11/15/2007 - IAAPA · 11/15/2007 10:00am ... like clock golf and English putting greens, ... whimsical obstacle laden fairyland theme miniature golf course on their resort property

Miniature Golf Feasibility, Design, & Operations

11/15/2007

10:00am Room #N230AB

A Brief History of the Nature of Miniature Golf By Steven Hix The 1992 American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) basically requires all businesses, which are places of public accommodation, to comply with the ADA requirements for accessibility, unless it would change the “basic nature of the business.” Amusement facilities are considered places of “public accommodation,” with special circumstance, which has been under consideration by the ADAAG ADA Access Board. In order to understand the basic nature of miniature golf, you must understand its origin in the game of golf. According to NEW WEBSTER”S UNIVERSAL ENCYCLOPEDIA (1987): The game of golf is: “A club and ball game for two to four players played on a golf course, which was well established in Britain by the 15th century, and almost certainly originated in Scotland. “A standard course is usually divided into 18 holes (9 on a small course). A “hole” comprises the flat starting point, called the “tee,” a “fairway,” and a smooth putting green. On the green is the actual hole. There are also obstacles around the course, such as trees, ditches, ponds, and sand bunkers. The object of the game is to hit the ball from each tee into each hole with as few strokes as possible.” Since miniature golf’s beginnings in 1916, on the private estate of James Barber in Pinehurst, North Carolina, the game and it’s public popularity have gone through multiple transitions, through both good times and bad times, and has progressed towards the current state of the nature of the industry. Today, miniature golf courses have evolved with public taste, and demand, and often feature fairly extreme changes in elevation, and “movie set” style architectural elaborateness, with all of the theater and drama that amusement industry designers and architects can produce, to continue to inspire the imagination of consumers of all ages. The following is Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary TENTH ADDITION, (Copyright 1994) definition of miniature golf n (1915) : a novelty golf game played with a putter on a miniature course usually having tunnels, bridges, sharp corners, and obstacles. Even though variations of the “big game” of golf, like clock golf and English putting greens, had been enjoyed for many years it was not until James Barber and Edward E. Wisell, an “amateur architect of fiendish ingenuity,” designed and built the “Thistle Du” (this’ll do) miniature golf course that all of the elements of miniature golf were brought together for the first time (Country Life 1920). The Thistle Du miniature golf course featured interconnecting playing tees, fairways, and holes with grass bunkers, wood bunkers, various obstacles, and elaborate landscaping on a fairly level playing field. However, the course remained behind closed gates and was only revealed to the public in magazine articles and pictures, like the 1920 Country Life story.

In 1922, Thomas McCulloch Fairborn, a transplanted Englishman, who owned a cotton plantation near Tlahualilo, Mexico, became obsessed by the desire to create a small golf course on his spread. His initial attempts to create the rolling green hills of his homeland failed in the bone dry Mexican climate, and the course playing surface was just too coarse. However, he eventually developed a surface playing material from crushed cottonseed hulls and oil, which he dyed green and then rolled on to a sand foundation, that did work well. In 1925, Fairbarn and his two partners, Robert McCart and Albert Valdespino patented the process and created Miniature Golf Courses of America Inc., but they found themselves with an invention for which no market existed. In 1926 Drake Delanoy and John Ledbetter built New York City’s first outdoor miniature golf course on the roof top of a skyscraper in the financial district, using Fairborn’s cottonseed-hull process, which they had seen at golf trade shows. Eventually Fairborn and McCart became aware that Delanoy and Ledbetter were infringing upon their patent. In 1928, the four men came to a financial agreement, which allowed Delanoy and Ledbetter to use the cottonseed-hull process on over 150 roof top miniature courses in New York City. The miniature golf courses they built only cost a few thousand dollars to construct and the rate-of-return on the investment reportedly were phenomenal. After boasting to the press that they planned to franchise courses throughout the world Delanoy and Ledbetter abruptly vanished from the annals of miniature golf history. The roles of Fairborn, Delanoy, and Ledbetter are important to understand the beginnings of miniature golf. However, it was not until 1929 when Garnet Carter and his wife Frieda built a whimsical obstacle laden fairyland theme miniature golf course on their resort property atop Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee that the true nature of modern miniature golf as an amusement activity for children of all ages began to take shape. It was Frieda Carter who designed numerous miniature houses, garages, and the fairyland Gas station employing hazards constructed of leftover tile, hollow logs, sections of sewer pipe, and enhanced with statues of elves and gnomes. The Tom Thumb Golf course quickly became a popular and major draw for parents and their children. Garnet and Frieda eventually lavished over $40,000 on their original miniature golf course on Lookout mountain. The Carter’s patented the obstacle laden course under the name Tom Thumb Golf. Eventually, Fairborn and McCart became aware of Carter’s use of their patented cottonseed-hull surface. Carter agreed to pay over $65,000 for use of Fairborn’s patented miniature golf surface material. Then they struck a deal with the owners of National Pipe Products Corporation, who retooled three of their manufacturing plants into fantasy factories employing over 200 people to design and build hazards, hand paint hollow logs, tiny houses, and other itsy-bitsy items. Carter and National Pipe Products formed the Fairyland Manufacturing Corporation, which sold over 3000 Tom Thumb miniature golf course franchises by 1930. The cost for each entrepreneur, who hoped to emulate Carter’s widely publicized success, was approximately $4,500. According to John Margolies 1987 pictorial book Miniature Golf, “In 1930 there were between 25,000 and 50,000 miniature golf courses (in the United States) representing an investment of $125,000,000 to $325,000,000.” An estimated four million Americans, were out on miniature gold courses on any given balmy night playing to escape their financial

