These courses kick putt
Here’s how comedian Bob Hope explained golf: “If you watch a game, it’s fun. If you play it, it’s recreation. If you work at it, it’s golf.” But it doesn’t have to be all work and no play, especially when it’s miniature golf, a putting green or both. Here are five places Westerners will like.
Kilauea, Hawaii
Anaina Hou Mini Golf & Gardens on Kauai is a North Shore treasure. Putt your way over, around or through water hazards, jungle thickets and “lava” grottoes while taking in, on each of the 18 holes, a short lesson — maps, photos, explanatory text — on the flora, fauna, geology and history of the Hawaiian Islands. Cost, info: Free to $18.50, depending on your age. lat.ms/kauaiminigolf
Kings Beach, Calif.
Kings Beach Miniature Golf opened in 1957, and many of the original hand-built challenges at this north shore of Lake Tahoe site are still in use, including the low-tech “volcano.” Cost, info: $11 for both 19hole (yes) courses; lat.ms/kingsbeachminigolf
Las Vegas
Monster Mini Golf partnered with the rock band KISS and the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino to bring mini-golf indoors and pile on high kitsch (think Gene Simmons’ tongue). Augusta National it’s not, but you can rock ’n’ roll an afternoon away. Cost, info: round; lat.ms/vegasminigolf
Bandon, Ore.
You get a little extra at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in southern Oregon: the Punchbowl, the resort’s free-for-guests putting course. Each day, two 18hole layouts are created on this two-plus-acre expanse. The routings, some short, some not, will vary. Cost, info: Free for resort and daily golf guests. Fees for Bandon’s four full-length courses vary by season; for June $250, for July-September starting at $375. The 13-hole par-3 Bandon Preserve course costs $100; bandondunesgolf.com
Sun Valley, Idaho
Sawtooth Putting Course has 18 dedicated holes so it is like mini-golf. It takes place on shorn grass so it is like real golf. The Idaho mountains setting is stunning so it is definitely like being on vacation. Cost, info: $3-$8; lat.ms/ sawtoothputting