As I stepped up to the first hole at Churchville Golf Driving Range and took a swing, I thought this would be an easy game to win. However, as I moved through the challenging obstacles of the course, I realized that was far from the truth.
Churchville Golf Driving Range has two mini golf courses, the Original Course and the Challenge Course. Both courses are priced at $4.50 for children under the age of 12 and $5.00 for adults.
Out of the two courses, we decided to try the Original Course, which seemed like more fun than the Challenge Course based on looks. The Original Course offers wacky obstacles that are fun for kids, teenagers, and adults. Some of the best obstacles are a spinning windmill, a ramp onto a pirate ship, a castle, and bowling pins.
Hole One is an easy introduction to the course. Providing almost no challenge, the golfer only has to hit the ball over one tiny hill before it descends into the hole. Hole Two, however, quickly submerges the golfer into the challenge of the course, requiring the golfer to hit the ball through a windmill to get to the hole.
If the golfer decides making it past the windmill is too difficult a feat, there is space to hit the ball around the windmill, but there is also a wooden gazebo the golfer has to avoid and the ball gets put into an awful position.
The next few holes are mediocre, requiring the golfer to only aim through slightly narrow spaces or figuring out just the right amount of “oomph” when hitting the ball.
The course gets challenging again with Hole 10. The hole is extremely short but requires the golfer to try and hit the ball through one of three narrow openings in a metal castle. This hole was the death of me. It took me three hits to get the ball through the castle, four if you count me having to get the ball from being stuck inside the castle.
The course ends with a bonus hole that requires the golfer to hit the ball up a narrow ramp encased by a small house to try to get the ball in the hole. On either side of the ramp is empty space where most golfers’ balls plummet, ending their career on the Original Course. For those select few who hit their ball into the bonus hole, they win a free game of miniature golf.
Despite the fun aspect provided by the obstacles, the course could have used a nice paint job and cleanup crew. The obstacles, although interesting, looked old because most had chipping paint. The entire course looked like it should get a giant washcloth to run over it.
The water that provides a challenge at multiple holes was a murky brown and definitely could have been purified. The state of the obstacles in terms of cleanliness could have been improved. The greens on the course, however, were smooth and undamaged at most holes.
The Challenge Course was more age appropriate for adults. The course featured lots of water challenges between pools and waterfalls. This course definitely was more about incorporating nature as its theme as opposed to the wacky obstacles seen in the Original Course.
Churchville Golf Driving Range isn’t just for mini-golf. It has a driving range, which is open all year. It has 30 bays, six of which are covered, and five target greens surrounded by sand traps and bunkers. Prices for buckets of golf balls for the driving range go from $4 to $12 depending on the size of the bucket.
Other amenities include an arcade, batting cages, golf lessons, a pro shop, and a snowball stand. Arctic Circle, a local ice cream shop, is also right next to the mini golf courses, just outside the brown fence surrounding them.
Emily Clarke is Print Chief for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.