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MiniGolf CT Reviews

Hidden Valley
2060 West Street
Southington, CT
(860) 621-1630
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Visitor Review 1 | Visitor Review 2 | CT Life Article

Visitor Review

• Reviewed: 2002
• By: Katie
• Overall Rating (1-5): 4
• Maintenance: 5
• Playability: 5
• Price: 4
• Fun: 4
• Difficulty: Hard

Hidden Valley is overall a pretty nice course. It has scenic views along with challenging holes and a pond. It is pretty well maintained and never has presented any playing problems. However, the holes are'nt as nice for the kids because they're so hard and take skill to get a hole-in-one. It is a good family experience, because there's always ice cream waiting after!

Visitor Review

• Reviewed: 7/16/05
• By: Jim Sweeters
• Overall Rating (1-5): 4
• Maintenance: (not entered)
• Creativity: 4
• Price: 4
• Fun: 5
• Difficulty: 3/5

Hidden Valley is a very pleasant and locally popular putting course primarily due to it's well-kept, scenic surroundings and attractive greens with just enough difficulty on enough holes to keep the game interesting but not frustrating. Lots of greenery enhance the playing experience and some clever obstacles make the course fun for all player levels. Benches and sheltered areas provide places to rest, if necessary, and the grounds are fairly level. The batting cages next door can occasionally distract from your game - but not enough to be a problem. The snack bar is ample for all needs and seating is covered but a bit small in accomodation. Restroom facilities are average but adequate. Parking is ample but can be a bit tight on a busy weekend, which tend to be the norm during the peak playing months.

Overall, a very pleasant putting course, easily accessable from I-84, offering an hour or so of diversion for the novice and a fun, if not overly challenging course for the more experienced player.

CT Life Article

• Written by: Steven Frank
• Published: Connecticut LIFE, July 2004

Even with a backdrop of ESPN and its eye-soaring satellite dishes, Hidden Valley is an atmospheric escape to the past. One hole treks through a cave while another isinside a wooden structure that holds a waterwheel. There is also a waterfall in the middle of the course.
Like Blue Fox Walk, water runs along the course and it doesn’t have traditional obstacles.
There are, however, several differences. Hidden Valley has a practice green before the first hole. The back of the scorecard has a map of the course and the front lists the length of each hole in inches. In addition, each hole’s par is listed on a sign adjacent to the tee.
Unlike Blue Fox, there isn’t rough and sand traps. Obstacles are instead showcased via a variety of shapes, such as a clover and an arrow. The 11th hole features three mini hills. One small variation in the force of the putt can be the difference between a hole in one and the ball rolling back to the tee.
“It’s my favorite,” said 10-year-old Geoffery Falcome, of the 11th hole. “It’s fun.” Geoffery was playing with his twin brother, Domenic, and father, Michael.
“It’s a well-kept area, nothing is overgrown,” said Michael Falcone, a Wolcott resident. “The waterfall is very relaxing. I wish they had that at regular golf courses.”
At an acre and a half, Hidden Valley’s layout is larger than that of most mini golf courses. There is a good amount of space in between holes, which Mottola said, cuts down on the number of seniors. There are, however, benches along the course.
Hidden Valley also has batting cages and a playscape area with a gazebo, wooden train and wooden boat.
The snack bar has a variety of items, some of which are tough to find at mini golf courses. Sweet potato french fries, shrimp baskets and fried dough are on the menu along with standards like hamburgers and hot dogs. There is also ice cream and Italian ices.
“When you’re in the mini golf bisiness, the first goal is you want them to have fun. And it’s an inexpensive night out,” said Mottola, operating his 14th season of mini golf and 24th at the facility.

The preceding is an excerpt from the article “Putts up? Having a ball with mini golf,” reprinted with permission of Connecticut LIFE.

Our Review Criteria

• All numerical criteria are on a basis of 1-5. For most items, 1 is worst, and 5 is best.
• Overall: The reviewer's overall opinion of the course. 1 or 2 is not good. 3 is average, but nothing special. 4 is worth a visit, and 5 is an exceptional course.
• Maintenance: How well the course is kept.
• Creativity: Is this a cookie-cutter type of course, or does it have some flair?
• Price: How does the price of the course compare to the quality?
• Fun: Simply put, how fun is the course?
• Difficulty: 1-5, 1 easiest, 5 hardest
• A number of older reviews have a "Playability" rating. This indicates how able is one to play the course. Things like bent cup rims, twigs, clogged pipes, and too-difficult holes were included here. (These considerations are now part of Maintenance; Creativity was added in place of Playability in 2005.)