In the midst of Somers scenic vistas, where prized pedigree horses graze in green pastures and hikers walk along Soapstone Mountain trails, a new enterprise is drawing customers from throughout the region.
Since the Somers Golf Center on Route 190 opened an 18-hole mini-golf course in June, business has exploded.
Golf has been the name of the game at the golf center for more than a decade, but now its recently launched mini-golf operation is far surpassing its long-standing driving range in terms of revenue and appeal, said Gil Rivard, the golf center’s manager.
Customer counts have grown about 500 percent in just three months, from about 40 to 50 golfers practicing their golf swing each week to about 300 to 400 paying for a chance to try their skill at its new mini-golf course.
“The response has been nothing but great,” said Gil Rivard, the golf center’s manager. “Many repeat customers say it’s the best [mini-golf] course they’ve ever seen.”
The course features six ponds with bubbling fountains, a natural stone waterfall, streams, benches, a wooden bridge walkway and a gazebo. Small shrubs, trees, plants and large statues of a bear and horse adorn the course.
Considered to be among the largest mini-golf courses in the region, covering close to a half-acre of land, it was designed by New Jersey based-Harris Miniature Golf Inc. with the whole family in mind, Rivard said.
However, the design is challenging and about 70 percent of its customers have been adults, he said. With that in mind, the center is developing plans to hold a tournament in which two winners will go on to compete at a national mini-golf playoff, he added.
But kids like the course, too. On a recent visit to the course, a number of children were putting away on the course. There were a few fathers golfing with their young daughters and a few families had come for the afternoon. Sitting at shaded picnic tables near the mini-golf course was a retired couple and some school-aged children enjoying ice cream cones.
The ice cream cones are part of the golf center’s business food service expansion, appealing to groups and families wanting to host a party at the mini-golf course. A temporary food trailer now offers a simple food menu and soft serve ice cream. The trailer will be removed from the parking lot in mid-October when indoor restaurant seating becomes available at the golf center’s new restaurant, a 1,750 square-foot facility that is under construction.
Even without the new restaurant, the golf center’s party business is on the rise. Rivard said a number of parties have been booked already.
Rivard said that in 2006, the Antonucci family of Somers purchased the golf center. Instead of making decisions based solely on their business plan, he said they make decisions on doing “what is right.” The family has hosted a number of fundraisers for nonprofits, and donates a portion of the proceeds, he said.
Rivard acknowledged that the Antonucci family has made a substantial capital investment at the golf center. While expenses more than doubled from the initial business plan, which anticipated a three- to four-year return on investment, “revenues have been considerably more than expected,” he said.
“It’s inexpensive to take a family of four out for mini-golf. For about $20 — you can’t even go to the movies for that.”
The cost of a round of mini-golf is $7.50 for adults, $5 for children aged 5 to 12 years; and free for children under $5.
The Antonucci family adopted a “build-it-and-they-will-come” philosophy, Rivard said.
And so far, they have come.
Diane Weaver Dunne is the Hartford Business Journal managing editor.
