Mini golf course opens in Long Beach

A mini golf course is opening on a section of the Superblock this week, a new addition to the growing food and entertainment options at the beach.

Located adjacent to the Riverside Boulevard beach entrance, Barefoot Mini Golf was expected to open on Thursday at noon. It joins the Shoregasbard food truck court and IFly Trapeze School in making Riverside something of an entertainment hub along the boardwalk. Camp Anchor participants will have first access to the course as special guests at Thursday’s opening.

Two Long Beach families are opening the 18-hole course, with the owners saying that their goal is to help bring more family entertainment back to the city. They said that they hope to also employ kids from the community. The course will include obstacles like a lighthouse, a steel bridge — modeled after the Long Island Rail Road bridge over Reynolds Channel— and a loop-de-loop among others, according to co-owner Arnie Peltz.

  “More fun course challenges are planned to be added over time, hopefully with the help of local artists,” Peltz said. “The course is set in the sand which is how it got its name, Barefoot Mini Golf. Shoes will be optional.”

Peltz’s wife, Tricia, said that next year they plan to add more obstacles to the course, as well as a space to play bocce and host summer-long bocce leagues.

“I think in the long run, it’s going to be something that every age group can enjoy,” she said.

The city said that mini golf has long been requested by residents through the city’s Long Beach Listens community engagement program.

  “Miniature golf is a fantastic, fun, family-oriented summer activity,” Councilman Len Torres said in a statement. “We are so excited to bring more family fun to our beachfront right here in the city of Long Beach.”