Someday when the giant radioactive cockroaches that inherit the Earth look back on what the mammals achieved, I'd like to think that they'll smile (or whatever it is they do with their insectoid faces to express pleasure) at the idea that mankind, at the pinnacle of its culture, merged Tiki culture with miniature golf.
Polynesian Putter is located at 4999 Gulf Boulevard, St. Pete Beach, FL. When I took these photos last Spring it still defied the odds by surviving into the age where its own half-century-past zeitgeist is now seen on Mad Men by a generation who never knew - and still don't - what it was all about. But hurry if you wanna get puttery wit' it, because everything awesome from the past eventually gets torn down to build a bank or a gas station sooner or later.
The Polynesian Putter is actually part of the Sea Palms Motel complex, but you need not be a resident to play the putt-putt. My favorite aspect of the whole course is, of course (heh), the 30-foot large Moai statue which can be putted through. It also has a staircase inside it which allows courageous seekers to climb to the top and get a nice view surveying the entire course.
The Moai were carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500 and were reportedly intended to symbolize their deified ancestors. I wonder what the specific ancestor they modeled their copy after thinks about being celebrated centuries later on a roadside tourist attraction?
The place is densely wooded, but you can just barely make it out through the foliage on Google Maps here.
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