The aim of the precision game of minigolf is to use the club to hit the ball into the hole in as few strokes as possible. Minigolf is played either on courses made from concrete (Bongni system), Eternit, T5000 (combination of concrete and Eternit), or felt. There are also open-system courses; all non-standard courses fall into this category. Standardized minigolf courses consist of 18 lanes of defined dimensions (typically around 12 m long), whose difficulty varies through different obstacles. Open-standard and adventure-golf courses may differ substantially in design. Minigolf is played both indoors and outdoors and can be enjoyed as an individual or team sport.

History of origins

Minigolf (miniature golf, putt putt golf) originated from the sport of golf. The large space requirements and the high costs involved in building a golf course were the reasons for the development of a smaller version of golf. The first so-called training holes appeared in the US at the beginning of the 20th century. Over time, obstructions such as doors, figures or undulations were integrated into the game. The surface of the courses consisted of a great variety of materials. This led to lots of different course styles. Back then, one popular version of the game was so-called Clock Golf, which involved digging a hole in the centre of a circle and twelve people putting from their own sectors.

Modern-day standardized minigolf emerged in 1951 when Swiss landscape architect Paul Bongni came up with the idea of creating a standardised miniature golf course with 18 holes. In contrast to the former variations on miniature golf, it was possible, in principle, to complete each hole in just one stroke. He obtained patent protection for his course design and gave it the name minigolf. In 1954, the first minigolf course based on Bongni’s standardised system went into operation in Ascona (Ticino). Minigolf became very popular and quickly spread to surrounding countries. By the end of 1962, there were already 120 minigolf courses across Europe.

Minigolf in Switzerland

There are more than 200 minigolf courses in Switzerland today. Most of these courses are played as a leisure activity. As both a recreational sport and a competitive sport, minigolf is organised and promoted by the association Swiss Minigolf.