DEFUNCT: Fantasy Island Miniature Golf – Spartanburg, SC

Reviewed by the Pink Putter
Played on 6/11/2015

While Spartanburg, SC used to be home to a famed Putt Putt course on Reidville Road, currently the only other course in the area (aside from the brand new Sparkle City Mini Putt) is Fantasy Island. It’s part of a large complex on the northern edge of town that includes go-karts, bumper boats, a modest arcade and laser tag. I accidentally discovered this place on Easter Sunday, after a hike in Greenville, SC and a missed exit on the drive home. On my first encounter, I thought it was abandoned because the lawn was overgrown and there was no turf, just exposed concrete. We found the entrance, where we were greeted by old, broken mini golf signs that read “Blessed Fun”. After doing some research, this makes sense. Apparently this complex has had a few owners and used to be called Mountasia, and then Blessed Fun at Funtasia, and now Fantasy Island. I ventured my way into the arcade, which to my surprise was actually open and a friendly staff member told me they were new owners who were re-turfing the entire course and they would be open for business in a just a few weeks. I knew that Mr. Tee would be visiting for my birthday weekend, so I waited for him to go back and play.

Rating:

Par – It’s clear that Fantasy Island is a product of the 80’s and that when it first opened, it had its heyday. The layout is impressive, bringing players up a mountain, back down it and then through caves inside of it. There is lots of water and a nice array of hills, slopes, and even a figure 8 (cleverly on hole 8!), many elements of fun game play. However, this course is lacking in creative obstacles, minus some rocks, wood and one pipe. It is also clearly showing signs of its age, even with the newly re-turfed playing surface. The lawn is overgrown, there were piles of rotted wood scattered around, the benches were falling over and the waterfall was not on. The signage for the holes were hastily printed and taped onto metal stands. Also, the hole inside the cave was flooded. That being said, the price is right ($5 a player) and the owners are obviously invested in turning the course around and have already put some effort into that. Perhaps with some more time and TLC, there is hope that this course can return to the state of its glory days.

Update: Course closed for good in August 2016. See screen shot of the Facebook post at the end of this post.

Sign from the road. Easter Sunday, 2015.

The Pink Putter at the entrance. Easter Sunday, 2015.

State of the course being re-turfed. Easter Sunday, 2015

Hole 5 – Sign and classic concrete tree stump obstacle.

View from the mountain. — View from the mountain of the whole place.

Pros:

Large, 18 hole course with a good variety of levels, terrain and game play including mountain, pipe, figure 8 and many slopes.
Not very busy, no wait
Reasonably priced
Fresh turf makes for good playing surface
Arcade, small laser tag, bumper boats, go karts and food on premise making this a great birthday party spot.

Cons:
Course still under repair (crooked bench, bag of concrete sitting out, various branches on course, water not turned on)
Little to no kitsch or fun obstacles.

Nerdy Notes: