How To Build a Miniature Golf Course

With some basic materials and a bit of creativity, you can build a miniature golf course that provides hours of entertainment. In this guide,This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey and general contractor Tom Silva demonstrate how to construct a modular mini-golf course that you can set up indoors or outdoors.

Materials and Tools Needed

Before starting your miniature golf course project, gather these essential materials and tools:

• Artificial turf or green welcome mat
• Composite deck balusters
• Drill/driver with hole saw attachments
• Fast-setting glue
• Framing square
• Green felt
• Hacksaw
• Measuring tape
• Medium-density fiberboard (MDF) panels
• Miter box and backsaw
• Painter’s tape
• PVC pipe fittings
• Sandpaper
• Spray adhesive
• Spring clamps
• Utility knife
• Wood glue

Pro Tip: When applying spray adhesive to bond felt to MDF, work in nice, even lines so you cover all of the fabric uniformly. Once the adhesive-coated felt and MDF make contact, you won’t be able to reposition the piece—as the TOH team discovered, it’s contact on contact, so center carefully before pressing down.

Building the Miniature Golf Course Panels

Create the foundation of your miniature golf course using individual panels that you can arrange in various configurations. 

Build the Panels

To start, prepare the MDF panels, which will act as the base of your course:

1. Cut MDF panels to your desired size (the example uses 48-inch squares).
2. Measure and mark the center of each panel for the golf hole location.
3. Cut composite deck balusters to fit around the perimeter of each MDF panel. You can clamp the balusters in a miter box to ensure your cuts are square.
4. Apply wood glue in strips along the length of each baluster, leaving spaces between the strips. In the spaces, add small dabs of fast-setting glue.
5. Carefully position and attach the balusters to the panel’s edges. Hold in place until the glue sets for a strong bond.

Why Composite Balusters? The TOH team uses composite deck balusters — not wood stair balusters — to edge each panel. These composite pieces lift the MDF sheets off the floor slightly, creating a lip that keeps the ball in play. As described in the original build, the balusters go “around the perimeter of the MDF” to form a raised border for each course section.

Pro Tip: The two-glue method used here is key to a solid bond. Applying wood glue in strips along the baluster’s length provides long-term holding strength, while the dabs of fast-setting glue in the gaps act as an instant clamp — holding the baluster firmly in position while the wood glue cures. This technique eliminates the need for mechanical fasteners that could interfere with the playing surface or the ball’s path along the edges.

Apply the Felt Surface and Make the Hole

Next, add the felt surface and make the hole:

1. Measure and mark the center of the board, and cut with a hole saw.
2. Sand the inside edges of the hole smooth.
3. Cut green felt slightly larger than your MDF panel.
4. Spray adhesive on both the MDF panel and the felt, allowing it to become tacky.
5. Carefully lay the felt onto the MDF panel, smoothing out any wrinkles or bubbles.
6. Trim excess felt around the edges and the hole using a utility knife.
7. Wrap the felt around the edges and secure it to the panel’s underside with additional adhesive if needed.
8. Place a piece of plumbing fitting in the hole to catch the golf balls. You can also use composite balusters to create a border around your panels to stop the balls from rolling off.

From the TOH Project: When the This Old House crew built their own miniature golf course, they constructed it as a series of modular MDF panels that could be set up any way you want — even indoors. The hole panel was considered the most important piece of the whole course. To elevate the panels off the floor, they used composite deck balusters around the perimeter of each MDF sheet, creating both a raised border and a ball stop in one step.

Technique Detail: When drilling the hole with a hole saw, cut from one side partway through, then flip the board over and finish the cut from the opposite side — just as Alberto did on the TOH build. This two-sided approach prevents the MDF from blowing out or splintering around the hole, leaving you with a much cleaner edge to sand smooth.

Creating Obstacles and Features

To make your miniature golf course more challenging and interesting, consider adding these obstacles and features.

Loop-De-Loop

A loop-de-loop is a classic miniature golf obstacle that adds some complexity to your course. Here’s how to add this design feature to your course:

1. Cut the bottom few inches off two five-gallon buckets.
2. Remove the bucket bottoms, leaving a one-inch band.
3. Cut an opening through each circular piece to form two semi-circles.
4. Connect the pieces to form a channel, creating a loop shape.
5. Secure with duct tape and attach to the base.

Flexible Ramp

A flexible ramp can add varying difficulty and surprise to the game. Follow these instructions to add a ramp to the structure:

1. Cut three same-size holes in an MDF square.
2. Attach composite legs to each corner to create a platform.
3. Tape a flexible plastic sign to the edge of the platform for the ramp.
4. Cover the platform and ramp with green felt, cutting out the holes carefully.
5. Insert PVC elbow fittings into the bottom of the platform, pointing them in different directions for unpredictable ball exits.

Pro Tip: When fitting PVC elbow fittings into the platform, dry-fit each piece first to verify the angles are correct before committing to glue. As TOH plumber Richard Trethewey advises, make witness marks—one on the fitting, one on the pipe—so that when you glue them, you can line up the marks to ensure the angles stay true. Remember: once PVC cement sets, there’s no disconnecting the plastic connections without cutting and coupling, so getting it right the first time matters.

Rough Areas

Creating rough areas mimics natural turf, making a course more challenging. Cut shapes from artificial turf or a green welcome mat, and secure these pieces onto strategic spots on the panels to make it harder to get the ball into the hole.

Tips for an Engaging Course Design

To create a more interesting and challenging miniature golf experience, consider these design ideas:

• Create themed holes based on famous landmarks or your favorite places.
• Include both straight shots and curved paths to test different putting skills.
• Incorporate different types of obstacles, such as tunnels, water hazards, and sand traps.
• Use elevation changes with ramps and hills to add complexity.
• Vary hole lengths and difficulty levels to keep players engaged.

Pro Tip: When laying out your course, borrow a concept landscape designers call “progressive realization” — arrange holes so that each one reveals a new point of interest that draws players forward through the space. Break up long straightaways with curves or elevation changes so golfers are constantly discovering what’s next, rather than seeing the entire course at once.

Miniature Golf Course Maintenance and Storage

Proper care will extend the lifespan of your homemade golf course, so take these maintenance tips into consideration:

• Consider applying a water-resistant sealant to MDF panels if using the course outdoors to protect against weather damage.
• Inspect and tighten any loose components, such as PVC fittings or obstacle attachments.
• Regularly clean the felt surface with a soft brush or vacuum to remove dust and debris.
• Store panels and obstacles in a dry area when not in use to prevent warping or damage.

Materials

Plastic drop cloth

Tools