Annually the second Saturday in May recognizes National Miniature Golf Day. This day is separate from Miniature Golf Day, which is celebrated worldwide on September 21.
Similar to the sport of golf, but as the name suggests it is a miniature version of the game. While still played with a series of 9 or 18 holes, miniature golf courses are shorter, usually themed, and have a variety of obstacles that add to the difficulty of the game.
There also isn’t any need to call “FOUR” since only putters are used in this version. The distances are too short (usually about 10 yards) to use any of the other clubs in golf. Most courses consist of concrete or artificial turf so don’t worry about replacing any divots, either! The game also goes by the names mini-golf, midget golf, putt-putt, and peewee golf.
Some of the more challenging miniature golf courses have waterfalls, caverns, and castles with drawbridges as part of their obstacle course.
The Illustrated London News had mention of the earliest documented minigolf course in its June 8, 1912, edition. The first standardized minigolf courses to enter into commercial mass-production were the Thistle Dhu course in 1916 in Pinehurst, North Carolina, and the Tom Thumb patent of Garnet Carter from Lookout Mountain, Tennessee in 1927.
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HOW TO OBSERVE #NationaMiniGolfDay
Watch out for the water hazards and the windmill! Meet your friends at your local miniature golf course and have a fun-filled day. While you’re out putting, share your photos using #NationalMiniGolfDay.
National Golf Lover’s Day on October 4th provides an opportunity for golf enthusiasts to swing down the fairway at least one more time during the season.
While celebrating the day, you might notice it is sometimes also referred to as National Golf Day. Since 1952, the PGA has held a charity event each year for National Golf Day, which is held on different days each year.
The modern game of golf may have originated in 15th century Scotland. However, it is unclear and very much debated as to its ancient origins. The world’s oldest golf tournament is The Open Championship. Its first tournament played on October 17, 1860, at Prestwick Golf Club in Ayrshire, Scotland.Golf in the United States:
1779 – The Royal Gazette of New York City posted an advertisement for golf clubs and golf balls.
1796 – The Georgia Gazette publishes notice of an annual general meeting for a golf club in Savannah.
Golf became firmly established in the late 19th century.
1894 – Delegates from the Newport Country Club, Saint Andrew’s Golf Club, Yonkers, New York, The Country Club, Chicago Golf Club, and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club met in New York City to form what became the United States Golf Association (USGA)
1910 – There were 267 Clubs affiliated to the USGA.
1922 – Walter Hagen became the first native-born American to win the British Open Championship,
1932 – There were more than 1,100 Clubs affiliated to the USGA.
In many parts of the country, golfers hit the links all year long. However, in the more northern regions, courses will close due to cooler temperatures preventing golfers from chasing the elusive hole-in-one. While you can, get out and golf a round or two. Invite friends to join you. Visit a course you’ve never been to before. Challenge yourself to a more difficult course. Improve your handicap or offer to teach someone the game.
No matter what you do, include someone else in your endeavors. Gather your friends and enjoy a round of golf. While you’re celebrating, be sure to give your favorite courses a shout out. They may be the most challenging or the ones where you’ve made outstanding memories. Share a video of your best shot and final score.
Indulge your golf passion with National Golf Month in August. Use #GolfLoversDay to post on social media.
On the third Sunday in June, Father’s Day honors the role fathers play in the family structure and society. The day recognizes not just fathers, but the father figures in our lives. These are the men we look up to who set solid examples for us and guide us throughout our lives.
Many families dedicate the day to their fathers and grandfathers. Whether they are first-time fathers just learning to change a diaper, or experienced fathers offering sage advice, the day celebrates everything a father is. Fathers from family to family play a variety of roles. They may be a caregiver, provider, or advisor. Some fathers are the strong, silent types. And yet others tell us stories for days. Fathers teach, guiding small hands as they hammer a nail or sail a kite.
We only look up to our fathers for so long. At some point, we begin to see things a little differently. But that’s not when we stop looking up to them. It’s at that point, we turn and look forward together.
FATHER’S DAY HISTORY
After the success of Mother’s Day, this special day and its observances began to appear around the United States and the world. However, the road to this national observance was not an easy one.
First Recorded Father’s Day
The first recorded celebration of Father’s Day happened after the Monograph Mining Disaster in West Virginia. The disaster killed 361 men and left around 1,000 children fatherless in December of 1907. Grace Golden Clayton suggested a day honoring all those fathers to her pastor, Robert Thomas Webb. On July 5th, 1908, the community gathered in honor of the men lost in the mining accident. They assembled at Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South, now known as Central United Methodist Church, in Fairmont, West Virginia.
Other Claims about Father’s Day
In 1910, the YMCA in Spokane, Washington recruited several clergymen with the help of Sonora Smart Dodd to honor fathers throughout the city. The date was set for June 5th but was later changed to June 19th (the 3rd Sunday in June), as many clergymen needed more time to prepare.
Presidential Intervention
Harry C. Meek, a member of Lions Clubs International, claimed that he first had the idea for Father’s Day in 1915. Meek argued that the third Sunday of June was chosen because it was his birthday. The Lions Club has named him “Originator of Father’s Day.” Meek made many efforts to promote Father’s Day and make it an official holiday.
After a visit to Spokane, WA in 1916 to speak at a Father’s Day celebration, President Woodrow Wilson wanted to make the day official, but Congress resisted fearing that the observance would become too commercialized. Once again, a president nearly intervened, but President Calvin Coolidge stopped short of issuing a national proclamation in 1924.
Sonora Smart Dodd continued to work to make Father’s Day a national observance. In 1938, she collaborated with the Father’s Day Council, a group of New York Men’s Wear Retailers, for the commercial promotion of the observance. Many Americans resisted the holiday for decades because of these attempts to commercialize the day.
It wasn’t until 1966, that President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers on the third Sunday in June. The holiday wasn’t made an annual event until President Richard Nixon signed it into law, making it a permanent national holiday in 1972 over 50 years after Mother’s Day came into existence.
Celebrate your father. Explore his favorite hobbies or encourage him to share a story or two. Play a game or take him to one. Enjoy your time with your father and celebrate him. Share images of you with your father on social media and be sure to use #FathersDay too!
