If you ever need to take a break for an hour or two along Route 1 in Jessup, Maryland, consider a stop at Monster Mini-Golf. You’ll find plenty of things to take your mind off of traffic, including Miniature golf, video games, laser tag, and refreshments. The experience is one of complete escape from the road, as you are immersed in black lights with countless features all covered in bright fluorescent paint.
I went straight for the golf option, since I arrived mid-afternoon on a weekday and there was no wait. There was a smattering of other players; kids arriving after school, several couples out on a date, and a few playing on their own, like me. Parts of the course were straightforward, but it was all decorated like the day before Halloween. Some holes were a little tricky, requiring a little advance planning before placing your ball down to “tee off”. All in all, it was a fun and challenging round, with plenty of things along the way that grabbed my attention and caused me to smile.
Monster Golf is a clever business model, because they’ve taken over underutilized mall spaces, offering on an entertainment experience instead of retail shopping. There are seven other Monster Mini-Golf locations along Route 1 in Towson, MD, Richmond, VA, Edison, NJ, Yonkers, NY, Seeking, MA, Norwood, MA, and Reading, MA. I look forward to trying a few more of them out before my Route 1 odyssey is over.
By the time I finished my round, the place had begun to fill up with families arriving after school, after sports and for birthday parties. There was lots of activity in front of the refreshment desk, and the golf course was busier than when I arrived. Couples sat side by side in the 2-person arcade game booths. Kids waited to take turns at the pinball machines and the shoot-em-up games where you mow down zombies with machine guns (not my fave!). Tokens were being dropped into the claw machine, in hopes of bringing home a stuffed animal or toy from behind the glass.
So regardless of whether it is the last week of October, the middle of winter, or the heat of July, treat yourself and your family to a Halloween arcade and golf experience in black-lit splendor.
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