# Stores or restaurants you used to go to in your youth **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 19, 2020, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-or-restaurants-you-used-to-go-to-in-your-youth/925972 "2020-11-19T15:53:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-or-restaurants-you-used-to-go-to-in-your-youth/925972/281 "2021-02-15T21:51:06Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Does miniature golf count? The local Putt Putt course was a major hangout back in junior high. It’s not clear from your post if you’re aware of it, but _Putt Putt_ is the name of a franchise of miniature golf courses, not just any minigolf course > **[Putt-Putt Fun Center](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putt-Putt_Fun_Center)** > > Putt-Putt, LLC (founded in 1954 as Putt-Putt Golf Courses of America, Inc.) is an American franchiser of Par 2 miniature golf businesses in several states as well as locations abroad. The franchise was originally branded as Putt-Putt Golf, but with franchise expansion into family entertainment centers, many locations are currently branded as Putt-Putt Fun Centers. > > In reaction to low-quality miniature golf courses then available, founder Don Clayton introduced a branded, "no-frills, all-skills"... I used to go to the Putt Putt golf course at Point Pleasant on the Jersey Shore. There still is one there, part of the Jenkinson’s complex, but I’m not sure if it’s the same one I used to go to. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-or-restaurants-you-used-to-go-to-in-your-youth/925972/282 "2021-02-15T22:43:18Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > It’s not clear from your post if you’re aware of it, but _Putt Putt_ is the name of a franchise of miniature golf courses, not just any minigolf course Yes, I knew it. My best friend in junior high was good friends with the local franchise owner. One of the reasons we kept hanging out there. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-or-restaurants-you-used-to-go-to-in-your-youth/925972/283 "2021-02-17T17:12:38Z")
Putt Putt courses were boring. They had no clown mouth shots, windmills, or loop-de-loops to add interest. Independent courses were much more fun. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-or-restaurants-you-used-to-go-to-in-your-youth/925972/284 "2021-02-17T17:26:37Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Putt Putt courses were boring. They had no clown mouth shots, windmills, or loop-de-loops to add interest The one at Point Pleasant did. It was better maintained than the indy courses I knew of at that time, too. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-or-restaurants-you-used-to-go-to-in-your-youth/925972/285 "2021-02-17T17:28:10Z")
There are 2 or maybe 3 mini-golf places at Pt Pleasant. One was elevated, on a rooftop, so that was kind of fun. Not sure how old any of them are though. Most of the boardwalks on the Jersey Shore have mini-golf. Cape May, Atlantic City (AC), Wildwood, Long Branch had one when they had a Boardwalk. Bradley Beach and of course Seaside Heights. Strangely enough, not Keansburg though. Leonardo though has one, but it isn’t on the bay shore, but on Rt 36 instead. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-or-restaurants-you-used-to-go-to-in-your-youth/925972/286 "2021-02-17T19:20:24Z")
As I said I’m not sure the old Putt Putt I used to go to is still there. I haven’t been back in a while. and there are, indeed, a lot of mini-golf places on the Jersey Shore. Or just about any resort town that caters to families, for that matter. (Surprisingly, there’s only one at Hampton Beach, NH, and none at Salisbury Beach across the inlet in Massachusetts0 ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-or-restaurants-you-used-to-go-to-in-your-youth/925972/287 "2021-02-17T23:06:27Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > The local Putt Putt course was a major hangout back in junior high. Ooh, I used to love Putt Putt. It was part of visiting my grandparents in Michigan during summers when I was a kid. Looks like it’s no longer there. I don’t remember ever going to miniature golf when we were home. It was a vacation/out of town sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-or-restaurants-you-used-to-go-to-in-your-youth/925972/288 "2021-02-17T23:14:40Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > > [@california\_jobcase](#): > > > > Putt Putt courses were boring. They had no clown mouth shots, windmills, or loop-de-loops to add interest > > The one at Point Pleasant did. It was better maintained than the indy courses I knew of at that time, too. At least according to some pedantic golfers, putt-putt and miniature golf are not synonymous. Miniature golf is the one with windmills and clown mouths and other whimsical obstacles, which add an element of luck to the game. Putt-putt is more minimalist, with every hole designed to be par 2, and based entirely on skill. > **[Putt-putt vs. Mini-golf what is the main difference - Lumen Sports](https://lumensports.com/putt-putt-vs-mini-golf/)** > > Although people consider putt-putt and mini-golf as the same, in reality, they are not. There are some fundamental distinctions between these two though both types' target is putting the ball into the hole.Building a mini-golf course in your... ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-or-restaurants-you-used-to-go-to-in-your-youth/925972/289 "2021-02-18T13:56:31Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > At least according to some pedantic golfers, putt-putt and miniature golf are not synonymous. Miniature golf is the one with windmills and clown mouths and other whimsical obstacles, which add an element of luck to the game. Putt-putt is more minimalist, with every hole designed to be par 2, and based entirely on skill. Yes – this was cited above. But “Putt Putt” is _still_ clearly a variety of miniature golf, and the one I used had windmills and the like. It’s clearly a subset of “miniature golf”, not something completely different. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2021, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-or-restaurants-you-used-to-go-to-in-your-youth/925972/290 "2021-02-20T22:51:51Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Putt Putt courses were boring. They had no clown mouth shots, windmills, or loop-de-loops to add interest. Independent courses were much more fun. We had a couple of independent courses too, and those were also fun but in a different way. Putt-Putt, at least ours, had numerous tournaments, and there was a sense of real skill involved, making us kids feel almost like pros. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2021, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-or-restaurants-you-used-to-go-to-in-your-youth/925972/291 "2021-02-20T23:02:11Z")
When I was in grade school we shopped at the local Felpausch – a small chain of grocery stores in Michigan. They sold out in '07 to Spartan Stores, which rebranded all of them. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-or-restaurants-you-used-to-go-to-in-your-youth/925972/292 "2021-02-21T00:02:20Z")
Yeah, my father and I got into a tournament once. We did it because I aced a hole they had set up at the local mall. We were in second place at the end of the first nine, but things went downhill from there. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2021, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-or-restaurants-you-used-to-go-to-in-your-youth/925972/293 "2021-02-21T02:21:11Z")
Back in the 80s in the UK my parents would take us kids fairly regularly to the Berni Inn for steak. Always served with a little flag in to indicate doneness, plus a jacket potato, a small pat of herb butter for the steak , they had a peppercorn sauce as well , lemon sorbet for dessert . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-or-restaurants-you-used-to-go-to-in-your-youth/925972.md?page=14)