Two friends set out to play every mini golf course in Massachusetts
What began as boredom became a statewide mini golf challenge
THE MINI GOLF MASSES. SO WHAT WOULD DRIVE TWO GROWN MEN TO TRY TO PLAY EVERY MINI GOLF COURSE A STATE HAS TO OFFER FRIENDSHIP. WE’RE ALIVE, WE’RE ALIVE MIGHT BE PARTIALLY. PARTIALLY. THAT IS IT. AND A LITTLE BIT OF POST-PANDEMIC BOREDOM. FOR ONE TIME, COWORKERS AND MINI GOLF ENTHUSIASTS JAMES PARSONS AND KYLE COURSEY. YES, THAT IS HIS REAL NAME. OH, GOD. WE WERE WORKING IN AN OFFICE TOGETHER AND IT WAS CIRCA SPRING OF 2022. IT WAS AN OFFICE PROBABLY THAT HELD 6 OR 7 PEOPLE ISH DURING NORMAL TIMES. AND THEN JAMES AND I IN 2022 WERE THE ONLY PEOPLE IN THE OFFICE, AND WE WOULD KICK AROUND VARIOUS IDEAS. IT WASN’T LONG BEFORE KICKING TURNED TO PUTTING BOTH INDOORS AND OUT ALL ACROSS MASSACHUSETTS. GET THERE BABY, GET THERE. DID NOT GET THERE. IT’S A LOFTY TASK, BUT ONE THESE MINI GOLFERS TAKE VERY SERIOUSLY. IT WOULD BE LIKE A LIKE WHY NOT? LIKE YOU’VE GOT EVEREST, KILIMANJARO, PLAYING EVERY MINI GOLF COURSE IN MASSACHUSETTS. THERE WE GO. IT MAY SOUND LIKE AN ODD USE OF TIME, BUT IT’S ACTUALLY LED TO DISCOVERY. IT’S KIND OF COOL TO ALSO LIKE EXPLORING THE STATE AS WELL. THIS GREAT COMMONWEALTH, DISCOVERING ALL THESE DIFFERENT TOWNS THAT I HADN’T REALLY HEARD OF, EVEN THOUGH I LIVE LIKE 25 MINUTES AWAY MY WHOLE LIFE. HOW MUCH DO LENS COST ON THAT THING? A LOT OF FAITH IN MY ABILITIES HERE. BAM, WE’RE BACK. NICELY DONE SIR. THE PAIR ESTIMATES THERE ARE 90 ACTIVE MINI GOLF COURSES IN THE BAY STATE, WITH FANEUIL HALLS ACROSS AMERICA MARKING THE 73RD THEY’VE PLAYED. BUT AS THEIR JOURNEY NEARS ITS COMPLETION, DISTANCE DOES BECOME A FACTOR. IT WAS EASY IN EARLY DAYS TO HIT 4 OR 5 COURSES IN ONE DAY, PARTICULARLY IN THE GREATER BOSTON AREA. I THINK AS WE’VE GOTTEN INTO IT NOW, THEY’RE A LITTLE MORE SPREAD OUT, AND WE’RE TRYING TO PLUG IN COURSES THAT HAVE ODD HOURS OR SUPER SEASONAL. IT’S BECOME A HARDER TASK, SO HARD. IN FACT, THE DUO ALMOST FOUND THEMSELVES BENDING THE RULES AND THE LAW. WE ALMOST SNUCK ON A COURSE BECAUSE IT WAS SO FAR OUT OF THE WAY, AND IT WAS CLOSED AND WE WERE JUST SITTING THERE LIKE THE CHAIN LINK FENCE BEING LIKE, ARE WE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE THIS JOURNEY AGAIN? UP IN THE TIPPITY TOP OF MASSACHUSETTS? WE’RE NOT GOING TO NAME COURSES. HOWEVER, I FEEL LIKE THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN OPENED AND WE DIDN’T. WE DIDN’T. WE’RE A LAW ABIDING CITIZEN. THAT’S A TRAP. QUESTION. YES. YEAH. BANG! ALL RIGHT. I WILL HAPPILY TAKE THAT. THEY’VE EVEN CREATED A WEBSITE THAT NOT ONLY DOCUMENTS THEIR JOURNEY, BUT ALSO OFFERS REVIEWS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR OTHERS LOOKING TO MASTER A MENACING WINDMILL OR KNOCK ONE THROUGH THE OLD CLOWN’S MOUTH. THIS PHENOMENAL CONTENT THAT’S IN ARE. AS FOR WHAT’S NEXT, PARSONS AND CORSI HOPED TO EXPAND THEIR TREK TO OTHER NEW ENGLAND STATES, AND PERHAPS PUTT ACROSS AMERICA FOR REAL. AFTER ALL, THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS IN MINI GOLF. WOW. DEEP THOUGHTS, DEEP THOUGHTS. AND WHAT MAKES A GOOD MINI GOLF COURSE? JAMES AND KYLE SAY THE GREENS ARE WELL MAINTAINED AND THE COURSE HAS A GOOD THEME. YES, YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE A DINOSAUR ON ONE HOLE AND THEN A PIRATE SHIP ON THE NEXT. IT NEEDS TO BE COHESIVE LIKE YOU SAW AT PUTTS ACROSS AME
