Miniature golf has been a popular family and date-night activity for decades, and in the 1990s, Corpus Christi's options included the popular Putt Putt Golf & Games on South Padre Island Drive and Pirates of the Gulf on North Beach.
In the summer of 1987, construction began on a plot of land off SPID between Oso bridge and Paul Jones Avenue. By early September, owners of the Amarillo-based company hosted a ribbon-cutting and grand opening of the new miniature golf course and game center.
The new Putt Putt Golf & Games had three 18-hole miniature golf courses along with an indoor game room with 50 video games and a concession stand. The entertainment center became a hotspot for kids' birthday parties and summer youth camps and the following year added a batting cage.
More:#TBT: Cityskates was popular spot for Corpus Christi's roller-skating crowd in ’90s
But the South Bay neighborhood wasn't all in for everything the game center proposed. When Putt Putt applied to have its zoning changed from general business to light industrial in October 1991 to allow the installation of a go-kart track, neighbors petitioned the City Council to reject the request. The council agreed, and the go-kart track was a non-starter. Though the neighborhood was happy, several letters to the editor lambasted the council for rejecting the request.
"This is the same City Council that has been telling the people of Corpus Christi that they wanted to find new ways and new activities to keep our youth off the streets and out of trouble. Well, I think the council really dropped the ball this time," said writer D.W. Kinsey in a Nov. 4, 1991, letter. Kinsey ended with the zinger, "Would those residents prefer to have a topless dance bar in that location? As I understand it, it would be legal to do so."
The owners tried one last time in 1994 to add a go-kart track, but the neighborhood association rallied again, and the zoning change was again denied. A final round of "Going Out of Business" ads in the December 1998 classifieds signaled the end of the Putt Putt Golf & Games on SPID.
Another short-lived miniature golf course of the ’90s was on North Beach, back then still laboring under the name "Corpus Christi Beach." The brainchild of local home builders Al Harden and Rocky Penka and a group of Michigan investors, Pirates of the Gulf was an 18-hole miniature golf course on West Surfside Boulevard that eventually expanded to include outdoor rides and an indoor arcade. The group drew up an initial business plan that showed the ability to earn a profit from just a small percentage of visitors for the neighboring Texas State Aquarium.
More:#TBT: The carousel in Padre Staples Mall delighted riders for two decades
The owners brought in 4,000 cubic yards of earth to raise the elevation of the site to 12 feet above sea level. The mini golf course featured a 28-foot hill with a stream and waterfall, plus a small lake with a sunken boat. The golf course opened in May 1991 and was a hit, so by October the owners began the second phase, Playland at the Beach, featuring go-karts, an outdoor roller-skating rink, bumper boats and amusement rides.
The amusement center was popular, and Caller-Times reporter Scott Williams even gave the golf course top marks in a roundup of local mini golf courses in the area. "This place has good gimmicks. The best anywhere. One hole is a downhill figure eight and another has a ramp that helps you launch your ball over a river."
But despite the high praise from visitors, the amusement center didn't make it out of the decade. By the late ’90s both Pirates of the Gulf and Playland at the Beach were shuttered.
Allison Ehrlich writes about things to do in South Texas and has a weekly Throwback Thursday column on local history.
Support local coverage like this by checking out our subscription options and special offers at Caller.com/subscribe.