[Paleopsych] Roadside America: Golgotha Biblical Mini-Golf

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Golgotha Biblical Mini-Golf
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/KYCAVgolgotha.html

[Click on the URL for images. And if you can get a print copy of CHE for 
Timothy Beal's article, it too has some excellent photographs.]

    [13]Field review by the editors.
    Cave City, [14]Kentucky

    In today's franchised brand character-choked mini-golf industry, it's
    refreshing to see someone attempt a relatively unique theme. And what
    better brand recognition than God's own time-tested characters and
    stories, available for not a dime of trademark licensing?

    Jonah and the Whale hole. Golgotha Fun Park is ideally situated -- an
    offbeat diversion near Mammoth Cave National Park, with appeal to both
    Christian family vacationers and the unconverted. According to an
    entrance sign, it is [15]America's #1 Shaded Biblical Mini-Golf. Other
    bible-themed courses have been reported in Lexington, KY; Myrtle
    Beach, SC; and Nashville, TN.

    But Golgotha is alive and well since it opened in 1992, perched atop a
    shady, pebbled Calvary hill on Highway 70, part of the Cave City
    tourism Mecca (hey...how come no one ever builds an Islamic Jihad
    Mini-Golf?).

    Three white crosses loom near the parking lot and mark the final hole;
    to get there, determined players putt their way through the hazards
    and miracles of the Good Book. After renting a club and ball in the
    gift shop, eager Golgotha fans line up at hole #1, The Book of
    Genesis. The first nine holes are inspired by the Old Testament: Adam
    and Eve's expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Moses parting the Red
    Sea, Daniel and the Lion. A sign at each hole helpfully spells out the
    relevant Biblical passage.

    [16]Noah's Ark preview. Obstacles are standard mini-golf course
    tunnels, twists, and chutes. We're amused that the scenes are
    comprised of repurposed lawn ornaments and cement statuettes -- no
    [17]priest-folk artist spent his life carving here. Jonah sits in the
    Whale's mouth, comfortable in shorts; a statue of St. Francis monitors
    porcelain animal pairs boarding the Ark. Old Testament stories make
    for better hazards, so the first nine holes are easy to identify
    without reading the signs.

    End Game for J? The New Testament holes are sparsely decorated,
    looser, at least one featuring elves and men in lederhosen where an
    Apostle or leper might have done the trick. As the holes cut back and
    forth across the hill, the game accelerates. The end is in sight --
    Golgotha, "The Place of Skulls," where Jesus was crucified. An uphill
    challenge past the crosses finishes at the Lord's ascension up to
    Heaven.

    While in the gift shop returning your club and ball, look for the
    Bible Mini-golf T-shirt with a pair of skulls on the back. And there
    is life after Resurrection: Golgotha features a Go-Cart course and
    paintball skirmish zone.

    (Golgotha Fun Park: I-65 to Cave City/Hwy. 70 west, 1.5 miles on the
    right. Seasonal hours, like most outdoor attractions in Cave City.)

    [latesticon.gif] September 2002:Reported closed and in a state of
    gradual deterioration. July 2001: Reports from visitors suggest
    Golgotha is up for sale. It has "inconsistent" hours for now, so don't
    plan your whole vacation around this place.

References

   14. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/map/ky.html
   15. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/images/ky/KYCAVgolgotha2_thompson.jpg
   16. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/images/ky/KYCAVgol_noahlg.jpg
   17. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/ALCULave.html