Summer is the perfect time for a fun, relaxing round of miniature golf. Why not consider a trip out to Romp's in Vermilion, which completely renovated its Putter Port Mini-Golf in 2021, making it an all-new course?
Regular readers know that miniature golf courses have been a regular topic on this blog over the years.
I've devoted many posts to them, from the Rainbow Golf Gardens next to Lakeview Park in the 1930s, to the Putt-Putt Golf Course located at the intersection of State Routes 57 and 254, to the Putt-Putt located on 57 near Midway Mall.
And then there was the miniature golf course on Oberlin Avenue in the 1960s, which was part of the Putt-R-Golf chain. I've written about it before (here), and a fair amount of Lorain west-siders remember it. I remember it vaguely, and seem to recall we went there at least once. (I can still see one of our golf balls rolling into the parking lot.)
Although Putt-R-Golf didn't show up in the city directory until 1966, I finally learned when it first opened. Above is the Grand Opening ad which ran in the Journal on June 22, 1962.
There are a few interesting things to be found in the ad. Golfers received a free Seven-Up (my least favorite pop) with each game. They also received an American flag for a hole-in-one on the 18th hole.
At the bottom of the ad is a mention of a Putt-R-Golf coming soon to the Saddle Inn in Avon Lake. Any Avon Lakers remember it?
Anyway, I tried to find out a little about the Putt-R-Golf chain. According to some franchise information to be found on the internet, the chain dates back to 1952 and was based out of Akron, Ohio at 3914 W. Market Street. Putt-Putt Golf Courses of America was listed as being around since 1954.
Back in 1980, you needed $29,500 in equity capital to have your own Putt-R-Golf. Although it pre-dated the Putt-Putt Golf Courses of America by two years, it was definitely the poor cousin to it. In 1980, there were more than 400 Putt-Putt franchisees in 40 states; Putt-R-Golf was just puttering around with 19 franchisees in 10 states – and Canada.
2 comments:
...I remember going there a couple times after we moved to W. 37th in 1965, but I'm not sure exactly how long it was there after that - after it closed, a good chunk of the property went to the KFC and Pizza Hut and - IIRC - the Old English ice cream parlor. I do know that as of late '78, a lot of the walkways were still there but seriously overgrown, and I'm told that even as of a few years ago the walkways are still there.
Kind of funny to think that everything that replaced Putt-R-Golf has long since been replaced by other businesses, but that a chunk of the course might still be there.
In Pennsyltucky, where I grew up, we had 2 miniature golf courses.
We never called the game "Putt-Putt" because that sounds just plain wrong. Besides, there were little rental boat on the lake that everyone called "putt-putts."
One of the courses was shaded by big trees, which was nice on hot summer days but a pain in the neck because there was always tree-stuff in the way (though, you could place the blame for a poor shot on it instead of a lack of skill).
The other was in blasting full sun. It was the much better course but awful in hot weather.
Not that we played either all that often. It was a thing for tourists to do. Not us.
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