Few things are more fun than heading to Tukwila Family Fun Center and joining a group of friends for a game or two of miniature golf. It’s a great way for people of all ages to get outside, have some fun, and practice their hand-eye coordination.
The game is both a mental and physical one, since it requires a lot of strategy to win.
Here are a few tips to get you in fighting shape before you search “mini golf near me” and challenge your friends to a couple of rounds on the course:
Choose the Right Equipment
Ask the professionals in any sport and they’ll tell you: the equipment you choose matters. In fact, it matters a great deal. Legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus had a putter called “White Fang” and Tiger Woods has a famous partnership with his trusty Scotty Cameron club. That is to say, the club you choose is important, and it needs to be right for you.
Start by grabbing a club that’s the right size: the top of the putter should reach about the level of your belt once you’re in position to swing. You should be able to grip right around the middle and there should be no material missing. Many miniature golf enthusiasts end up buying their own putters and bringing them along to the game.
Strategize
As with any game, patience is key to victory. Your strategy starts the second you see the course. Look out for any tricks and traps that might be present, such as unseen slopes and any tunnels or water hazards that may be present.
If you are able, take a minute to walk around the course and look at it closely. You’ll also want to take note of other details that can affect your game; wind speed, for example, can have an impact on the motion of your ball.
Don’t Go First
If possible, always allow your opponents when playing mini golf. Not only will this give you more time to mull over your strategy, it will also allow you to observe their mistakes so that you don’t make the same ones.
Watch to see if they get tripped up by the trap featured on a particular course. If your friends are consistently swinging too hard and overshooting the hole, you’ll know to take your swing with a little more restraint. If, on the other hand, you notice they don’t swing hard enough and the ball rolls back toward the start of the course, you’ll be able to use that as valuable feedback and put a little more power behind your putt.
Visualize Your Success
As you step up to take your swing, take a moment to visualize yourself making a successful stroke. Picture the path that the ball will travel on as it heads for the hole. Imagine banking it off of any edges and, in your mind, watch it roll up the ramps and through the tunnels and drop effortlessly into the hole.
As you practice and your mini golf game improves, your visualization will improve as well. You’ll learn to paint a perfect picture in your mind’s eye of yourself making a successful play, and if the ball doesn’t end up where it’s supposed to, you’ll learn to visualize where everything went wrong.
Practice Putting
Once it’s finally time to take your stroke, you’ll need to focus on your technique. Putting technique is deceptively simple, but it’s easy to do poorly if you get too much into your own head. Once you start overthinking it, it’s all over. The best way to get out of your head and back on the course is simply to practice.
Make sure your technique is there. Use your fingers, not arms, to control the movement of the club. Strike the ball with the exact middle of the putter and try to roll the ball, not hit it. Do this over and over. Head to Family Fun Center and play games whenever you can. Bring different groups of friends and watch your social life thrive as you do so.
If you are really committed to improving your score, you can even buy a putter and a practice putting green to work on your game whenever you like.
Think About Speed
One of the biggest things that will add strokes to your scorecard is having poor control of your speed. If you swing too hard, you’ll overshoot the hole or even cause your ball to fly off of the putting green. On the other hand, if don’t swing hard enough you’ll find that your ball runs out of power before it ever gets anywhere near the hole. Mastering the right balance of speed and power is another aspect of mini golf that takes practice. If you’re able, before the game starts, take a few practice strokes to warm up and get yourself in the right headspace.
Don’t Try For a Hole in One
Worrying about trying to get a hole in one is a sure way to stress yourself out, and your game will suffer as a result. When you take your first stroke, don’t even think about trying to reach the hole in one shot. Often, you can’t even see where the hole is from where you make the stroke, so you won’t have much success aiming for it anyway.
Instead, choose a target near the hole that’s easier to visualize. Your target can be anything; it can be a spot on the green or even a leaf or other piece of debris. If you do manage a hole in one, it will be because you were relaxed and you took the time to concentrate on a proper target.
Have Fun!
Of course, the real point of playing mini golf is to have fun, so make sure that you’re enjoying the game, too. With these tips, you’ll improve your game, which will make it more enjoyable, which will get you on the course more, which will improve your game.
So call a few friends, look for “mini golf near me,” and head to your local course to play. If you’re in Tacoma-Seattle area, try the great course at Tukwila Family Fun Center.