Two friends set out to play every mini golf course in Massachusetts
What began as boredom became a statewide mini golf challenge
Updated: 8:05 PM EST Feb 4, 2026
Editorial Standards ⓘ
What would drive two grown men to try to play every mini golf course in Massachusetts?”Friendship,” James Parsons said with a laugh.Parsons and Kyle Courcy are former co-workers whose post-pandemic office days in 2022 left them with plenty of empty time and a few wild ideas. With most colleagues still remote, the pair started kicking around ways to break the monotony. Before long, kicking turned to putting.And a challenge was born: play every mini golf course in the Bay State.”It was like, why not?” Courcy said. “You’ve got Everest, Kilimanjaro… this is our version.”The mission has taken them indoors and out, across Greater Boston and deep into corners of Massachusetts they’d barely heard of — even after living nearby for years. Along the way, mini golf became a lens for discovery.”It’s kind of cool exploring the state,” Parsons said. “Finding towns I didn’t even know existed.”The task is bigger than it sounds. The duo estimates there are about 90 active mini golf courses statewide. When we met them at Faneuil Hall’s Putt Across America, they were marking course number 73. Early on, they could knock out four or five courses in a day. Now, the remaining stops are farther apart, seasonal, or open at unpredictable hours.”It’s become harder,” Courcy said. To document the journey, Parsons and Courcy built a website that tracks their progress and offers reviews for fellow putters — from tricky windmills to classic clown-mouth holes.
BOSTON —
What would drive two grown men to try to play every mini golf course in Massachusetts?
“Friendship,” James Parsons said with a laugh.
Parsons and Kyle Courcy are former co-workers whose post-pandemic office days in 2022 left them with plenty of empty time and a few wild ideas. With most colleagues still remote, the pair started kicking around ways to break the monotony. Before long, kicking turned to putting.
And a challenge was born: play every mini golf course in the Bay State.
“It was like, why not?” Courcy said. “You’ve got Everest, Kilimanjaro… this is our version.”
The mission has taken them indoors and out, across Greater Boston and deep into corners of Massachusetts they’d barely heard of — even after living nearby for years. Along the way, mini golf became a lens for discovery.
“It’s kind of cool exploring the state,” Parsons said. “Finding towns I didn’t even know existed.”
The task is bigger than it sounds. The duo estimates there are about 90 active mini golf courses statewide. When we met them at Faneuil Hall’s Putt Across America, they were marking course number 73. Early on, they could knock out four or five courses in a day. Now, the remaining stops are farther apart, seasonal, or open at unpredictable hours.
“It’s become harder,” Courcy said.
To document the journey, Parsons and Courcy built a website that tracks their progress and offers reviews for fellow putters — from tricky windmills to classic clown-mouth holes.