There was a time in the 1990s when miniature golf was king.

In its heyday, the Tri-Cities boasted 90 holes — 36 holes on two mini golf courses at the Kennewick foot of the cable bridge; 36 more on two courses at the old Golf Universe driving range on Clearwater Avenue in Kennewick; and 18 more at the old Oasis Water Park, where Toyota of Tri-Cities now stands.

Then, the putt-putt golf landof plenty dried up: the water park closed, and so did Cable Greens, the course near the bridge.

When Golf Universe closed to move into a new building on Edison Street in Kennewick in December, 36 more holes were lost.

That left Let’s Glow Mini Golf — an 18-hole indoor course on Columbia Center Boulevard opened by Brittney Hallman in October 2023 — with the region’s only mini golf course.

But that’s about to change.

Construction is underway on an 18-hole course at Tee Time in Kennewick’s Midtown Plaza, as well as the revival of the old Golf Universe’s 36 holes by an unlikely operator. Both courses have grand openings scheduled in May.

Golf course comeback

When Golf Universe moved to its new location on Edison Street, one regret company officials had was that the mini golf wasn’t coming along.

But Bob Nash, president of Pacific Northwest Christian College in Kennewick, has plans for it.

The college will be leasing the abandoned facility after striking a deal with Adams Enterprises.

The driving range was donated to the school, and eventually a football/soccer field for the school’s athletic teams will be put down there. The college offers a two-year associate of arts degree in biblical studies.

A $2.5 million remodel and buildout will include several classrooms and administrative offices, Nash said.

The plan includes reopening the 36 holes of mini golf.

“The mini golf will allow the school to get some cash revenue,” Nash said. “The grand reopening will be Friday, May 3, and Saturday, May 4.”

Tee Time

Inspiration can hit in the most unlikely of places. And so goes Tee Time's origin story. 

Reyes Gonzalez

“My buddy and I wanted to go into business together. My sister as well,” said owner Reyes Gonzalez, a former loan officer for Gesa.

Talking over ideas one day, Gonzalez and his girlfriend were driving by the cable bridge when they both remembered the old miniature golf course at the foot of the bridge on the Kennewick side.

“My girlfriend said, ‘Why don’t you do a miniature golf course?’” he said. “I’ve been to Arizona. Everywhere you look in Arizona, there is a miniature golf course. I envisioned to make this a place where I could see myself coming, and I don’t have to be a kid.”

After a long search for potential locations, Gonzalez, his friend and his sister settled on the Midtown Plaza. The building has been home to, among other things, an indoor go-kart facility, batting cages, and long ago a grocery store.

Gonzalez and his partners took control of the facility on Jan. 5.

The remodel has cost about $375,000 to turn the packed dirt flooring of the kart track into concrete flooring.

The square footage of the entire facility is just under 18,000 feet, and the mini golf course will be 6,161 square feet.

“We wanted to do 36 holes, but we were going to get too tight in here if we did that,” Gonzalez said.

So with more space available, Gonzalez will provide cornhole games, pool tables, shuffle boards, and video arcade games along the south wall.

A bar area will provide beer, as well as non-alcoholic drinks and snacks.

“We’ve got a deal with the pizza place next door (Excalibur Pizza 2) for people to bring their pizzas in here,” Gonzalez said. “People can bring their food in from other places too. And we’re looking at making deals with food trucks.

“In addition, we’ll have 15 to 20 television sets in here. We wanted to create a mini version of Top Golf.”

All of the food, drinks and video games aside, “our main focus is the mini golf,” Gonzalez said.

To turn the vision into reality, Gonzalez reached out to Jesse Kadinger, owner of Jesse’s Lawn Maintenance in Kennewick whose company is known for creating putting greens for homeowners.

“He was going to work with a third party from Georgia. But he decided to do it,” Gonzalez said. “We thought of the ideas and said we’ll work with you. Jesse’s company has been great to work with. From the very beginning this is what we wanted to do. They told us, ‘We’ve never done anything like this before. But we want to work with you.’”

Holes will feature a number of obstacles, such as a Skee-Ball chute, basketball hoop and bowling pins.

Gonzalez expects to hold tournaments and team play year-round.

Someday, he said, he’d like to own a Triple Play franchise.

But for now, he and his partners are excited about this new project.

“I’ve always been in sales. I love when you can sell what you think of in your head, and then see it happen as you go,” Gonzalez said. “This only started as an idea. Then it becomes a tangible thing. That’s exciting.”

A grand opening is at 11 a.m. May 3 at 2203 W. Fourth Ave., Suite A, in Kennewick.

Operating hours at Tee Time will be from 1-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; and 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.