#99: Play a Round at Monster Mini Golf of Medford

Patchogue Patch is currently currently counting down 100 fun, adventurous and even offbeat things to do in the Patchogue and Medford area.

Patti Miller, franchise co-owner, described Monster Mini Golf as an indoor 18-hole glow-in-the-dark Halloween-themed golf course. She noted that it took about two and a half years from concept to completion.

“We try to do it as not to be terrifying, just a little bit creepy,” Miller said.

Miller said her family first came upon the idea of opening a franchise when they were blown away by the concept a few years back vacationing in Mystic, Connecticut.

“We said, ‘We should have something like this on Long Island,’” Miller said, “It was just so different.”

Much like other Monster Mini Golf locations throughout the nation, the Medford location features main characters such as Glow-zo the clown and Eve L, a ghost cat. The Medford location, which Miller co-owns with her husband, Bill, and in-laws Armando and Karen Crecco, features an arcade room and a gift shop area where theme items can be purchased or redeemed for tickets.

Although the location does not serve food, it does feature two party rooms that have microwaves and refrigerators to aid in food preparation.

“We are looking into vending machines because people have been asking,” Miller said, "We have some deals where we are trying to work out a plan with Ruby Tuesday’s, Friendly’s and Gia’s Café.”

While Monster Mini Golf of Medford might have similarities to the roughly 30 locations like it around the states, there are some features that make it stand out. 

Artists from Monster Entertainment in Rhode Island researched eastern Long Island and then tailored it to the franchise’s theme. In one painted mural, Stella Skellarella and her dog, Jawbone, appear to be flying over Camp Hero in Montauk as ghostly members of the U.S.S. Eldridge raised a salute to a merman, an homage to the Phoenix Project.

As part of another mural, a Franken-pincher named Wilson based on Miller's sister-in-law’s dog, bares his teeth inside the confines of a junkyard, a theme expanded upon because of the number of junkyards in the area.

Yet another mural features other family members, Miller’s daughters, Rachel, Caitlyn and Casey with Alice in Wonderland. On the opposite wall, a ghoul attempts to court his undead sweetheart next to a sign prohibiting flirting.

Remarking on the detailed research conducted by the artists to make the establishment more localized and personal, Miller said, “It’s just one of those archaic laws that is still on the books from 100 years ago."

Mini golfers wind their way through the course listening to prerecorded, family friendly pop music with only minor interruption from a Deejay engaging them in fact or fiction trivia and other interactive games.

Monster Mini Golf is not only for kids. After the 18th hole, a bevy of arcade games await. For the 20 to 30-year-old set there’s Terminator, Big Bass and Deal or No Deal, and for everyone there’s Skee-ball and Air Hockey.

“I’ve had people as young as five play [Air Hockey],” said Eric Mace, a 23-year-old Islip resident and 'mad scientist' of air hockey. "I’ve had people in their 50s play it. It’s one of those arcade classics.”