Its claimed that the Grand Strand region has the highest concentration of miniature golf courses in the world, which could very well be true. The Grand Strand is host to many interesting and challenging courses, including a championship tournament.

Miniature Golf Articles & Links:

• The Putting Penguin
• The Mini Golf Enthusiast - miniature golf blog, news
• It's A Jungle Out There - Washington Post article on mini-golf
• Holy Smoke! Miniature golf has grown monstrously popular in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
• Fiery dragons and Tidy Bowl waterfalls are serious business in Myrtle Beach
• History of Miniature Golf
• A Brief History of the Nature of Miniature Golf
• Say Goodbye to Miniature Golf

TROPICAL ADVENTURE MINI GOLF
10124 Beach Dr. SW
Calabash, NC 28467-2700
(910) 579-2226

 
Very old, and nice course just over the NC/SC border in Calabash. While you're visiting for the seafood restaurants, stop by this 18-hole course on the main road going through town. This NC town is considered by many to be part of the Grand Strand, as this area was once part of South Carolina until 1735. Click picture for many more pics of this course.

TRIBAL ISLAND TIKI ADVENTURE GOLF 901 Highway 17 North Little River, SC 29566 (843) 249-9117

Website: Tribal Island
Coupon: Sunny Day Guide

This is part of the Harbour View Golf Complex, together with a Par 3 course, driving range, and motels on Highway 17 between North Myrtle Beach and Little River. Tribal Island features two 18-hole courses- Volcano Valley and Tiki Bay, with caves, waterfalls, and an active volcano that erupts every hour. (pictures taken Feb. 3, 2007)

During the 2007 season, they had a sign stating that they accept all miniature golf coupons.

BLACK PEARL GOLF
614 Sea Mountain Hwy
North Myrtle Beach (Cherry Grove)
(843) 249-8473

This very old course was previously River Country Mini Golf (phone 249-2724). This was originally built and owned by Dr. "Sonney" Nixon who ran it for about 15 years- part of which had a go-cart track behind the course. Dr. Nixon also ran Sonney's Pavilion and later and Sonney's Arcade on the oceanfront in Cherry Grove. He sold the course around 2004, and it was renamed and remodelled to a pirate theme for the 2007 season.

MOLTEN MOUNTAIN MINIATURE GOLF
1010 Highway 17 North
North Myrtle Beach (Ocean Drive)
(843) 280-5095

Website: Molten Mountain
Coupons: On website, also The Monster Coupon Book

This is a new course, finished during the summer of 2006, and is now open. The volcano is a dramatic landmark, on the right soon after crossing the Intercoastal Waterway into North Myrtle Beach. It features two courses- one indoor course which winds its way through the volcano, and an outdoor course that wraps around the mountain. They also have facilities for birthday parties. (pictures taken Feb. 3, 2007)

This course is part of the Paradise Entertainment Inc. group, which includes Mutiny Bay, Molten Mountain, and Cancun Lagoon. The course was built by Marks Construction Co. of SC, which has built many other courses in the MB area. The mountain was designed by Cartee-Berry & Associates, LLC, using approx. 100 tons of steel for the structure.

MAYDAY GOLF
715 Highway 17 North
North Myrtle Beach (Ocean Drive) 29582
(843) 280-3535

Website: Mayday Golf
Coupons: On website

This course was built in 1997 by the Roberts Family Partnership, who manage the course. It has two 18-hole courses- Mayday Mountain, which leads under the wings of the big yellow 1945 US Navy Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon, and Rescue Falls, with the helicopter coming to the rescue. The Harpoon plane is real, and was in active use for many years before being retired at this miniature golf course, along with the Bell UH-1 "Huey" helicopter.

MUTINY BAY
301 Hwy 17 South
North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582
(843) 249-7844

Website: Mutiny Bay
Coupons: On website, also The Monster Coupon Book

This 36-hole course Carribean-themed course contains lots of special effects, with a complete animated pirate show every 30 minutes. Orlando Special Effects created the animation, centered around a 45-foot pirate ship by Creative Environs, Inc., to make one of the most high-tech courses around.

This course is part of the Paradise Entertainment Inc. group, which includes Mutiny Bay, Molten Mountain, and Cancun Lagoon. The course was built by Marks Construction Co. of SC, which has built many other courses in the MB area.

DINOSAUR ADVENTURE GOLF
700 7th Ave. North
Ocean Drive, North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582

 
This new course will be opening by late spring, early summer 2007. Located on the site of the former Fun World Amusement Park golf, the old 54-hole course is being converted into a new dinosaur-themed 36-hole course.

