The Four Oaks Golf Course at Lincoln Park in the City of Pittsburg, Kansas, opened a new 18-hole ADA compliant miniature golf course this summer. The course was designed and built by Adventure Golf & Sports (AGS) using their Modular Advantage® Mini Golf System. It replaced a traditional style concrete course that had been rebuilt in 1996, but had poor drainage. “It had affected playability enough that our numbers were decreasing,” says Toby Book, Director of Parks & Recreation for the city. “It was not economically repairable... With the Modular Advantage ...you get good subsurface drainage to take the water away so it’s not pooling. That appealed to me ...because we knew the traditional (concrete) style was going to present some challenges financially, drainage-wise and maintenance-wise.”
According to Book, a 28-year veteran of the City of Pittsburg Parks & Recreation Department, the drainage issue has been solved. “We had a couple rains that were like four or five inches overnight. There might have been one or two spots where we had to take a blower and blow some water out of a (hole) cup, but it proved without a doubt that it was a very much improved drainage system and took the water away. It was playable the next day.
“...We didn’t build what I call the ‘Branson style’ course with the 40-foot volcano or the big laughing clown and we’ve got some community members that want to come back and put some theming in there to give it some more eye appeal. I’m not against it as long as we can do it within the guidelines of ADA acceptability...
“...I think from hole one to the sixth hole there’s almost a three-foot elevation change and not noticeable because they (AGS) kept it in all within the ratios for ADA. But the holes themselves have contour; they have cup placement so that it’s not just a straight shot. It’s not 18-holes of playing billiards. There’s some strategy. There’s some challenge to it.”
The Modular Advantage system AGS used to build the course consists of interlocking, flexible, patented panels that provide the look and feel of a concrete course, can be shaped to resemble a variety of topography and are 100% permeable for water drainage.
To create natural obstacles on the course, “AGS used different types of synthetic turf,” says Book. “So you have your ‘fairway-type’ putting green surface and then you have the rough and then you have sand traps. They did re-use our (old course) cannon for an obstacle and our local college athletic teams are the Pittsburg State Gorillas so we have a gorilla.
“In my opinion anybody can design a miniature golf hole with a dinosaur or anything on it, but I like the fact they (AGS) came in and treated it like a golf course green where it has slope, has contour, has some challenges that are naturally born into the hole...”
To prepare for the new course build, the City of Pittsburg removed the existing concrete-built course. “AGS actually designed in the same footprint of our old miniature golf course,” says Book. “We got rid of everything there so we gave them basically a fresh piece of earth to contour and build back. The only thing we left was our existing light system because we knew we could save some money by re-using those light poles and they designed around those. The only criteria I gave them was we wanted a nice, playable course that was 100 percent ADA compliant.... They (AGS) came in and did all the micro-grading, all the subsurface work. They had a lot to do but they were proficient at what they did.”
Book believes the Modular Advantage build was less expensive to install compared to a typical concrete course. “And the build was a lot faster, too,” says Book. “AGS came in and they worked hard. There was no time wasted. They brought in a crew of four or five guys and they were all approachable; all easy to work with... The whole experience was pretty positive.
“We did make some in-the-field design changes...they would adjust on site. I wanted to make sure we got 18 quality holes. Then we could go back and add some flavor to it... We have built shade structures out there. And we will probably go back and put some shrubbery or greenery in there but not a lot. We want to keep it maintainable because honestly what we’re hiring to maintain it are 17-, 18-, 19-year-old kids.”
While Book says the new miniature golf course is appealing to all ages, he adds, “It doesn’t play as fast and hard as the old traditional style putt-putt golf course where everything’s a par-2. There’s par-3s, par-4s. So there are challenges out there for real golfers, too.
“We charge for play...16 and over is $6 a round, ages 4 – 15 are $4 a round and toddlers 3 and under are $2 a round. We’re still working on family passes, senior discounts, all of that...
“We ran a special this Fourth of July where for $5 you get a wrist band and you can play as many rounds as you want from ten-to-four, plus we’ll throw in an admission to the pool and the first 50 get a free ice cream cone. We’ll continue to run specials like that.”