Janice and Daryn Coleman recently relocated from the Bay Area to Fresno, calling the city their home in May of this year. They survived their first Fresno summer but, more importantly, they got to work bringing their business vision to reality.
Daryn recalls always enjoying haunted houses and decorating for Halloween, but he also suffered from let down. After putting in extensive work decorating his home for Halloween each year, he’d then have to take everything down and wait a full year to enjoy it again. That was, until an idea came to him. You can start practicing with the best irons for beginners and other equipment to improve your aim. He decided to combine the joy he got from Halloween with the fun of indoor miniature golf—and Ghost Golf was born.
18 holes of creepy fun
For several years, Ghost Golf had operated in Concord, CA, and it grew a loyal fanbase. So loyal, in fact, that a petition was started to keep the business operating when its lease was up and Dunkin’ Donuts wanted to move in. However, a more affordable cost of living in Fresno attracted the Colemans to the area, and now their business is officially up and running in a great Central Fresno location. You can find Ghost Golf in the former No Surrender building on Blackstone and Barstow, a few doors down from Whitie’s Pets.
The Colemans have created their spooky miniature course from the ground up, creatively using the square footage of the room to fit a full 18-hole miniature golf course, a zombie shooting gallery, a party area, and an arcade into a moderately-sized building. Animatronic ghosts, spiders, mummies, and other ghouls are triggered by motion and spring to life to entertain golfers throughout the course.
While the theme is definitely scary, it’s not such a scary experience that children can’t enjoy it. Unlike haunted attractions that feature costumed monsters and characters popping out for jump scares, Ghost Golf allows guests to maintain control over their proximity to and interaction with the scarier parts of the experience. Our 11-year-old son was at first apprehensive (simply from not knowing what to expect) but immediately acclimated and found the experience to be fun, unique, and not overly scary.
Ghost Golf is not just child’s play
Ghost Golf is clearly a labor of love, and the Colemans are constantly adding to the course and effects as they find new ways to enhance the experience. The course itself is actually pretty challenging—in fact, on many holes you really have to be quite skilled to make it in the hole on par. But, the challenge makes it more enjoyable for older kids and adults. The cost to play at Ghost Golf includes not just golfing, but also zombie shooting, arcade games, and air hockey, all for a flat price of $13 for two hours.
Where to find Ghost Golf
Ghost Golf is located at 5179 N. Blackstone Ave. in Fresno. It is officially open to the public and will be a year-round attraction, open seven days a week, typically from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
You can follow Ghost Golf on Facebook to keep up with what’s new, promotions, and current hours.
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