Click here or on the picture for the Dinosaur Adventure Golf page

PROF HACKER'S LOST TREASURE GOLF
1705 Highway 17 South
North Myrtle Beach (Crescent Beach) 29582
(843) 272-5467

Website: Lost Treasure Golf - NMB
Coupons: On website and Sunny Day Guide

This course is part of a chain which has several courses along the east coast, Pigeon Forge TN, and Branson Missouri, with the headquarters in Pigeon Forge.

These courses were founded and designed by Tom Merrell, as well as the new "Prof. Hacker's Dinosaur Adventure Golf" course that replaced the old Fun World minigolf in Ocean Drive, in 2007. This location has two eighteen-hole courses, with signs and scenery which tell the story of two expeditions by the explorer and archaeologist Professor Hacker, as he travels to the Fogclift Islands in search of hidden gold and diamond mines. This course also has a train which carries golfers to the first hole at the top of the mountain.

This course opened in 1994, and is co-owned by Tom Merrell, Chris Bethea, and Jim Sidwell, who also co-owned the old Fun World course and the new Dinosaur Adventure course. As of 2007, the general manager of this course is Andrew Cooke, who will also oversee the new course.

Another review of this course is on the Sunny Day Guide website: Lost Treasure Golf

HAWAIIAN RUMBLE GOLF
3210 Highway 17 South
North Myrtle Beach, SC 29598
(843) 458-2585

Very nice championship course at the Windy Hill section of NMB. Two courses- a Hawaiian-themed course with a volcano the periodically erupts, and a European-style Eternit course used to train mini-golfers for world championships.

Click here or on the picture for the Hawaiian Rumble page.

HAWAIIAN VILLAGE GOLF 4205 South King's Hwy North Myrtle Beach, SC 29598 (843) 361-9629

Webpage: Hawaiian Village
Coupons: The Monster Coupon Book

Features 2 18-hole Hawaiian themed courses, and is used for the Masters National Championship tournament.

This course was once Sutter's Mill Golf Mine; it was remodelled to change the Western/California Gold Rush theme to a Hawaiian theme, although the real antique steam locomotive was kept and redecorated.

RAINBOW FALLS GOLF
9850 N Kings Hwy
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(843) 497-2557

Coupon: Sunny Day Guide

Two 18-hole courses, filled with dinosaurs, castles, hostile sea creatures, and waterfalls- a somewhat chaotic theming that is perhaps the closest in spirit to the old Wacky Golf courses. This is one of the older courses in the area, with figures created by James Sidwell- many of which are identical to Adventure Golf in Pigeon Forge, TN, the home office.

Rainbow Falls was built in 1988, and has a sister course in Surfside - Adventure Falls - which has many of the same figures but a different layout.

More pictures of this and other Myrtle Beach courses are on this Roadside Architecture - SC Mini Golf page.

JUNGLE SAFARI GOLF
7101 N Kings Hwy
Myrtle Beach, SC 29572
(843) 315-0311

This is another very old course, which was once the original "Jungle Golf" course. It is now owned and managed by Burroughs & Chapin, along with Jurassic Golf, Dragon's Lair Fantasy Golf, Captain Hook's, NASCAR Challenge Golf, and Shipwreck Island.

TREASURE ISLAND GOLF
4801 North Kings Hwy
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(843) 449-4754

 
This is one of the older courses on the beach- this 18-hole course has been in operation since the late 1970s, and is one of the first pirate-themed courses.

Click here or on the picture for the Treasure Island Golf page.

MOUNT ATLANTICUS MINOTAUR GOFF
707 North King's Hwy
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(843) 444-1008

This large, sprawling 72-hole course has a dramatic view over the downtown entertainment- in fact, its now the only miniature golf course in an area that once had many. At the corner of 8th Ave. North and Highway 17, it is located in the busiest traffic section of the whole beach, and is seen by millions.

It was built in 1988 at a cost of $3 million, and was built on top of and inside the old Chapin's Department Store which had closed a few years earlier. The course contains a mix of indoor holes, outdoor holes around a lake, and small rooms atop high towers.

The last hole of each course is a nearly-impossible hole-in-one challenge, with identical holes side-by-side by the clubhouse.

JUNGLE LAGOON MINIATURE GOLF
5th Avenue South & Hwy 17
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(843) 626-7894

Website: Jungle Lagoon Mini-Golf
Coupons: On website

This is an older family-owned Jungle themed course, dating back to the 1980s. It is still in great shape, with two 18-hole courses winding through rugged terrain, streams, and waterfalls.

