Golfin’ in the Mines

Alright, so you can’t putt putt within an actual mine. Coal Country is the closest you’ll ever get!

So what are all these Coal Country Mini Golf structures for?

Let’s see what some of the course holds:

2     #1 At what are you about to swing a golf club? A big fan, that’s what. As many as 6 of these massive machines are used at once to ventilate a coal mine. Without ventilation, we’d have to talk    about explosions and black lung. This blog is about putt putt, not tragedy.

     #2 Nuts and bolts. Minus the nuts, and add in some plates, another very important aspect of coal mining. Plates and bolts are used to hold up the mine roof. Without it, we’d have to talk about    collapses and cavings, when this blog could be about ceiling fans!

Let’s skip to…

     #5 Who knew air needed to go in a certain direction? Talk about meticulous! To accomplish this detail of ventilation, concrete block and mortar are used to make a mine stopping.

#6 West Virginia-specific equipment? Loading machines are used more in this part of the country than any other. They load machine-cut coal from a pile and send it to a waiting haulage car.

Speaking of locomotion, moving right along to…

#8 Coal miners hate water. Column pipes are bolted end-to-end in deep boreholes from the surface to the mine below. The bore-holed columns pump out excess water. A typical West Virginia coal mine may pump, clean and handle enough water to fill a bathtub 20,000 times in a day.

Don’t want to give it all away…

#11 It’s time to recycle the air. Why? Because no one wants to breathe stale air. When a mine fan is cranked up to full speed, air is forced through the blades at speeds comparable to hurricane winds. It could recycle the air in your house in 2 seconds.

#15 Not all coal is created equal. Coal preparation plants use methods to separate the coal from the reject. It’s a tough job being coal.

#16 How West Virginia has helped the US remain the economic cornerstone of the world— you’ll have to put put the whole course to find out!

As for the putt putt holes we skipped over, consider them your putt putt surprises!

Ok, ok. I’ll give you some hints:1

Hole 3: Baby cribs

Hole 10: Alphabet blocks and bow ties

Hole 13: Teeth bits and drums of war

What could it all mean?

It means get to Coal Country and find out! But the season is about to end so you better get there soon!

  • Closing for the season starting Nov. 1
  • Spooky golf (It’s Halloween, after all) during October weekends:

Fri. 4 p.m.– 10 p.m., Sat. noon– 10 p.m., Sun. noon– 8 p.m. (weather permitting)

  • Adults, $5
  • Children (12 & under), $4

    Blog author: Leah Nestor

    Blog author: Leah Nestor

  • Seniors, $4
  • Groups of 10 or more get a $1 discount per person
  • Stop by the Visitor Center to pick up a $1 off coupon!
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