Scott Enterprises opens mini golf course along Erie bayfront
Miniature golf has returned to Erie's bayfront.
Scott Enterprises has officially opened Oliver's Bayfront Mini Golf, an 18-hole course adjacent to Oliver's Beer Garden, 130 E. Front St. It cost about $350,000 to build and took nearly two years to develop.
"We have been racing to get this done before the Memorial Day weekend," said Nick Scott, Sr., president of Scott Enterprises. "We were fortunate to get 10 good days of weather in a row."
The par-57 course is laid out between the beer garden and Presque Isle Bay, offering people a view of the Bicentennial Tower as they putt. The holes feature raised areas of artificial grass, sand bunkers, ramps and tunnels.
There are no windwills, however.
"It's a relatively flat course because, as we know, there are challenges along the bayfront with wind and weather," Scott said. "It can be tough on taller structures."
It costs $10 to play the course, which will be open the same hours as the beer garden. It will be fully lighted for night golf, Scott said.
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The course was designed to drain easily so water doesn't pool. Each hole is surrounded by rocks and plants.
A bayfront miniature golf used to be located on the western side of State Street, but Harbor View Miniature Golf Course closed in 2021. Its lease had been terminated by the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority in order to construct the West Front Street connector.
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Erie City Council signed off on a waterfront conditional use designation in April 2022 in order for the new course to be built.
In addition to building the new course, Scott Enterprises also expanded the beer garden's patio and added two more fire pits. Plans for a new zip line along the bayfront have been tabled.
Contact David Bruce at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ETNBruce.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Scott Enterprises opens Oliver's Bayfront Mini Golf
