6/2/2012 10:00:00 PM
Galactic-themed miniature golf course
wins Barnes & Noble space race
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Les Stukenberg/The Daily Courier
The Carreras family, from left, Todd, Merceda, Miranda and Kambryn play Lunar Golf at the Prescott Gateway Mall Wednesday morning. |
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Ken Hedler
The Daily Courier
PRESCOTT - An indoor outer-space-themed miniature golf course with purple overhead lights has landed in the Prescott Gateway Mall space that formerly housed the Barnes & Noble bookstore.
The purple lights - known as blacklights - provide a glow-in-the-dark experience at one of the two 18-hole courses inside the building, Lunar Golf Manager Jill Gilbert said.
The visual experience sets Lunar Golf apart from conventional miniature golf courses, Gilbert said.
"You are in the dark," Gilbert said. "Everything glows. Your golf ball glows."
Each hole is relatively unadorned, with banks and ramps but no windmills or "fancy props," Gilbert said.
But "it is not devoid of challenge or interest," added Gilbert, who said a game of golf takes about 40 minutes, depending on the size of the group.
The course on the right requires more skill.
Lunar Golf features paintings with space-age themes on its wall.
It is only one of two miniature golf courses in the tri-city area.
Chad and Brenda Cook opened the Freedom Station amusement business in June 2005 in the Prescott Valley Entertainment District near the Harkins Theatres.
"I think it is great," Chad Cook said, referring to Lunar Golf. "I think it brings more awareness in the community toward miniature golf."
Cook said he has seen the Lunar Golf concept, and noted Freedom Station offered a glow-in-the-dark miniature golf course for the first two years of operation. He said customers preferred an outdoor game with more elaborate features, including waterfalls.
Lunar Golf is part of a growing empire of 18 such attractions throughout the country that operate out of shopping centers and malls, including the Metro Center in Phoenix.
"We constantly ebb and flow in our growth," said Ed Christoffersen, operations director of Lunar Mini Golf, based in Louisburg, Kan.
Christoffersen, who has been with the company for 10 years, said malls "typically" approach his company.
"We are only in traditional shopping centers," he said. "That is always what we have done since we started. When we can find a space large enough to accommodate us, we are quite happy."
Christoffersen said he was not involved with the leasing arrangement at the Prescott Gateway Mall, and declined to discuss any of the terms of the lease. Representatives from the mall's owner, Macerich in Phoenix, were unavailable for comment.
The opening of Lunar Golf provides a boost for the mall, which saw the exodus of several stores over the past year. Barnes & Noble, which had been at the location for about a decade, announced this past October that it was not renewing its lease at the mall, and left in December 2011.
Lunar Golf, which opened in May, drew a few players this past Wednesday morning, as well as shoppers who inquired about the attraction.
Veronica Brandt of Peoria dropped by with her son, Carson, 7, while shopping in the mall.
"This is really neat," Brandt said. "I like the colors."
Brandt returned a few minutes later to play a game with Carson, who hit a ball that returned to the mat because he did not make a bank shot. His mother made the same mistake at the hole.
By contrast, Miranda Carreras of Prescott appeared to be enjoying more success while playing with husband Todd and her 5-year-old daughter, Merceda.
Carreras told Gilbert that she hit a hole in one even though she putted while holding her baby daughter.
Her husband said she played "better than me."
Lunar Golf is targeting a core customer base ages 6 to 12 who come with parents or their grandparents, Christoffersen said. He added he has made it affordable recreation for families, costing $8 for three games.
Lunar Golf is open during the summer from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays. For more information, call 443-8468.
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Posted: Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Article comment by:
matt lazok
There can never be too many "stop-and-sock" golf courses. This is truly a refreshing change from what i believe was a bookstore with no scruples.
Posted: Friday, June 08, 2012
Article comment by:
Golf Enthusiast
Now if they were to offer a golf simulator which simulates courses from around the world and could be used as a practice facility also then that would attract even more people. Good luck with operation.
Posted: Monday, June 04, 2012
Article comment by:
One Eyed Jack
Went there with my family a couple weeks back. It has great potential, but is simply boring at this point.
Posted: Monday, June 04, 2012
Article comment by:
Miker the Biker
I think Hastings on Irons Springs Road in Prescott is a "real" book store. Try them out!
Posted: Monday, June 04, 2012
Article comment by:
Hooty Hoo
We went to Gateway Mall just to go to Barnes and Noble. We don't really go there much anymore. We would shop at Dillards, World Market, B&N. We still spend the money, just other places. We hope that B&N finds another place. I was hoping for the old K Mart building, ...
Posted: Monday, June 04, 2012
Article comment by:
Creagan McConnell
This is no small feat... One giant leap for golfkind. Congrats on opening your new business, best of luck. I should feel right at home as many people have told me I am always in the dark.
Posted: Monday, June 04, 2012
Article comment by:
Ron R. Harvey
This is awesome!!!
Posted: Monday, June 04, 2012
Article comment by:
Carol Hettenbach
Good Luck to the new business.. just wish they would have been in one of the other business spots in Frontier Village instead of the Barnes and Noble spot.. B&N should not have left Prescott... with no other real Book Stores in town it is sorely missed. Never saw it empty.. always busy.. Can't even get some of my favorite magazines anymore (foreign craft magazines) Don't know why they left..
Again Good Luck...to the new venture.
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