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Putts Up Dock Mini Golf & Bumper Boats
1 Chelsea Harbor Drive
Norwich, CT
(860) 886-7888
Map | Website

Our Review

• Last Reviewed: 7/23/2004
• By: Chris (MiniGolf CT Staff)
• Overall Rating (1-5): 4
• Maintenance: 4
• Playability: 4
• Price: 4
• Fun: 4
• Difficulty: Easy/Average

I recommend this course with a couple of caveats. First, the good points. Putts Up Dock has finally gotten rid of their $5+tax scheme. In addition, the course has many creative holes, including two that are inside of a barn, and one in a cave. The location along the Thames River is beautiful, and the course features plenty of water as well. The landscaping is very lush, and for the most part, it’s a great course. (Your enthusiasm may be dampened by the next few paragraphs, but I can manage to be quite picky, more so than in some of my older reviews.)

There were a couple of minor issues (and one that could be major for small children). First, the pars seemed randomly assigned at one or two holes, where I easily two-putted one Par 4 hole, and my playing partner two-putted a different Par 4. One gripe I had was that there were three holes that had multiple targets (the hole in the cave was moved to the middle-right of the green, which was not realized until after we reached the old hole and found it mostly filled in. The hole position was very unlikely there. When there are two holes to shoot at, it diminishes the fun involved in everyone aiming for one hole. Finally, some of the (non-pricky) plants overhung a few of the sidewalks, and even the tee area for one hole.

Hole #4 is now listed as a candidate for our CT’s Hardest Holes listing because of the lower level, filled with obstacles, plus an incline you have to shoot up to get to the upper level. Don’t expect to reach this hole without a minimum 2-3 shots.

Here’s my caveat for parents of small children: On the first and last few holes (about 5-6 in all), the holes border a small pond which was used for bumper boats (and may still be). First, a fake volcano in the middle of this pond generates loud noise and heat when it goes off every hour or so, and small children may be frightened by this. (I remember when I was little and in one of the bumper boats when the volcano went off. My boat got stuck in one of the drainage vent holes, and it was frightening being so close that I could feel the heat.) I didn’t remember the volcano being so close to the holes when I played there in the past, but it must have been there. Second, all that separates the green from the pond are a few rocks, which small children could easily climb. So for parents of young children, take note: unless your children are really well-behaved or well-supervised, this may not be a good place to take them.

Summary: Great course, a few minor annoyances, but small children beware. Four out of five rating, and Recommended.

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.)