SAFARI GOLF
1811 S Kings Hwy
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(843) 444-9267

 
 
Very old, small 36-hole course at the intersection of 19th Ave. South and King's Highway, this was once the "Hurl Rock Golf" course back in the 1970s. Click here or on the picture for complete course pictures.

CANCUN LAGOON ADVENTURE GOLF
2101 S Kings Hwy
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(843) 444-1098

Website: Cancun Lagoon
Coupons: On website, also The Monster Coupon Book

This course has 27 holes (18+9), mostly indoors under the huge Mayan pyramid..

This course is part of the Paradise Entertainment Inc. group, which includes Mutiny Bay, Molten Mountain, and Cancun Lagoon. The course was built by Marks Construction Co. of SC, which has built many other courses in the MB area. It was built around 2000, on the site of the old Wacky Golf course.

JURASSIC GOLF 445 29th Ave. South/King's Hwy Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 (843) 913-5333

Includes two 18-hole courses, "Ice Age" and "Predator", filled with animated dinosaurs. This course is part of a group owned by Burroughs & Chapin.

Thanks to Barb Mattson and Andrew Kuchling for pics from their 2005 beach trip at Airy Nothing.

The animatronic dinosaurs were made by Sally Corp., which also did the animated dragon at Dragon's Lair Golf, the Haunted Hotel at the Pavilion Park, and the Pistolero Roundup at Family Kingdom Amusement Park. This course is on the same site as the old "Noah's Ark Golf".

SHIPWRECK ISLAND ADVENTURE GOLF 3103 S. Ocean Blvd Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 (843) 913-5330

Website: Shipwreck Island Mini Golf

This course is located at the very southern end of Ocean Boulevard, where it ends at Highway 17 across from the entrance to the old Air Force Base. It has two 18-hole courses, the Skipper and Captain courses. This is one of a number of courses owned by Burroughs & Chapin.

BUCCANEER BAY GOLF 5894 S. Kings Hwy Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 (843) 238-3811

Located in Surfside Beach, across the highway from the campgrounds.

 
 
Across from Inlet Square Mall, this is the last, southernmost miniature golf course on the Grand Strand. Click here or on the picture for complete course pictures.

PUTT-PUTT GOLF
101 N. Ocean Blvd
Ocean Drive, SC 29577
(803) 249-2756

 
In the late 70s, a Putt-Putt course was located a block north of Main Street in Ocean Drive, on the western side of Ocean Boulevard. Today, it is a parking lot for a new housing development.

OD INDOOR FUN PUTT
219 Main Street
Ocean Drive, North Myrtle Beach, SC 29598

This small, prefabricated indoor course opened in 2007, in the "downtown" Main Street section of Ocean Drive, close to several Beach Music clubs. It was only open at night, when they would turn on a large amount of black lights and other light effects. This course was only open on weekends from Thursday through Sunday, 7-11pm.

There were never many people playing this course, probably due to their severely limited hours and price. It closed after the 2007 season, and the course was sold to the OD Pavilion. They set it up inside their building, but without any of the black lights and other effects.

PIRATE'S COVE
100 Main Street
Ocean Drive, North Myrtle Beach, SC 29598

This course sat on the corner of Main Street in Ocean Drive, and Hwy 17, where a McDonald's restaurant is currently located. This course was built in 1975 by the Jungle Golf group for NMB owners Rayford Vereen and Don Petite. The course had a 20-year lease on that corner, and was torn down sometime around 1994-1995 when the lease ran out. It was not affiliated with the national chain also called "Pirate's Cove".

SUN FUN AMUSEMENT PARK
781 Main Street
Ocean Drive, North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582

This defunct amusement park had a circus-themed miniature golf course, probably located alongside Main Street, as shown in this postcard from the 1970s. Note the rollercoaster "These United States" in the background. This has all been torn down, and is now a strip mall with a Kroger grocery store; the golf course is now part of the parking lot.

FUN WORLD FAMILY AMUSEMENT PARK
700 7th Ave. North
Ocean Drive, North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582
(843) 361-9845

 
This amusement park and 54-hole minigolf course, built in the late 1980s, closed at the end of the 2006 season and is being redeveloped. A new 36-hole course will be built in its place, opening in spring 2007.

UNKNOWN COURSE NAME
402 17th Avenue South
Crescent Beach, SC 29582

 
This is an adventure-themed, 18-hole course about 2 blocks off of the shore in Crescent Beach, SC. It is on the north side of 17th Avenue South, which is the main road for the Crescent section of NMB, and appears to have been abandoned for a couple of seasons. As of 02-03-2007, the course and arcade have been completely demolished and removed.

