Played July 11-15, 2023
Reviewed by Mr. Tee
I traveled down to the southern part of the US to play in my first Putt-Putt (the specific orange rail / green carpet courses) tournament and play a variety of courses in the Carolinas that had been on my bucket list like Group Therapy. The main impetus for going though was to check out the newly added to the American Mini Golf Alliance (AMA) scoring circuit, 2023 Putters League Championship, being put on by my Atlanta-based pals Bryan Akers and Amanda Farahany. It feels perfect to do share this review the day before the 2024 Southern Swing & AMA scoring event on the main tournament course, Chattahoochee Gulch.
Rating
For years I’ve been partial to the mini golf courses designed and built by the Castle Golf organization. They have built tons of well-themed mini golf facilities around the globe with many common themes like pirates, dinosaurs, and the Wild West. The Castle courses always have a good variety of holes where the ball has a fun and varied path to the cup and requires a good pace and aim to get a hole-in-one. The Chattahoochee Gulch course has immersive thematic environments with a wild west meets mining vibe throughout the course with a layout that works well for competitive events. There are a few novelty holes that have a bit more randomness that appeals to the public. There are a few trees on the course to provide some shade, especially during the summer months like when I visited. The turf on the course was fairly well-worn when I visited in 2023 but in 2024 they replaced the turf and all reports that it plays more consistently. The bonus of this course is that you’re very short distance from a movie theater so you can combo a movie and mini golf for the perfect date night. Definitely worth the effort to play if you’re in the Atlanta metro area.
5100 Commerce Pkwy, Roswell, GA 30076
General Comments
Cowboy meets mining theme is well-executed
Fun variety of holes throughout the course
Additional course and movie theatre provide high-quality bonus amenities
Lots of little details in the buildings and storefront facades
Gameplay is very similar to other courses built by Castle Golf
Competitive / Pro Comments
Turf was replaced in late 2023/early 2024. In the video shared above, you can see where the turf was previously torn and beaten up
Spacing between bricks make them challenging and harrowing to use for rebound shots
Shoot-through on Hole #14 is completely random and can give you a hole-in-one or throw you in a position where you’re going to take a 3
Top level tournament scores are in in the low 30s
Public par for the course is 42 but the traditional par 36 is used for tournaments
Nerdy Notes
- 18 holes. Par 42
- MINI GOLF THURSDAYS! Play TWO courses of for the price of ONE!
- One of two mini golf courses on the property. The other course is Dubloon Lagoon which has a pirate theme
- The larger property includes the Aurora Cineplex, which has typical movie theater concessions and baked goods.
- The Putter’s League Atlanta has held most of their tournaments on the Dubloon Lagoon course.
- Rubber colored putters and colorful novelty balls are available
