Back in June 2017, Shae and I had a four course mini golf tournament in Virginia Beach. We love playing mini golf with each other, if for no other reason than all the trash talk that goes on.
We were in Florida last week in an attempt to change our state of domicile (it was a temporary failure). The week wasn’t a complete bust though as we found some fun while we were there.
One of the fun things was a round of mini golf at Congo River Golf in Orlando. We were joined by Shae’s dad and our friend Ivia, so we ended up having a four person tournament.
We picked Congo River Golf as it was close to our hotel and we had a coupon for $1 off a game for up to six people. When we arrived, we realized there were all kinds of other activities available in addition to mini golf.
There’s alligator feeding…
…gemstone panning…
…a lazer maze…
…and an arcade.
We didn’t try any of those activities, but there was one other activity Shae couldn’t pass up – holding a gator.
Our friend was very generous and paid for Shae to experience that, as well as for our game of mini golf (thanks again Ivia!) The handler brought out the gator and Shae was able to hold it for a few minutes while rubbing its belly with her thumb.
Once that was over, it was time for the competition to start. We each picked a putter and a different colored ball and made our way to the first hole.
I made a good start and immediately went into the lead, although Ivia took the lead on the third hole following a hole in one.
The lead switched back and forth between Ivia, Shae’s dad and myself over the next dozen holes or so.
Several of the holes had fun spinning challenges which we’d seen before at Jungle Golf in Virginia Beach. Hole 11 was one such hole where Shae span the following challenge:
Shae tried to speed through the hole but not only did she fail to complete it in 10 seconds after her first shot, it took her five shots to complete it, meaning she scored a six on that hole.
As you make your way through the course, the holes get higher and higher, so you end up with a good view of your past holes.
It felt like the scores were tight between three of us up until holes 14 and 15. Ivia scored a six and a five respectively which ended up putting paid to her tournament ambitions.
I hadn’t been totaling our scores as we went along, but I felt fairly confident of getting the win as we headed into our final few holes.
That was until hole 16.
Hole 16 had another of those spinny things and the one Shae’s dad landed on said he could take one stroke off his score on that hole. He putted it in two, so it got marked down as one.
The next hole he beat me by one and then beat me again by one stroke on the final hole.
I was feeling a bit despondent at the end when totaling our scores. I knew it’d be tight between me and Shae’s dad but figured his five shot margin over the final three holes had swung the result in his favor.
In the end, there was only one stroke in it. I recounted everything to make sure I hadn’t made a mistake – I hadn’t. The winner had won by the tightest of margins and the winner was…
…me!
I’d been sure I’d lost it, but it turns out that his six on the 14th hole put me just enough ahead to scrape through.
As for Shae, her 64 wasn’t her finest hour. She appeared to have been channeling 2011 Tiger Woods rather than 2000 Tiger Woods 😉
That makes the running total in our mini golf tournaments:
Me – 209
Shae – 228
The thing you need to remember though is that I’m British. If there’s one thing we Brits know how to do when it comes to sports, it’s how to choke under pressure.
So don’t be surprised if you see that 19 stroke gap evaporate in future mini golf tournaments that we’ll play on our 50 state road trip.
Final Thoughts
I wanted to also mention that all four of us had a great time at Congo River Golf in Orlando, FL. They had one of the best mini golf courses we’ve ever played.
The holes were challenging but weren’t too difficult and there was a lot of variety in them. It’s both a great-looking and very good quality course.
Add in the gator-holding and other activities that they have available, it’s a perfect place to visit if you’re looking for something fun to do in Orlando that doesn’t include Disney.
The cost of the course isn’t what I’d class as particularly cheap…
…but given how good the course is, it’s certainly not extortionate. They have additional discounts if you’d like to play another round or get unlimited golf, so that could be a good way to reduce the price per game if you’re a mini golf nut.
It also looks like you can also get a discount when booking a round on their website, so that’s another way of saving a few bucks.
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