WACKY GOLF 3900 Highway 17 South North Myrtle Beach (Windy Hill) 29582 (803) 272-5709

Wacky Golf was once two separate 18-hole courses, with a small arcade in the middle. It was almost zen-like in its total sense of kitsch; it was full of fiberglass animals and figures, with tons of animation. Although it wasn't a particularly challenging course, every hole was an amusing scene. It was my favorite miniature golf course, ever. (B&W pic is from the Jacksonville Beach, FL course)
One of the Myrtle Beach courses

This particular course was built in 1965 by Tommy Cole, and was one of 3 courses- the others were in south Myrtle Beach, and Jacksonville Beach FL. All were filled with oversized figures and animation. This course in Windy Hill contained the main workshop - the "Wacky Factory", where the figures were constructed for the other courses. Cole's innovation was to use fiberglass instead of concrete, like many other earlier courses used for their figures.

Its gone now- it was demolished and the lot used for their "Kidz Zone" section of kiddie rides. Grand Prix bought the course in 1990 and ran it for 10 years, closing it and demolishing the course in 1999. They replaced the original volcano design of the central office, and remodelled it into a castle, named "Charlotte's Castle" for the GP managers daughter's 3rd birthday. Absolutely nothing of the old Wacky Golf course remains, except the building in the middle. The dimensions of the kid's park are precisely that of the old 36-hole course.

Myrtle Beach Grand Prix closed on Sept. 16, 2006, the entire area has been cleared and turned into the parking lot for a Bi-Lo grocery store and shopping center. As of February 3rd, 2007, the old Wacky Golf lot has been completely cleared, and the castle demolished into a pile of rubble.

SUTTER'S MILL GOLF MINE
4205 South King's Hwy
North Myrtle Beach, SC 29598
(843) 361-9629

This course was themed to look like the area of central California where gold was discovered on Jan. 24, 1848 by James W. Marshall, an employee of Captain John Sutter. The two courses, The American River and the PeaSoup Bar, are named after gold strikes during the California Gold Rush of 1949. The course also included a real steam locomotive, "The Ghost" which was actually used in mines for over 50 years. This course was in operation at least through 2001.

It was later renamed as the Hawaiian Village course by Bob Detwiler, who also owns Hawaiian Rumble just north of this course. It was re-landscaped to a Hawaiian theme, although the locomotive and caboose were kept, and decorated for the new theme.

(UNKNOWN) JUNGLE GOLF
4401 Hwy 17 South
North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582

This was a jungle-themed course on the southern corner of Windy Hill Road and Hwy 17, which included the course, possibly some batting cages and other activities. The name is currently not known. Today, a CVS Pharmacy occupies that lot; the other side is a beachware store.

PELICAN POINT MINI GOLF
4600 South King's Hwy
North Myrtle Beach, SC 29598
(843) 272-8247

 
Located by Preston's Seafood & Country Buffet, this narrow course along the back of their parking lot is overgrown with weeds- in fact, you'd never suspect that this was actually an 18-hole miniature golf course from the highway.

GHOSTLY GOLF
4815 South King's Hwy
North Myrtle Beach, SC 29598

According to a discussion on funbeaches.com, this corner across from Barefoot Landing was once a "Ghostly Golf" miniature golf course, or some similar name. This course had mini ghost-stories written on tombstones at each hole. The course is completely gone now, replaced by this combination McDonald's/BP gas station.

JUNGLE CAVERNS/
HAWAIIAN CAVERNS
4201 N King's Hwy
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(843) 449-5555

 
This championship course was located just north of the Village Square Shopping Center in Myrtle Beach. It is completely gone now, demolished- all that remains is a large mound of dirt and sand where the mountain was once located.

PUTT-PUTT GOLF
1205 N. Withers Drive
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(803) 448-5475

This lot, or the one across the street is where an official Putt-Putt miniature golf course once stood. This course was built in the early 1980s, and was gone prior to 1991 according to Putt-Putt corporate, who has no info on the course. The course was torn down, and the lot used for a parking garage for the nearby Holiday Inn hotel.

Toward the end of the Putt-Putt course, a newer course was built diagonally across the intersection- Ocean Adventure Golf. These pictures taken by the owner of that course- Mrs. Gloria Sapp - are currently the only known pictures of this Putt-Putt course.

Its interesting how a region with so much mini-golf, now has no courses at all in the immediate downtown area, with the exception of Mount Atlanticus across the highway. In fact, there are none of the old, spartan Putt-Putt golf courses anywhere in the region; as of 2007, there are none of these courses in South Carolina. (picture of a similar course: Putt-Putt course in Xenia, OH)

OCEAN ADVENTURE GOLF
1201 North Ocean Blvd
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(843) 448-8045

 
This course on Ocean Blvd, at the north end of the entertainment district, opened in 1990 and closed in 2004. The site is currently occupied by the Slingshot ride.

