By Patrick Adrian
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
CLAREMONT — Family entertainment will soon have a new course in Claremont, one of the 18-hole variety.
Mary and Nicholas Koloski, owners of Time Out Americana Grill and The Escape Factory, are a week away from opening Blackbeard’s Cove Adventure Golf, their third business at 101 Mulberry St.
Blackbeard’s Cove, a pirate-themed indoor miniature golf course, is Claremont’s first miniature golf course of any variety, Nicholas Koloski said.
“This is something I have always wanted to do,” Koloski said. “Apparently even as a kid, I had talked about this.”
Spanning a total space of 4,800 square feet, Blackbeard’s Cove feels much like being alive inside a Pirates of the Caribbean blacklight poster. Each hole is bordered with luminescent colored tubes that subtly change settings that create an aesthetic of fluid light, neatly contrasting the dark felt of the playing turf. The walls, custom-designed burst with phosphorus colors and thematic images of swashbuckling lore and the mysterious seas.
Even the putters and golf balls are fluorescent.
“It’s neat to see even adults’ faces change, like a [childlike] nostalgia, when they come in,” Koloski said.
Bringing this project to fruition has been several years in the making, Koloski said, beginning with a community survey that Koloski had run on social media to gauge interest.
“This was a substantial investment in the community,” Koloski said. “So I wanted to make sure this wasn’t just something that I wanted to do.”
The construction of the space was an extensive and time-consuming process, according to Koloski. The space was installed with a new fire alarm system, which is interconnected to the restaurant, and an air exchange system. The entire course was also designed to be fully ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible, with a wheelchair access ramp built into the border around each hole.
These wheelchair ramps, which are colored fluorescent green, also help players navigate their way through the course, which might otherwise create mild confusion to new visitors.
The course was designed by Art Attack, a global company that specializes in indoor golf courses.
While Art Attack provided the original concept, the individual art and decor was all customized, Koloski said.
“We also used all local contractors, which was nice to be able to keep money in the community,” Koloski said.
Koloski expects the mini-golf to be an excellent companion business to The Escape Factory, which is a popular destination of many school groups, company retreats and private parties. The Escape Factory provides escape rooms, a team-based activity in which a group of participants are locked in a room and must solve a series of puzzles within a certain amount of time to access a key or exit.
Koloski has already been contacted by two school districts in southern New Hampshire, who are interested in booking indoor golf and an escape room.
The Escape Factory alone has brought tourism “from all 50 states and eight countries,” according to Koloski.
“Many years ago, there was some negativity saying that people wouldn’t go to Claremont for that,” Koloski said. “And now we’ve become New England’s largest.”
Miniature golf is a limited commodity in the region, with Fore-U in Lebanon and Wild Goose Waters in Sunapee being two of the closest destinations for Claremont-area residents.
Those options are also seasonal and heavily impacted by weather.
“All last year I watched the miniature golf courses around New England [constantly] message ‘Closed for weather’,” Koloski said. “I’m not going to have to worry about that. If it’s too hot, we’re air conditioned. If it’s too cold, it’s heated. If it’s raining you’re protected.”
Blackbeard’s Cove officially opens on Thursday, Apr. 28, from noon to 8 p.m. The golf course will be open seven days per week, including holidays. Admission is $13 per player or $12 if paying with cash.
For more information about Blackbeard’s Cove Adventure Golf, visit their Facebook page or their website link at escapefactorynh.com.
reporter @eagletimes.com
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