2024 Platinum
Mayday Golf, South Carolina, USA
Ever wondered what you’d do if your plane crashed on its way to a golfing holiday? This South Carolina Course asks the question on nobody’s lips and challenges guests to survive 18 holes while ‘marooned’ on a crazy golf paradise. The unique experience is inspired by two board members who hold pilot’s licences and clearly wanted to act out their desert island fairway fantasies. Built in 1997, Mayday has gone on to achieve mini golf royalty status when it was named Travel Channel’s best survival course.
Lexington Ice Center, Kentucky, USA
Where else would you expect to find a bible-themed golf experience than in America’s deep south? Players arriving at this Kentucky oddity will be asked whether they want to take on the Old Testament, New Testament or Miracles Course. Pray for help as you putt from the back of Jonah’s well-known whale or simply marvel at the landscaped Garden of Eden. Take our advice though and wrap up better than Adam and Eve.
Dino Park, Phuket, Thailand
Dino Park is a prehistoric playground filled with drama – from the 40-foot waterfall and erupting volcano that make up its impressive backdrop, to the triceratops, raptors and tyrannosaurs that line the greens. Keep a steady hand when putting as you never know when the giant lizards might burst into life. Special mentions have to be made for the Flintstones-style buggy and obligatory lava hazards.
Image credit: bubbeljungle.nl
Bubbeljungle Golf in the Dark, Leiderdorp, Netherlands
Bubbeljungle offers the unique opportunity to rescue a kidnapped singer with your putting skills. The fictitious Diva Laguna’s long-awaited concert has suddenly been cancelled and it’s up to you and your club to unravel the mystery. Collect clues as you sink shots on the glow-in-the-dark course for your chance to deliver justice. The 18th hole pits you and your putter against the Diva’s captor, with the chance of hitting your ball square in the villain’s mouth.
Championship Adventure Golf, Wirral, UK
If you take your mini golf seriously, a trip closer to home may be the answer. Championship Adventure Golf is comprised of two courses; ‘On the Landmarks’, inspired by the region’s local tourist hotspots and the main attraction, ‘The Famous Golf Holes’. If you’ve always dreamed of playing Augusta’s Amen Corner or the 18th at St Andrews, here’s your miniature-sized chance. The best holes in the world on the banks of the Mersey await.