Village Green Miniature Golf
Village Green was a summertime tradition for countless Long Islanders in the 1970s. Located at 974 Portion Road in Ronkonkoma, this small venue offered multiple miniature golf courses, snacks and more. It was a great place to spend a hot summer day.
Surrounded by woods, and conveniently located next to a Carvel, Village Green was a quaint, family-owned attraction. It’s operation was seasonal, of course, and when its doors opened each year, hardly a day went by where you didn’t see a parking lot full of cars.
Much of the course was constructed from wood, with the obligatory windmills and barns, and that damned anthill-like hole that messed me up every single time. There were multiple courses, and like every other miniature golf course, the 18th hole would eat your ball, so you had to go pay again if you wanted to play another course.
As kids on a budget, we learned that if you skipped the 18th hole, and nobody happened to be watching, you could play two courses for the price of one. Okay, it wasn’t ethical, but we were pretty broke those days.
Once you finished up the competition, you could head over to the snack bar, or simply walk down the street to Carvel for your fix of flying saucers, bonnets, and other treats.
Admittedly, there isn’t a lot of historic information about Village Green online. It changed owners over the years, fell upon some tough times, and eventually closed. But back in the day, it was simple, wholesome fun. It offered nothing more than a relaxing way to spend a day – with your friends, or a date, or to celebrate your little sister’s birthday.
Did you play miniature golf at Village Green when you were a kid. Or did you have another miniature golf course on Long Island that you frequented. I’d love to hear all of your Village Green memories, and your Long Island miniature golf memories in the comments below.
The bubble gum cigars and chalky fake cigarettes were my favorite treats from the snack bar. Still have mini golf nightmares of the damned anthill hole …. great memories.
Walked around the Village Green last summer and took some photo’s. The wooden buildings and some of the other props are severally vandalized or destroyed. What a shame. Had many fond memories of this place throughout the 1980’s & 1990’s.
Lived in central Islip and bumped into quite a few classmates on cut day
I played my first mini-golf games at Smiley’s Happyland (Joly Roger’s) in the early 1970s. Later on, I played at Putt-Putt’s 3 courses in Farmingdale. But by the 1990s, those 3 courses became a Wendy’s.