‘Putt at night, by holiday light’

By RACHEL BRANT

Staff writer

While some miniature golf courses close for the winter season, the staff at NW Mini Golf hope people will brave the cold and play 18 holes under the glow of Christmas lights.

For about the fifth year in a row, NW Golf Range, on Highway 303 in East Bremerton, set up more than 10,000 colorful Christmas lights along the miniature golf course. The lights were turned on shortly after Thanksgiving and will be aglow throughout the holidays.

“This is the earliest they’ve been up,” said Scott Fuchs, NW Golf Range manager.

People continue to ask about the Christmas lights each year and the business spends almost a month creating the “Winter Wonderland,” according to Fuchs.

“There are times you think you’re not going to do it again and then people start asking about it,” he said. “It becomes a big thing this time of year, people know about it.”

Fuchs said a handful of people took the reins and put up the Christmas lights. The group has to untangle all of the lights and make sure they work before stringing them throughout the 18-hole miniature golf course.

“It takes working on it a little bit each day,” Fuchs said. “It took more than half-a-month to get them up and working. It’s definitely labor intensive.”

They outline each hole with white icicle lights and string thousands of colorful lights around the golf course.

Fuchs says the group of people who string the lights work very hard each year to set up the festive Christmas display.

“They did quite a bit of work out there,” he said.

Fuchs said the Christmas lights are especially beautiful when there is snow on the ground. NW Golf Range employees clear the snow from the miniature golf course so people can continue to play under the twinkling glow.

“It’s a little hard, but you can still play,” Fuchs said. “It’s really pretty then.”

The Christmas lights do not draw a huge crowd, but NW Golf Range definitely sees a moderate increase in miniature golf players during the holiday season.

“I would say it’s not a packed house, but it does draw in more people than if we didn’t have the lights up,” Fuchs said. “We have some families come in and just want to walk through it.”

The Christmas lights at NW Mini Golf are on from dusk until 10 p.m. seven days a week.

People with more than 10 people in a group can call the business before their visit at (360) 692-6828 to receive a group discount.

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