worries about the Great Depression. Tom Thumb’s success not the standing, the vast majority of courses were and are privately owned Mom and Pop affairs. Unfortunately, a large number of the four million miniature golf players like to play until dawn, and the racket caused by the hordes of players kept other people in nearby residential settings awake. This eventually led to the enactment of ordinances, curfews, regulations, and “Blue Laws” for miniature golf course operations across the country. Over building and rumors of “Mob” involvement further hurt the reputation of the game, and the miniature golf industry’s success and growth went into a decline until after World War II in the mid 1950's. It was not until after World War II that the U.S. economy shifted from an military industrial war oriented economy to a consumer products orientated economy that indoor-outdoor artificial turf was developed, and quickly replaced Fairborn’s patented cotton-seed hull miniature golf playing surface. Among the first to widely adopt the use of indoor-outdoor carpet for miniature golf courses was Don Clayton’s Putt Putt Golf and Games. In 1953, Don Clayton founded Putt Putt Golf and Games. Clayton advocated that miniature golf was a serious competitive sport. Disgusted by what he considered trick shots, his miniature golf courses were designed to only allow straight putting with none of the gimmicks. Putt Putt, along with McDonald’s and Holiday Inns, went on to become one the nation’s first franchised roadside businesses. The Putt Putt “ competitive sporting” miniature golf courses were not designed to offer high visibility to passing motorists, about what was going on in the facility. Many people doubted that miniature golf would ever be regarded as a sport. However, Putt Putt and Don Clayton did thrive for many years, and at one time had almost 500 locations. In 1955 Al Lomma of Scranton, Pennsylvania led a revival of the wacky, animated miniature golf courses with trick hazards and more challenging obstacles, which required more accurately aimed shots and split-second timing to avoid spinning windmill blades, revolving statuary, and other careening obstacles. Children of all ages continued to enjoy the whimsically designed and funny miniature golf courses created by owners, architects, and artists. For many years, there was a stylistic divergence between the miniature golf courses of the East Coast and West coasts. Southern California courses, undoubtedly influenced by Hollywood, tended to be more elaborate, draw heavily on fantasy, and grandiosity. In contrast, East Coast courses were smaller and less theatrical, due a shorter season and harsher weather. Many East Coast courses, particularly in the Northeast featured literary or historic themes. Farther to the South, along the Eastern Seaboard to Florida courses began to be characterized by large central rockeries made of synthetic rock over which water cascades dramatically and invariably invokes a jungle atmosphere with palm trees, thatched huts and “wild” animals. During the 1970's and 1980's, small amusement parks featuring miniature golf courses and other anchor attractions, like go-kart tracks and arcade games, began to coalesce into what is now called the “family entertainment center” industry(FEC). The FEC industry has been

