Category Archives: Putt Putnam County

Putt Putnam County

2023 Putt Putnam County

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You could start the course by the downtown square.

The First Friday in October is always one of my favorites because of our annual mini-golf hole tournament in downtown Greencastle. We had a record number of holes again this year, with 14 mini-golf holes lined down Franklin Street.

Maker Challenge mini-golf hole at Putt Putnam County 2023
Maker Challenge had 3D printed obstacles.

With so many choices it’s always hard to pick a favorite, plus a few of the most popular mini-golf holes from previous years reappeared. Putnam County Public Library‘s new entry was popular, along with the Halloween themed hole that had a skeleton with light up eyes. Walk in the Park was a new themed hole based on input from Putnam County youth that stopped by our September First Friday project. And the Maker Challenge hole was updated this year to literally include a green castle!

2023 Putt Putnam County Virtual mini-golf hole.
The golf ball traveled through downtown Greencastle.

A personal favorite was the ‘virtual’ mini-golf hole where you hit a physical golf ball that then appeared on a Google map of downtown Greencastle displayed on a TV screen. The hole even had an easter egg where a hole-in-one on the first 2 screens would let you try your hand at navigating the one way streets and road construction in downtown Greencastle. Look for this hole to be back in the 2024 Putt Putnam County event… with a new virtual course and of course more construction obstacles!!

By the end of the evening the skies were clearing for the players on the course.
Artistic Endeavors, Classes, Putt Putnam County

October Happenings

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Temperatures in the 40’s meant the 2022 Putt Putnam County was literally our ‘coolest’ one yet!

This month started off with our 6th annual Putt Putnam County event, which is always exciting not only for those building a mini-golf hole but also the crowd played course down Franklin Street. This year was much colder than usual, but still fun for those that made it out to play the community built 12 hole course this year. We’ll be looking to increase the number next year, so start working on ideas now!

Yard bird welding
Becky and Chuck show off the yard birds they made in our Intro to Welding class.

We’ve also had several classes this month, including offering our first welding class where people could learn how to weld by making a yard bird! Troy Fiechter, one of our members & a talented artist/welder on his own, taught the basics of welding in the half-day class and then helped them to make their own yard art using a wide variety of different scrap parts and tools.

Our Tinkercad/3D Printing class was a good turnout and nice mix, combining interested locals and people that drove up from Linton, Indiana. Not the farthest someone’s driven to take one of our classes (Kokomo still holds that record), but nice to know that others appreciate our offerings. October also means we get to help out with Putnam County Public Library‘s Halloween Event, which we bring out one of our 3D printers to make bats, skulls, and other scary objects to give away to the kids that come there.

We’ve got a number of classes planned for November, including a Raspberry Pi configuration class this Wednesday and Learning to Solder class later in the month. Check out our learning / classes webpage for those & more.

Making, Putt Putnam County

Building A Mini-Golf Hole

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We’ve seen a lot of different mini-golf holes built for Putt Putnam County, now in its 6th year. Often questions come up about supporting the playing surface or the sides to keep the ball on the playing surface when building a hole.

Close-up of an example mini-golf hole construction. The 3’x7′ OSB is nailed on 2×4’s then green outdoor carpet was stapled to the OSB. To keep the ball on the playing surface leftover plywood underlayment was cut & screwed to the 2×4’s.

We’ve got some general guidelines here, and you can always try searching the internet, but here’s some thoughts on what we’ve seen people create. Really almost anything will work, the piece of plywood with players laying/arranging building blocks at the event comes to mind, but for those that want to make something a little more complex:

  • Many folks use 2×4’s or 2×2’s to raise the playing surface off of the ground to allow the ball to drop into a hole or cup. Do remember that people could be walking on the playing surface depending on your design.
  • Others have kept their main surface on the ground, then have the ball hole higher than the playing surface.
  • For covering the playing surface, plain carpeting or felt is common. But anything will work, including old fanfold computer paper printouts! Outdoor carpeting that looks like grass can be found and felt is available in the fabric department. Or just paint it!
  • You’ll need to get the mini-golf hole to the event on Franklin Street Friday October 7th. Some have chosen to keep them light by using smaller or thinner boards for support. Many times it’s simply based on whatever wood is readily available.

We’re here to help you build that mini-golf hole, both with ideas and suggestions on construction and materials. Stop by during our Open Shop hours or contact one of us.