AROUND THE WORLD IN 18 HOLES
10th Ave N
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(803) 448-7451

This is one of a very few miniature golf courses that have been located directly on the oceanfront. This was once a standard "carpet golf" located beside the Gay Dolphin, separated from the main building by some games. At the time, it was very similar to a number of other courses in the downtown area; mostly flat, with few, if any figures. (picture is a postcard from 1964)

At some point, it was expanded into the whole area, and remodelled into an adventure theme, named "Around The World In 18 Holes". This course was demolished sometime in the very early 1980s, and lot turned into a large single-story building with stores and street cafes.

Other courses have also been named this, including a defunct course at Pontchartrain Beach in New Orleans, and a current course in Lake George, NY.

CARPET GOLF
Fun Plaza
902 N. Ocean Blvd
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577

This carpet golf course was located along Ocean Blvd in the area of the northwestern section of the Fun Plaza building is today. The northern side of the building was once open all the way to the ocean, with snacks and drinks on the ocean side, and this miniature golf course on the boulevard side. The two poles holding the adjacent "Gay Dolphin Park" sign are still visible today, on top of the various snack shop and gift shop buildings.

 
Like most carpet golf courses of the time, this one was flat with wooden sides and obstacles.

CARPET GOLF
Pavilion/8th and 9th Ave. N
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577

In the 1950s, the Pavilion Amusement Park had two separate carpet golf courses in the amusement park area; one on the corner of 8th Ave. North and Ocean Boulevard, and another across the lot along 9th Ave. North.

As the park expanded, these two courses were removed, and another built across Ocean Boulevard, on the northeast corner of 8th Avenue and Ocean Boulevard. This beach-side course was later torn down and replaced with the Atlantic Speedway go-karts, which lasted until the entire Pavilion area was demolished in 2006.

 
9th Ave. North, 1961. The course is to the right, just west of the Dodgem bumper cars.

UNKNOWN COURSE NAME
408 3rd Avenue South
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577

This course was directly across the street from the main parking lot of the (then) Grand Strand Amusement Park, and in view of the Swamp Fox coaster. This was a heavily-wooded lot; the course doesn't show up very well in many postcards of the Swamp Fox at the time. It was a relatively flat course, and included a T-Rex which moved its arm up and down, lowering a spider hazard onto one of the holes.

 
Course was located directly across from coaster, on the other side of the parking lot and across the street. This is an enhanced view from a larger postcard of the Grand Strand park, postmarked Sept. 1978.

This may have been the "Dinosaur Minigolf" course.

 
Beachware/t-shirt shop currently in the location where this course once stood.

OLD PRO GOLF
Corner of Ocean Blvd & 6th Ave. S
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(803) 448-7641

What is now the southern parking lot of Family Kingdom Amusement Park was once home to Old Pro Golf, one of the best and most challenging miniature golf courses I've ever seen. It had two complete 18-hole courses, one with a wild-western theme and the other with a polynesian theme. This course was open in 1979, but was gone by 1982.

This was once part of a chain of courses along the coast, built by Herb Schoellkopf from Ocean City, MD. Today, the only remaining courses are all in Ocean City, where they operate seven different themed courses, one of them indoor. (Here's an amateur movie with one of their courses.)

Nothing remains of the courses in Myrtle Beach. The parking lot in front of these dilapidated buildings was once a big go-kart track, and the miniature golf course was directly east of that, along 6th Avenue.
 
The miniature golf course, today.

CAP'N CAIN GOLF
702 S Kings Hwy
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(843) 448-4684

 
This very old course closed in 2006, and appears to be abandoned. Click the picture for an extensive pictorial of this course and the grounds as of December 2006.

WACKY GOLF 2101 S. King's Hwy Myrtle Beach 29577 (803) 448-5567

One of the Myrtle Beach courses

This is another one of the Wacky Golf courses, this one on the southern end of Myrtle Beach, toward the Air Force Base (now the Airport), and across the street from the old Famous Pizza. This course has been completely demolished, and a new course, Cancun Lagoon, built in its place.

As of 2000, Wacky Golf had laid abandoned for many years, a trash and weed-filled lot with most of the figures broken or missing. According to some, the teepee was frequently used as a refuge by drifters. The course was eventually torn down, and Cancun Lagoon Golf built on the same corner lot.

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