Author: Riley Hooper
There’s something about miniature scaled buildings that brings out the competitive side in me. I love me some mini golf; and while Southern California is known as a mini golf hotspot, the city of Los Angeles, and specifically the area surrounding Oxy, seems to be lacking in the putt-putt department.
That’s why I was delighted to discover the Arroyo Seco mini golf course. Just a few minutes from Oxy’s campus, this course offers some good old-fashioned fun. Old-fashioned is the key word here, because while there are no to-scale models of the Taj Mahal, no water features and nothing that glows in the dark, this course’s vintage charm and humble vibe offer nine holes of good, cheap and challenging fun.
Usually miniature golf courses go with a theme. With its miniature red barn, wishing well, castle, spooky old house and windmill, I’m not quite sure what theme the Arroyo Seco mini golf course is going for – but it works.
The course offers a retro aesthetic, circa 1955. One can imagine that at one time – a long, long time ago – the course was brightly colored and pristine. Now its faded palette and chipping paint highlight the course’s vintage charm and reflect years of loving use. Adorning the castle is a column, which, I learned, is entirely filled with empty 40s. The carpet of the putting green is deteriorating and torn up in places, which, if anything, gives the course an extra element of difficulty.
And let me tell you, this course is difficult. While some holes are standard, others are more challenging. Various barriers, inclines and shortcuts offer your typical putt-putt challenges, but the course goes beyond this.
The last hole features the classic windmill. Although this one must be hand-powered, it still poses that unforgiving threat of ball blockage that could ruin a potential hole in one.
The seventh hole features the steepest incline I’ve ever seen on a mini golf course. This incline also curves to the left almost 90 degrees. If you don’t make the curve, your ball will be sent back down the hill to the concrete near the second hole. What’s more – this same hole has three levels. Once you’ve surmounted the steep curve, your ball will go into one of three holes, which empties out onto a lower level where another set of three holes will take your ball to the third and final green. If you’re lucky, the ball will make it though all three holes for a hole in one. If you’re not so lucky, this complicated hole could take a while.
And if these holes are challenging, the third hole is a bitch. This hole will make or break your game. It features the most stubbornly onerous ant hole you’ve ever encountered. Not only is it impossible for your ball to traverse its insidious incline, but each time your ball doesn’t make it in, you’re stuck back in that forlorn right corner. Get comfortable. You’ll be there a while.
The design and layout of this course brings the term “play it as it lies” to a new level for mini golf. I’m not sure if it was the course or the golfers, but for some reason, balls were flying all over the place. While a fellow golfer took the cake when his ball flew straight through the chain link fence and into the driving range, I certainly got my ball into a few compromising positions as well.
Just like its décor, the Arroyo Seco course’s prices are straight out of the past. For just two dollars, you can putt your way around the nine-hole course. Or, to get more bang for your two bucks, don’t play the last hole (it takes your ball) and play as many rounds as you like. Hopefully your course attendant will be as engulfed in watching baseball or as generally uninterested as ours was. Our fellow putt-putt patrons (a singular group of young men who appeared to be regulars at the place) informed us they were playing their third round. My friends and I took the cue from them and got another round in before the place closed.
The course is open until 10 p.m. Although the lights were lacking, the course was play-able. If anything, the low light adds another element of challenge to the course.
Although I didn’t have the pleasure of dining there, the Arroyo Seco golf course also has a grill and – as my fellow golfers informed me – some really great beer specials. With a mere two dollar cover for mini golf, I can imagine how great such beer specials could be.
While L.A. is no North Carolina (seriously, that place is out of control in terms of putt-putt per capita and over the top miniature golf courses), the Arroyo Seco golf course offers its own appeal. While it’s not on the cutting edge of mini golf, in many ways this course has more to offer than those courses that have volcanoes erupting flames and hot lava at 20-minute intervals – it has character. It’s also close to campus and only costs two bucks. The ant hill alone is worth that price.
The course is located at 1055 Lohman Ln in South Pasadena.
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