
Read earlier articles on starting wineries, greeting card companies, and child care centers.Ĭlose to 150,000 people putt their way through the obstacles and over the miniature lakes at Karts N' Golf every year. Getting started runs Mondays on CNNfn's Small Business page. They managed to squeeze two 18-hole miniature golf courses, go-karts and bumper cars on 2.5 acres of land east of San Francisco Bay. It cost the owners of Karts N' Golf closer to $500,000, according to Gillo, to build out their amusement center. Fortunately, courses can be built on as little as three-quarters of an acre of land. The biggest variable, according to Hix, is the price of land, which varies tremendously by state and region. People spend an average of between $150,000 and $250,000 to develop an 18-hole course. On average, it costs $5 to play 18 holes of miniature golf, which makes it one of the cheapest forms of entertainment around. It's cheaper than going to the movies and more social," said Darrell Gillo, who manages Karts N' Golf in Fremont, Calif. It is fun and, despite the relatively high buy-in, it is relatively easy to turn a profit. Money, but those in the business say it is a great way to make a living. Starting your own miniature golf course takes a significant amount of In recent years, mini-golf competitions have become more common, but for the most part it remains a social activity that is as fun for the players as it is for the owners.
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Unlike other forms of entertainment, it is free of gender and age bias, making it one of the few activities that moms and dads, kids and grandmas can participate in on equal footing.

That may in fact be the base appeal of miniature golf. It's great family entertainment," said Steven Hix, spokesman for the Miniature Golf Association of the United States. While other forms of entertainment have come and gone, Americans have been golfing small for just about a century.įrom the rooftops of Manhattan, where miniature golf courses used to be common, to the deserts of California, miniature golf courses are one of the few cultural icons that can be found in cities, suburbs and rural towns across the nation.

NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Miniature golf courses, or rather the miniaturized castles and windmills that frequently adorn them, are among the enduring symbols of the American landscape. Make a living by making your mark on the American landscape
