Played on April 7 & 11, 2019 and numerous times in February/March 2020
Reviewed by Mr. Tee
Northwest of downtown Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley is a castle and mini golf complex that holds a special spot in our hearts. When the Pink Putter and I went out to compete on Holey Moley in 2019, we spent almost all of our off days playing mini golf within reasonable driving distance from Santa Clarita. Even after we lost, the two of us spent a day with new friends (Pat, Randy and Robin Ventura) putting across town that I documented in a piece called “You Lost On Holey Moley, Now What?“. The mini golf spot that stands out the most in that area is Castle Park in Sherman Oaks. It was the first place our “Putt When Ready” crew played after we lost and it was the first place I played when I went out to meet up with Holey Moley alums in the spring of 2020. The complex has so many great memories that I felt it was worth dividing up the documentation into three unique reviews in order to share all of the fun of each of the 3 distinctly colored turf 18-hole courses. Robin even found some early photos of the course by the legendary John Margolies. Makes sense to start with course one.
Rating
Hole-in-One – I put this course in our highest rating category for all the fond memories made here but Castle Park is genuinely a magical miniature golf complex. The large castle that greets you upon entrance starts off the adventure on the right foot. On the red course, you get to put through a candy house, frontier fortress, and classic old church while traversing the castle moat and bridges. The red carpet distinguishes this course and plays relatively fast. Precision and strategic putts are needed to keep scores down on all these fairly long holes. I felt like the condition of the carpet was worse in 2020 and provided frustrating experiences at times. Along with several of the pipes and shoot throughs, this course could use some repairs to keep this place in the upper-tier of places to play in Southern California.
Pros
Multiple Courses
Variety of classic shoot-thru obstacles
Numerous long holes with immersive elements
Challenging putting
Perfect place to spend time with fellow mini golf fanatics and new friends
Cons
Turf/Carpet can be unforgiving and frustrating especially when it wears down
Several pipes and shoot-thru elements did not function well
Nerdy Notes
- 3 18-hole courses. Course 1 (Red) is Par 46
- Adults (Ages 13 to 64) – $6.50, Children (Ages 5 to 12) – $5.50, Children 4 and under FREE with a PAID adult, Senior Citizens (Ages 64 +) – $5.50
- Replays – $3.00 (Same Day Only)
- Weekend Early Birds 9 am – 10:30 am – $3.00 per person regardless of age
- Last call for miniature golf is one hour before closing.
- Par not listed on the scorecard but listed at the holes.
- Rubber covered putters
- After you pay for your round, you receive a token to put in one of the machines containing a small variety of colored balls. The machines are similar to the plastic bubble vending machines found in malls and grocery stores in the US in the 80s and 90s
- Opens between 9 and 10am and stays open late until 11pm and midnight depending on the day of the week
