Perry Hall Mini Golf has potential, but is currently too rundown to be recommended.

Without even getting out of the car, it’s obvious that the golf course is small and unimpressive. There’s not much landscaping besides the rock structure in the middle of the course, which is only decorative and not involved in any holes.

One of the biggest issues is that it is off of a busy road, Joppa Road, which takes away from the recreational atmosphere that should be present.

After paying the low price of $5, which is convenient for a high school budget, we headed to the practice green. This addition was a lifesaver because our mini golf skills were rusty.

Unfortunately, the first hole was very much like the others: too easy. There were not many obstacles, as each hole usually only had a rock or two, if that. The eleventh hole, featuring a drain and a narrow bridge, was the only challenging one. The rest were back to mediocrity.

Many holes did have water hazards, which consisted of three dirty ponds. These ponds were brown and devoid of any flora whatsoever. Rather than fish, the ponds contained trash, and the pipes on the bottom were visible.

Besides the ponds, some of the holes were shabby and missing the starting patch. The worst part, however, was that several holes lacked signs. We didn’t know where to go and once we actually started golfing on the wrong hole.

Perry Hall Mini Golf makes up for its course flaws in its friendly employees. It is likely a little neglected because it is run by Perry Hall Presbyterian Church, which was implied by an employee to be short on funds.

The golf course also sells delicious snowballs, which was made better by the fact that we received a 50 percent discount from the manager.

Overall, it’s obvious that the facilities need cleaning, decorative landscaping, and more obstacles. But despite the second-rate course, we still had a lot of fun.

Rebecca Driver is a Copy Editor and Shannon Vinton is a Multimedia Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.