World Minigolf Day Date in the current year: September 21, 2024

The modern game of golf originated in Scotland sometime in the 15th century and gained popularity in the Victorian era, when it spread first to the rest of the United Kingdom and then to other parts of the world. In golf, players use various clubs to hit a ball into a series of holes. The goal is to make as few strokes as possible.

Golf players can choose different types of clubs and strokes depending on the distance to the hole. A relatively short and low-speed stroke intended to roll the ball into the hole from a short distance is called a putt; a club typically used for this type of stroke is called a putter. Putting is considered to be the most precise aspect of golf.

Miniature golf, also known as minigolf, crazy golf, putt-putt, and by many other names, focuses solely on the putting aspect of the game of golf. It is believed to have originated at St Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club, established as St Andrews Ladies Golf Club in St Andrews, Scotland in 1867. It was the first club for female golf players, and its members had to focus on the putting aspect of golf because it was considered unladylike to swing a golf club. As a result, St Andrew Ladies’ Putting Club was the first golf club to have a putting course.

Miniature golf remained relatively obscure until the early 20th century. Its active development began in the 1910s and ’20s, when standardized minigolf courses made of carpet and other artificial materials entered commercial mass-production. In addition to holes, they had various artificial obstacles such as ramps, tubes, tunnels, and walls. Thomas McCulloh Fairbairn, the inventor of an artificial green turf, is widely regarded as the father of modern miniature golf.

In 1927, John Garnet Carter became the fist person to patent a version of minigolf, which he called “Tom Thumb Golf”. He built his first minigolf course in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, where Carter owned a hotel. By the late 1920s, there were thousands of minigolf courses across the United States. Sadly, nearly all of them were closed and demolished during the 1930s due to the Great Depression.

While minigolf was in decline in the United States, the game began to spread across Europe. Although the first documented minigolf course in mainland Europe was built in Germany, it is Sweden where the game first became truly popular. The Swedish Minigolf Federation, founded in 1937, is the world’s oldest minigolf organization. The World Minigolf Sport Federation is also headquartered in Sweden.

World Minigolf Day is celebrated annually on September 21; it should not be confused with National Miniature Golf Day, observed in the United States on the second Saturday of May. The origins of World Minigolf Day are unclear, but you shouldn’t let it prevent you from getting out there and playing a game or two of minigolf with friends. If you’re not in the mood for playing or there are no minigolf courses near you, you can celebrate by watching a minigolf tournament or posting about the holiday on social media with the hashtags #WorldMinigolfDay and #MiniatureGolfDay.