For many longtime Montgomery County residents, Putt-Putt on Rollins Avenue was a rite of passage. Whether it was birthday parties, first dates, arcade games, or friendly mini-golf rivalries, the Rockville attraction created memories for generations before closing in 2002.
Today, Qdoba occupies part of the former site, while the neighboring Rollins Ridge apartment community had taken the old Putt-Putt property’s address. But located inside the apartment complex is a surprising piece of local history that many residents didn’t know is still around.
Inside the community’s fitness center, which is not open to the public, hangs an original sign from the former Putt-Putt Golf course. The sign includes directions for the course’s nature trail and outlines rules that once guided players around one of Montgomery County’s most popular entertainment destinations.
The surviving sign serves as a reminder of an era when Putt-Putt was a national phenomenon. At its peak during 1970s, and 1980s, Putt-Putt Golf Courses of America grew into a chain of more than 300 locations across the United States and internationally.
Today, fewer than 30 official Putt-Putt locations remain in operation nationwide. The closest surviving courses to Montgomery County are located in Charlottesville, Lynchburg, and Roanoke, Virginia.
Many people use the term “putt-putt” to describe any miniature golf course, but the official Putt-Putt brand has always been very different from the whimsical courses commonly associated with mini golf.
Founded by Don Clayton in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1954, Putt-Putt was built around skill rather than luck. Official courses avoid windmills, clown mouths, moving obstacles, and other novelty features. Instead, each hole is designed using carefully calculated angles, rails, and bank shots. The goal is simple… a perfectly executed shot should result in a hole-in-one.
The courses are known for their bright orange bump boards, uniform blue tee mats, and a unique scoring philosophy in which every hole is designated as a par 2.
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