PETAL — Families in Petal will have a new place to play beginning Saturday as Petal Putt Putt opens at 128 S. Main St., adding a locally built miniature golf course to the city’s downtown area.
The grand opening begins at 10 a.m. Single-round admission is $8, while two rounds cost $12. A day pass costs $25.
The course can be played as an 18-hole experience using a reconfigurable nine-hole layout designed to provide a different experience from game to game. It also features a children’s play area, a Vantage Wheel that adds challenges to each round and the Shot for Humanity challenge hole. Players pay $1 per attempt for a chance to win a free game, and proceeds from missed shots benefit Habitat for Humanity of the Pine Belt.
After opening weekend, Petal Putt Putt will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays through Saturdays and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays. The course is closed Sundays and Mondays, although reservations are available Sunday, Monday and Wednesday evenings.
Owner Maury DeLeon said the idea grew from hearing residents ask for more local activities that families could enjoy together.
“We wanted to do something for people and answer the constant concern that everyone has all the time of, ‘What is there to do? There’s nothing to do. I’m so bored,’ and people having to go to the coast for family activities,” DeLeon said.
DeLeon said he hopes the attraction also encourages visitors to spend time at nearby businesses while supporting local organizations.
“We’re getting to create something that will stimulate the city of Petal in a really good way. That will help increase the revenue for our city to fix streets, start more projects and invest back into the community,” DeLeon said.
DeLeon said volunteers and community members helped build the course, reflecting the project’s goal of creating a gathering place that also gives back.
“We’re just members of the Petal community, local people who believe in serving and giving back, and we hope everyone can see that and want to come support this and see that it goes beyond money,” DeLeon said. “It goes to giving back to organizations and the local economy and serving people and giving people something to do that’s safe, wholesome and family-friendly.”
