Played on August 23, 2019

Reviewed by The Pink Putter

Back in August 2019, Mr. Tee and I took a little east coast vacation to visit family in PA and then made our way to upstate NY to play some mini golf. With my own interest in the history of the Catskills region of NY, we drove through Ulster County and made a stop at Kelder’s Farm.

Homegrown Mini-Golf on Kelder’s Farm is a 9-hole course that features real vegetables, fruit, grain and herbs. All of the plantings in the mini-golf garden are edible, some are unusual, and many of the varieties are also grown in the Kelder’s Farm U-Pick fields. This course was designed by artist and journalist Maria Reidelbach, a name you may recognize as the co-author of that famous turf-covered book titled Miniature Golf. Homegrown Mini-Golf was highlighted in the New York Times back in 2009 and was also one of the courses featured on Amanda Kulkoski’s 2017 mini golf documentary Through the Windmill.

Upon entrance to Kelder’s Farm, visitors are greeted by Gnome Chomsky, the World’s Largest Garden Gnome, which was fabricated by John Hutchison and Maria Reidelbach back in 2006. And don’t worry, we didn’t pass up on the great photo op.

In addition to 10 holes of mini golf, the farm hosts a plethora of family-friendly activities including a giant jumping pillow, an ice cream stand, pipe slides, a hay mountain, a playground and climbing net called the “Spider Web”, a petting farm, milking-a-cow, apple cannons and hayrides. We opted for the mini golf and a hayride which included picking sunflowers from the field. It was quite a lovely late-summer afternoon.

Rating:

Par – While the backdrop of Kelder’s Farm is extremely picturesque, the homegrown element of the mini golf course may be better described as overgrown. We love the concept, the educational merit and the humble obstacles made from recycled tractor tires and wagon spokes. We also appreciated the live ducks on the final hole, which reminded us a lot of the live chickens at Big Stone Mini Golf. But the worn down condition of the playing surfaces significantly impacted the game play experience and left us wanting just a little more. The pricing structure was set up so we could not just purchase a single round of mini golf. Instead, we had to pay $12 each for a wristband which included all of the other farm activities. We did make the most of it and played two rounds of mini golf plus thoroughly enjoyed our hayride and U-Cut sunflowers, but if we had just had the time to play one round of mini golf it would have been expensive for what it was. While we definitely recommend a visit to Kelder’s Farm if you’re in the area, don’t just go for the mini golf, but for the whole package.

Pros
Quaint, picturesque setting with lots of fun farm activities
Clever use of recycled farm objects for some obstacles
Educational setting for learning about where our food comes from

Cons
Needs significant repairs
Turf is in rough shape
Location is off the beaten path

Nerdy Notes

• 10 holes, par 31
• a $12 wristband gets you admission to all farm activities, no single admission for mini-golf
• plants on the course are edible and can be tasted
• final hole collects balls, and has live ducks!