Golf N Stuff Mini Golf – Norwalk, CA

Played on September 23, 2017

Reviewed by Mr. Tee

The 80s were a booming period for the game of mini golf. As midwest and west coast American cities expanded out to the suburbs, entertainment complexes featuring miniature golf were plentiful and bustling with activity. Arcade games. Bumper boats. Go-Karts. Waterslides. Perfect for families and dates. The 1984 classic movie, The Karate Kid, featured a first date between the main characters at Golf N Stuff in Southern California. I keenly remembered the scene replete with montage music befitting the era. As my passion for mini golf grew with age, I knew we had to track down this course. How could we not visit given our own relationship began with this lovely game?

Rating

Hole-in-One – No photos could do this massive space justice. Four crisscrossing courses filled with a variety of challenging holes, castles, palm trees, and a variety of fun obstacles. Classic mini golf tropes dot the course. Pirates. Fairy tales. Waterwheels. Lighthouses. International landmarks. Much like Golfland courses (ie. Camelot), several holes contain challenging paths that lead to scoring an automatic hole-in-one. We went on a brisk Fall evening on a Saturday night and the place was bustling with activity. Diverse kids, teens, families, and adults occupied all four courses. While we only got to play 2 of the 4 courses, our path intersected with all four courses. I feel confident in saying this course falls in the top 10 courses we’ve played to date.

Original entrance is now the home for parties

Full layout. Waterslides featured in the original Karate Kid are no longer around

Even the simple holes are smart and well designed

Tree house in the distance is the home to a world record. It also looks cool!

Classic fairy tale inspired obstacle providing several paths to the lower green near the cup

Brilliant colors and structures throughout the complex

Narrow path to the cup near the light house

A perfect visual to encapsulate the subtle but brilliant hole design

All of the final holes offer the chance to increase or spoil your game

Dude had no idea that Karate Kid was filmed here until now!

Golf N Stuff Norwalk Website

Pros

Immaculately maintained courses and environments
Solid variety of challenging and immersive holes
The large quantity of holes helps avoid long waits
Classic mini golf course
Featured in the original Karate Kid
Solid additional entertainment options in including an arcade, bumper boats, and go-karts

Cons

Scorecard could have been more fun
The intersecting courses caused some confusion with people in the surrounding groups

Nerdy Notes

4 18-hole courses. 5 stroke limit per hole.
Rubber covered putters. Variety of colored balls.
$11.00 per person, $10.00 Senior Citizen (60 years and over with id), $10.00 Military (with Military id), Children 3 years old or younger One Free with One Paid Round
Korn, Rebecca Black, and Avril Lavigne all shot music videos at this location in Norwalk
The original Karate Kid franchise was rebooted / updated in 2018 with the YouTube Red series, Cobra Kai
A tree sitting record was broken by Timothy Roy who sat inside the treehouse located on the course for over one year!