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As you all know, golf is a
widespread sports in the world. Usually,
very large and golf friendly areas are
required to play this sports. Consequently,
it has not been possible for golf to be
accessible to people of all ages and
situations. That is why; Minigolf was
created out of necessity.
The Historical Background
of Minigolf:
Minigolf was the smaller
form of the traditional at the beginning of
the 1900s. It was then called “garden golf
and was played on real grass with a
metal-headed club. Between 1920 and 1930,
they started putting borders to get the ball
to say inside those borders. In addition,
they tried to make the course smoother by
covering it with cotton seed. More than 150
minigolf courses were built only New York in
the 1930s.The number of minigolf courses in
all countries exceeded 30 000. At the of the
year 1930, the first Minigolf tournament
(international Tom Thumb Open Minigolf
Tournament) took place with 48 competing
countries. The price was $10 000 and there
were more than 200 players. As people
stepped on the golf course in their everyday
shoes the course covered with cotton seeds
was torn. That is why , golf course owners
started to look for materials that would
make the courses smooth, cheap, durable and
easy it from a carpet. They tried almost
everything. It was very difficult and
expensive to make it from a carpet. In the
end, they found a combination of goat’s hair
and volcanized caouthouc . As it was cheap
and durable it became very popular in the
1940s. and 1950s. When in the 1960s,
synthetic carpet covering were used on
football fields, Minigolf courses also
started to be covered with similar
materials. It became very popular in the
1980s.People started to build minigolf
courses near touristic and entertainment
centers. In this way , minigolf became know
and widespread. The minigolf corse of the
1990s tooks as their basis the minigolf ther
had been played in the 1920s and 1930s.
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Golf Training Centers and Golf Academies
like the Michael Jordan and the PGA Pros, Jack Nicholas, H.
Erwin were opened.In Germany, minigolf is considered to be
the 9th popular sports with its 5000 minigolf
courses and 15 million players.
Today , apart from European countries, minigolf is
widely played in the American and in the Far East.In 24
European countries, Minigolf sports Federations have been
established. Every year, The World Minigolf Federation (WMF)
is organizing 8 international tournaments in 32 countries,
where 1000 competitions take place annually.
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