Essex County Safari Mini Golf

Essex County Safari Mini Golf    560 Northfield Ave, West Orange, NJ 07052

The massive Essex County South Mountain Recreation Complex is home to several main event activities, including ice skating in Codey Arena, seeing a host of animals at Turtle Back Zoo, or (our personal favorite) playing a round of mini golf at Safari Mini Golf. While this course does have strong promise, its price and some atmospheric deficits drag it a little bit below its potential.

The course is designed in the shape of the African continent and represents three of it’s habitats, including the Sahara Desert, the Grasslands, and the African Congo. The course is probably the first one we’ve played that effectively and purposefully makes use of different colored turf, using the beige turf for the desert and the green for the grasslands. We’ve actually attached an aerial view below so you can see exactly the different turf and outline of the course.

Let’s start with the positives here. The course is a Harris course that has been specifically adapted for the location, which is when we’ve seen them at their best. The course is well kept, and has a good degree of difficulty where anyone can find it both interesting and challenging. In addition, the course takes the creativity of a normal safari course and really amps it up, given the courses affiliation with the zoo next door. In addition, the courses use of colored turf, as well as just general landscaping, for each distinct area is smart and a nice extra touch.

Unfortunately, not all of our experiences at the course have always been so positive. Before we get into any specifics, we will say that whenever we’ve had a real issue, the parks director has been extremely responsive and a pleasure to deal with.

One of the downsides to this course is it can get very crowded. We’ve seen it where the line at the first hole has been 7-10 groups waiting. Surprisingly, we went on Labor Day this year and it was the emptiest we’ve ever seen the course. In addition, we see a lot of people who use the course like a playground, which is not only dangerous for those running around, but also for the people attempting to play. It is not unusual to see kids running through games, sitting on the course, or climbing on the several animals. Especially since part of the course is hidden behind trees and greenery, it’s incredibly concerning the amount of times we’ve seen this. In an extreme example, although it happened only one time, we happened to be there when over 50 kids were released onto the course for a birthday party without parent supervision.

Another complication is the hole 12, which happens to be Mount Kilimanjaro, where you are supposed to climb up the mountain and put down to the hole below. An ADA option allows you to putt from the ground level, but there is no signage designating this as such. We’ve seen so many people be confused about this hole, especially when it’s crowded, and then you have two groups playing at once, and it’s a bit of chaos. In addition, several of the ADA curb cuts are right where a balls natural trajectory is going. Lastly, there is an unmarked 19th hole (not on the scorecard) which in concept may have been a free game or a ball return, but now, it just sits there and adds a bit a bit of confusion.

The course happens to be one of the most expensive in the area at $14/adult and $12/senior or child. That hasn’t deterred anyone from playing here, however. The course par is a bit unimaginative at 39. While there are a couple aces to be had, the course can play very tricky, especially on the back 9. Despite no aces on our most recent trip, our winner came at 42 in a tightly contested game.

While not all of our experiences here have been top-notch, the course itself is definitely a good one, one of the more inventive and creative courses in the area. For an educational area, there is a lot more education that could go into the course (about why holes are shaped in certain ways, the animals, etc…). We’d be more comfortable with the fees if there were some of these additional features, and if the staff was more committed to keeping this a mini golf course rather than a playground.