National Miniature Golf Day Date in the current year: May 11, 2024

The main aim of the game of golf is to hit a ball into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible using various clubs. There are three main stroke types in golf: the chip, the pitch, and the putt. The putt is used to put the ball into the hole or closer to it by rolling it along the ground. The difference between traditional golf and miniature golf is that the latter focuses solely on the putting aspect of the game.

It is believed that miniature golf initially developed as a women’s sport: since swinging a golf club was considered unladylike, women who wanted to play golf had to focus on its putting aspect that doesn’t involve swinging. The first putting course was created at the St Andrews Ladies Golf Club (subsequently renamed St Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club), established in Scotland in 1867.

This version of golf remained relatively obscure until the beginning of the 20th century. It started to gain traction in the 1910s due to the emergence of geometrically-shaped artificial minigolf courses. The game became accessible everywhere thanks to American golf fanatic and cotton processing plant owner Thomas McCulloch Fairbairn, who is credited with inventing an artificial putting green (fake grass for minigolf courses) in 1927.

After a short boom, the popularity of minigolf in the United States began to decline due to the closure of minigolf courses caused by the Great Depression. However, the sport continued to develop in Europe. The first minigolf sport organization in the world was the Swedish Minigolf Federation. It was established in 1937 and hosted the first National Swedish Minigolf Championships in 1939.

The World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF), which governs the sport of miniature golf internationally, is also headquartered in Sweden. It used to be a member of Global Association of International Sports Federations prior to the latter’s dissolution in 2023. The WMF organizes world championships on odd-numbered years and European and Asian continental championships on even-numbered years.

The origins of National Miniature Golf Day are somewhat murky, but it is known that it inaugural celebration was held on May 12, 2007. The following year, the holiday was officially recognized by Chase’s Calendar of Events. You can observe National Minigolf Day by learning how to play minigolf or, if you already know how, by playing a game or two with your friends. If there are no minigolf courses where you live, you can watch a minigolf game on YouTube or learn some interesting facts about the sport. And don’t forget to post about the holiday on social media using the hashtags #NationalMinigolfDay and #NationalMiniatureGolfDay.

National Miniature Golf Day should not be confused with World Minigolf Day, also referred to as simply Minigolf Day or Miniature Golf Day. The latter is celebrated worldwide on September 27.