Needed a place to do an activity to keep my niece and nephew entertained for a good portion of the day. We ended up coming here in hopes of being able to fill the day with activities that varied. However, with it being close to the end of the season we didn't have much variation.
Caddie Shack is well known in the area. When I lived in Pittsburgh it was always advertised as a weekend getaway area that would keep you busy. Go carts, mini golf, bumper boats, arcade and small carnival rides. An entertainment oasis during the warmer months near the turnpike, hotel resorts, and camping areas.
Showing up this late in the season we knew that we weren't going to get all that much entertainment, but we were fine with that. All they had going were the go carts and mini golf. Even though they weren't completely done with the season.
When we pulled into the parking lot it didn't look like it was all that busy. But looks can be deceiving. We first walked towards what is considered the admission area. Basically the arcade, we were met with signs that the building was not open and to head up to the concession stand/mini golf area to buy credits or admission. We utilized the restrooms before heading that way.
The weekend we were here we were informed that they had a special going on that was unlimited mini golf. Good deal. We were given a wristband to convey that, allowed to pick our clubs and ball and then select one of the two courses to play on. Before we left we were told that after we finished our games the kids would get a treat bag, being close to Halloween.
There are two course here for mini golf. The Highlander and Olde. We were directed to go the way of The Highlander first as it was supposed to have less people. We were directed wrong, but weren't made aware of it as we were already part way through the course. This is where things started to take a turn into 'not-so-fun' area.
We hadn't even gotten to the first hole and we had other guests on our tail. We didn't even get to tee up and they were right behind us, making it not all that enjoyable. What complicated this more was that the people in front of us were playing the holes in such a way that it took more time to complete the holes. They each took a turn to completely get the ball in the hole and then when the last person was finished would they finally move onto the next hole. But that's not even the worst part about going this route.
We were playing through until there was a bottleneck at one hole. There were three or four groups in front of us and that equated to nothing short of a traffic jam. At least we got to check out our surroundings. What wasn't great was that the residential neighbor was cutting his grass causing dust to fly all over the place. Mind you, when we got here, it appeared that the fire department was just on that property.
What is enticing about The Highlander is that it goes through areas where you are supposed to be immersed in the surrounding. Going through a cave, playing past a waterfall, and water flowing throughout the course. The water didn't come on until well after we had finished the course. Mind you, we finished at a snail's pace with the jam of parties. Some of the parties in front of us just upped and left the course because of how slow it was going.
Once we finished that course, we did the Olde course and continued playing. The Olde course is the smaller of the two, and a more traditional mini golf course. While we were playing this course they turned on the water. We thought, ok, cool, that is until the smell of rotting leaves and stagnate water hits you. Not to mention if you hit your ball off course into the water and can't retrieve it, you just don't get to play anymore. It was a mess.
What makes it even more of a mess is that the two courses need some major maintenance. The bricks used to be the rim around the holes were not completely in place and might even be off completely, aiding in losing your ball. Some holes the green needed mending or complete replacement. Some of the tees, if a whole even had one, were not secure. It was a mess, as I said before.
Usually, you buy credits to do things here. According to their website both courses are nine credits. One credit equates to $1. So $9 a course. If we hadn't gotten the deal of unlimited mini golf, I doubt we would have done both courses at $18 per person.
Is it worth coming here? I can't say one way or another. Maybe during the height of the season it is livelier here, but it really isn't worth it to do a weekend activity. read more