similar one. I do know that a multiple homicide occurred at one of those putt-putt/go-kart places.

That was the Malibu go-cart track, with a Waterslide next door. There was never a minature golf course there. Simply no room. As the poster right before me says, you may be thinking of another one and I'm with him - it's the one on U.S. 59 where the murder took place.

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Yes, I played on that one, too. It was somewhere on the feeder near Airport Blvd. I think they had go-karts, too. I'm not thinking of SuperTrack -- that came after this one.

it was at monroe on the same corner where the ninfa's is now.

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Yes, I played on that one, too. It was somewhere on the feeder near Airport Blvd. I think they had go-karts, too. I'm not thinking of SuperTrack -- that came after this one.

Yep, thats the one. It was on the southbound side of the gulf freeway. I think it had three different courses too. I do remember when they put the go cart track in but I never went after that. The last time I went was probably 1974 or so. What great times.

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:o Sir, you misunderstand me. My grouping of miniature golf courses with dinosaur parks and snake farms wasn't meant as an insult to miniature golf. Quite the opposite - I love those places. It is just unfortunate so few classic roadside attractions survive.

You're right, and I was probably being a little too sensitive. I also spent a lot of hours of my misspent youth playing miniature golf, and even working at one in Pasadena when I was a lot younger. I'm talking about the family-owned miniature golf course that was at the corner of Shaw Street and North Witter in Pasadena.

It was owned and operated by the Pomeroy family, whose house was on the other end of the same corner lot. In the mid 50s, they also put in a dozen or so ground level trampolines when those things suddenly became popular.

You may recall the trampoline craze died out pretty quickly because so many people were breaking their ankles, arms and legs on those things. For those too young to remember ground-level trampolines, they were installed over a pit about two feet deep. They were fun, but dangerous for the unskilled.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I know that there was more than one Malibu Grand Priz - with a miniture golf course. They all looked like castles. I know that there was one on 59, one on 610, and maybe one on I-10.

I don't know which one had the murders - after that, they eventually all closed.

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The Malibu where the murders took place was on 59. I remember it very well. It stayed open for years after that -- they might have changed the name, but it was still a go-kart place when I was in high school in the mid '80s.

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