the fastest growing segment of the international amusement industry for the last twenty-five years. While miniature golf courses remain the most popular feature attraction at family entertainment centers, it is the synergistic combination of multiple attractions and activities that make these facilities thrive, prosper, and enjoy financial success. The synergistic effect helps extend consumer’s length of stay, and subsequently the per capita spending rate, and the FEC’s profitability. It is not only the quantitative value of attractions, but also the qualitative value of the experience in terms consumer’s perceptions, which keeps any FEC successfully positioned against competitors in the market place. Conversely, any potential adverse quantitative or qualitative aspect of any major or anchor attractions at an FEC is likely to cause an adverse effect on the revenues of all of the other attractions. Amusement facilities and their attractions must adjust to changing market trends, in order to remain competitive and profitable. Companies like Malibu Grand Prix and Mountasia Enterprises (Fantasy Golf Inc.) built miniature golf courses with story-line type themes or “nature” oriented playing holes that featured dramatic changes in elevation. During the 1990's, the serious competitive “straight and flat” Putt Putt miniature golf courses were operating at over 400 franchised or company owned locations in America. The majority of the Putt Putt miniature golf courses were a “Cookie Cutter” design, and if you had “Played one you had played them all,” with slight deviations. During this period, Putt Putt locations (particularly franchise operator/owners), who had available land space, began to transform their facilities into the greater family entertainment center concept, with the addition of more attractions and activities. However, many locations were “land locked” and without property to expand. During this same time period, many Putt Putt locations began to lose competitive market share to companies like Malibu Grand Prix, Pirates Cove, Mountasia, and a dramatic number of new Mom and Pop entrepreneurs. These groups and individuals were building family entertainment centers featuring more amusement attractions and the more attractive, whimsical, and dramatic adventure style miniature golf courses. The majority of the new family entertainment centers were, and are, designed to show off the adventure style miniature golf courses, as a beautiful feature attraction, to motorists driving by. Today, there are fewer than 100 Putt Putt locations in existence. Many of the Putt Putt locations did not, or have not, remained abreast of market changes, and consumer’s tastes and demands. Don Clayton’s concept of the flat straight sport oriented style of miniature golf course continues to decline in popularity and profitability. The consideration of miniature golf as a seriously competitive “Sport” has only taken root in Europe, and even now is shifting towards a purely entertaining and passive amusement activity, because of consumer’s desire for diversity. Unsubstantiated estimates indicate that there are currently 5000-7500 miniature golf courses and family entertainments centers in the United states alone. Miniature golf courses are found throughout the world. The cost to build an average family entertainment center currently ranges from 1.5 million dollars to 7 million dollars (plus), and the cost to build a successful miniature golf course has increased to a virtual minimum of $250,000 up to over a million dollars (plus). The successful miniature golf course and family entertainment will produce an approximate 30%+ annual rate of return, before taxes. In addition, the miniature

addition, the miniature golf and family entertainment center industry employs tens of thousands of American, both full time and seasonally. The miniature golf and family entertainment center industries are obviously significant contributors to the current American economy.

Many people identify miniature golf as an American folk art. Miniature golf does continue to endure and grow in popularity, as an icon on the American landscape. Miniature golf is one of the few entertaining recreation activities, considered a wholesome pastime, which does not have an age or gender bias. Virtually everyone in America, as well as many parts of the world, can, have, and do enjoy playing miniature golf at varying times during their lives. An example of how deeply miniature golf has penetrated American consciousness is reflected in the work of the many contemporary artists who have inspired the camp, goofy, quintessentially American qualities of miniature golf. All miniature golf courses seem to contain the essential elements of a garden: dwelling, road, shrine, and landscape. Similarly, elaborate rockeries, waterfalls, and manmade ponds that are the obstacles and challenges, which are at the heart and the basic nature of the game, and have been part of golf links for almost a hundred years. Ornate Renaissance gardens often incorporated grottoes and waterfalls, and statues of imaginary beasts, and gods which were enshrined in niches and on pedestals as “reminders of ancestral beliefs.” These pleasure gardens evoked an atmosphere of exotic romance and fantasy. And so does miniature golf, as we hope it always will. For miniature golf, a truly indigenous American art form, is the stuff of our collective dreams. Any significant or potentially adverse changes to the miniature golf course industry, which effect competitive market positioning will likely have long range and long term effects and impact upon, not only miniature golf course profitability, but the continued financial growth and success of the entire family entertainment center business industry and all the employees, designers, developers, product manufacturers, and other businesses associated with it. The proposed rules published by ADAAG could have a potentially adverse effect upon the nature of the miniature golf and the family entertainment industry. The majority of miniature golf courses built since the initial publication of the Access Board’s proposed rules in 1999 have attempted to comply with the 50% accessibility rules. All miniature golf course designers, developer, and owners want to comply and “Do the Right Thing.” However, the Access Board’s rules and the interpretation and application appear to be quite vague and very subjective. The area of greatest concern are for those miniature golf courses built between 1992 and 1999, when the ADA rules went into effect, with nothing specific regarding miniature golf courses and other amusement and recreational facilities and activities. Many of these courses have architectural design and construction features, which