Around the USA Mini Golf – Lake George, NY

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Played on August 24, 2019

Reviewed by the Pink Putter

When we planned a trip to the east coast to visit family and play mini golf last August, the ultimate destination was to visit Around the World and Around the USA Mini Golf in Lake George. It is two courses that have been on the top of our bucket list for years and we finally had a chance to make it a priority and plan and entire vacation around it. And so we did. This is the review of Around the USA. Our review for Around the World can be found here.

Hole-in-One – Like Around the World, Around the USA is a true treasure and one of the best and most elaborate miniature golf courses we have ever played. The obstacles and theming are immersive, unique and fun. There are many moving parts, educational moments, clever designs and an overall sense of kitsch and humor. The game play has just the right balance of skill, chance and risk/reward choices. The USA course brings you through landmarks from various states around the country including a giant orange, lobster and a NYC subway station. The course is located right on the shore of Lake George, so you’re surrounded by scenic lake and mountain vistas and if you’re lucky like we were, you’ll get to experience a gorgeous pink-purple sunset.

To the first hole!
Hole 1 – Massachusetts Pilot House
Hole 2 – Florida Orange
Hole 3 – Rocky Mountains, Colorado
Hole 4 – Georgia Battle of Atlanta
Mr. Tee poses with the vintage GOLF sign
Foreground, Hole 5 – Texas Oil Well. Background, Hole 6 – Sioux Indian from South Dakota
Texas football detail
Mr. Tee demonstrates how to play the Hole 6 cup
Hole 7 – Maine Lobster
Playing roulette at Hole 9 – Las Vegas Nevada
Hole 10 – Windmill for Holland Michigan
Hole 11 – Liberty Bell, PA
Hole 12 – Palisade Park, NJ
Foreground, Hole 14 – Alaska. Background – Hole 15 – Kentucky Derby
Sunset selfie
Hole 16 – Hawaii Surfing
Hole 17 – Vermont Churches
Mr. Tee going down into Hole 18 – N.Y. Subway
Mr. Tee gets ready to putt inside the N.Y. Subway
Here I am on the way out of the subway
And we couldn’t pass up grabbing a cone at The Pink Roof Ice Cream shop

We found some photos from the John Margolies Roadside America Archive of Around the USA from probably the mid 1970’s, so put together some side by side comparisons of the course some thirty years later. Not much has changed!

Statue of Liberty, then and now
Rocky Mountains, then and now

Pros

Obstacles and theming are immersive, unique and fun
Clever designs and an overall sense of kitsch and humor
Structures and the greens are all meticulously maintained
Scenic lake and mountain vistas

Cons

None that I can think of!

Nerdy Notes

  • 18 holes, par 48
  • 1st Game: $8.75 Adult / $6.95 Child
    2nd Game: $6.75 Adult / $5.25 Child
    Seniors $1 off adult price
  • Final hole collect balls
  • Around the World 18-hole course is adjacent and a part of the larger complex
  • Rubber covered putters
  • No flags in cups
  • Open since 1963

 

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