The warmer weather reminds us that spring is right around the corner. This means it’s time to get organized, start exercising and have fun outside! But let’s be honest. You probably get organized for about a day, join the gym for about a week and claim you’re having “fun” by following the same routine you did during the winter. Or maybe, just maybe, you decide to go mini golfing with your friends, family or significant other. Over the course of spring and summer, CT will review Connecticut’s best and worst miniature golf courses.
Farmington Mini Golf & Ice Cream Parlor
Overall Grade: A-
Location: 1048 Farmington Ave. Farmington, CT
Open: late March, early April
Course: 10/10- Since 1962, Connecticutians have flocked to this establishment for traditional miniature golf and an old time ice cream parlor in a “beautiful park like setting.” The course spans through a windmill, a castle, a well, a church, a small pond and several winding holes. This fifty-year-old course has aged well, as the Guglielmo family and their staff spend a considerable amount of time maintaining it. Although the course boasts a challenging par of 48, you’ll have a lot of fun trying to conquer it. If you master this course, you might want to sign up for their tournament in late August. The top five finishers win a cash price of $15-$100. If you have children under the age of 10, you can visit their annual Easter tournament. During the month of October, customers of all ages can enjoy Haunted Mini Golf. The staff revamps the course with spooky decorations.
Service: 10/10-I worked at Farmington Mini Golf from 2009-2010 so I know how dedicated the staff are to their customers. To work at this establishment, you must be fast and efficient. I worked as a server in the ice cream parlor and the place was always buzzing with customers. I couldn’t keep up with the weekend crowd so I decided my time was better suited a customer. The current employees are fast and dependable.
Price of Course: 9/10 $6 before 6 PM, $8 after 6 PM. $3.00 repeat games before 6 PM. We recommend you play before 6 PM so you can take advantage of the $9 for two game deal. Think about it. That’s only a dollar more than you would pay for a night game.
Price of Ice Cream Parlor: 2.5/5- The ice cream parlor loses points on price because the price you have to pay for a scoop of ice cream is dependent on the amount it weighs. Generally, a small cup of ice cream (one tennis ball sized scoop) costs around $3.25! An two additional scoops are the size of golf balls (they’re added to the tennis ball scoop) and run from $4-$5! To give you an idea of how ridiculous this is, you can buy a pint of Haagen-Dazs ice cream for $4.75 at your local price chopper. Haagen-Dazs price ranks up there with Ben & Jerry’s. Yet, you will find more than one tennis ball sized scoop inside! If you want toppings, you’ll have to spend an additional $0.25 to $0.50. At Friendly’s, you can have a dinner, and medium sized Sunday for drink $9.99. If ordered ice cream with toppings for just you and a friend, you would actually spend more than that amount.
Selection/Taste: 4.5/5- If you happen to have a considerable amount of money and you’re really craving ice cream, you can choose from a wide selection of ice cream that actually tastes pretty delicious. Our top five flavors include: Kahlua chocolate chunk, cherry moose tracks, cowabunga crunch, extreme chocolate and black raspberry. If you win Farmington Mini Golf’s August tournament, you can afford to buy the ice cream for all of your friends!
In a nutshell: 36/40- We recommend you visit Farmington Mini Golf & Ice Cream Parlor for their traditional style mini golf, great service and fun special events. Since 1962, Farmington Mini Golf & Ice Cream has provided the residents of Farmington, and the Greater Hartford area, with enough Spring and Summer fun to keep you coming back again and again. We recommend you visit this establishment during the day to take advantage of their $9 deal for two games and only buy their ice cream if you have a surplus of money.
CT Snapshot 