Lighthouse Cove Bloomington

★ 2

I appreciate that they are trying to be more environmentally friendly, using concrete and not artificial turf, so they get 2 stars. However, the slopes and curves, are all engineered for turf and golf balls, not bouncy mini tennis balls on concrete. Most of my group of 10 people quit playing after about 4 holes. Planning and skills didn't matter on this course, the balls went wherever and you had no control. Also, our balls got stuck most of the time in the features, so even if you got your ball into the pipe that should land you close to the hole, you still had to work to get your ball out of the pipe. Or it would get stuck on the lip because the mini tennis ball doesn't have the momentum a regular golf ball has. My family and I love mini golf and have played on many courses in at least 8 states. This one was the worst.

★ 5

Took my daughter in for a cold drink after her oral surgery. Drinks were cold and delicious, very inventive, and served with a smile by the young man at the register. He was so polite and welcoming I asked what his name was and he told me it’s Lucas. What a great well adjusted young man with an inviting smile. I have a feeling coming here and getting cold refreshing drinks will now be a weekly tradition in our family.

★ 2

I should have known something was up when they had mini tennis balls for golf balls. I asked what's with the balls and they claimed they had a special surface and the mini tennis balls worked better. But then said I was welcome to use a real golf ball if I wanted. Lucky I picked the tennis ball. After getting to the 1st hole we learned really quick this is a concrete course, very poorly made where the balls always roll to the edge and never stop anywhere on the course because the slopes are far to steep. Honestly whoever crafted this needed a level. Regardless we had the worst experience I've ever had at a mini golf course. It was absolute torture. The fact they charged us for this was robbery in itself. We gave up after the half way point. There really was no point in trying, it was that bad. Had we taken a real golf ball it would of been impossible. Hands down the worst course ever! The sad truth is, if they just installed some turf it wouldn't be so bad. I suspect they will claim it's them being green but in reality I call BS. They did have a really good blue drink my daughter bought. I'll give them that.

★ 2

I took my daughter to Lighthouse Cove today. I remember when this place was Putters Park from my childhood. The nostalgia was there and the staff was fantastic, and you can't beat the price at 10 bucks per person. However, the course itself is in desperate need of improvement. The greens are concrete painted green. Whenever you hit the ball it will roll to the lowest point of the green everytime. I would like to think if they had turf or outdoor carpet that it would create enough friction to stop the ball from rolling to the same spot everytime. It was pretty frustrating. Several places in the course had design flaws. On the Covered Bridge hole there was a half to whole inch lip to get into the bridge. Didn't seem to matter how we hit the ball it would bounce right back to us. There was another place that you had to hit the ball into a pipe, again there was a gap from the bottom of the pipe to the green. I was able to get it into the pipe, but my daughter was not. These are small things that could easily be fixed. We made it half way through when my daughter decided she was done. I really wanted to enjoy the place, but it felt like they just wanted to do as little as possible to open it up again. The turf would be a big undertaking, but the small things to get the course back to its former glory would be relatively affordable. I hope they get it figured out, I would love to see this place shine again.

★ 1

Worst mini golf place i’ve ever been to! The concrete ground was not made for mini golf at all. Although the contraptions and fun things were a very fun and good thought, the pipes and ground makes it nearly impossible and not smooth at all. The team responds to bad reviews by saying their “alternate” course ideas are meant to make things “more fun and less stressful”, not being able to make the holes at all actually makes it more stressful and less fun. Will never go back!

★ 1

This should be zero stars! Worst mini golf course I have ever experienced. No turf. Entire course is concrete. No matter how you hit the balls they are guaranteed to end up hugging the edge of the green. Balls are mini tennis balls which are too bouncy and not heavy enough to play with any kind of precision or accuracy. The mechanisms within the course do not work. Ball got stuck in every one of them. Cannot recommend. Will never go back.

★ 2

NO RATING, JUST A REVIEW. (Well, I didn't *want* to give it a star rating but it's forcing me to, so ... bummer.) My main piece of advice for patrons of this course would be to alter your expectations. The course is not typical turf, as it was built to be eco-sustainable. As such, the balls frequently go off-course no matter the skill of the player. We went as a family of four, and one of our members is extremely high functioning neurodivergent. That particular kiddo found the experience incredibly stressful as it took her forever to hit the holes, and she was very conscious of people playing behind us. (It was a busy day.) She just didn't enjoy it, which was a bummer because it was her birthday. We should have researched the course in advance, but we were expecting a typical course. It just happened to be too much with the heat, the many people playing that day, and the course differences. She did acknowledge that they played fun music when we asked her for what she could find positive about the experience. (They were playing Disney radio. 😉) That being said, they had some interesting takes on obstacles, thiugh not all of the obstacles functioned as intended. Several of our party said their favorite hole was the plinko type hole. Dad was pulling for the Indy 500 themed hole. Also, many (or perhaps all?) of the holes had a different Indiana historical theme, so there was a bit of an educational component.

★ 1

Worst mini golf experience I have ever had. The whole course is concrete even though the original course was designed for artificial turf. For example, the 18th hole involves working your way up a zip zag shaped hill and the ball will just roll all the way down to the start every time. The company will say that it’s the “tech” that makes the experience unique, but no matter how skilled you are, you will always be frustrated.