Jungle Golf keeps swinging after 40 years

By Stacy Parker
Correspondent

Lions, tigers and hippos - oh my!

For 40 years, Jungle Golf has been home to a slew of animal figures and the place for family fun.

The miniature golf center at 2200 Pacific Ave. opened in 1970 and is celebrating four decades in the Virginia Beach resort area.

"It is the old beach," said Preston Midgett, who owns Jungle Golf with his mother, Nancy. "It's a tradition now."

Elizabeth and Ralph Midgett, Preston's grandparents, lived in a 1940s beach cottage on the site before they built the course in 1969. Through the years, their children and grandchildren have worked at Jungle Golf.

Preston Midgett took over ownership of Jungle Golf with his father, Robert, in 1984. He now owns it with his mother, Nancy.

He's worked at the family business since he was 11 years old, doing just about every job from cutting grass to cleaning toilets to managing it.

Built on a natural sand dune, Jungle Golf stands out among the tourist shops and paved resort roads around it. The one-acre site is known for its lush flowers, palm trees and banana trees.

"We pride ourselves in getting exotic tropical landscaping," said Midgett. The palm trees were brought in from Florida when Jungle Golf first opened. New plants are placed in April and foliage is at its finest in August.

While tourists flock to the course each summer for a round of play, more than 40 percent of the business is local customers. Birthday parties and group packages are also available.

Midgett, who married his wife, Kim, on the sixth hole in 1992, has played the course more than 1,000 times, he said.

He's even played it blindfolded.

"Anything you can imagine, we've done it playing golf," he said.

He insists the 18-hole course is not difficult to play.

"It's designed for families," he said. "When kids get a hole in one everybody has a good time."

Rachel Cook, manager, said people always want to know, "What's the record?"

A former groundskeeper claims 24 as the unofficial record.

Over the years, elements of the course have changed. Hole #2 originally had a dip before the hole. Now, "Victoria Bridge," as its named, traverses a pond where fish swim.

Midgett said each hole is named based on its characteristics, and African or Swahili origins.

In the early 1970s, fire spewed from the volcano from a hidden furnace. Today, misters create a fog instead. At night, especially when the humidity is high, red and yellow lights envelop the fog and give the effect of fire "rolling down the course," said Midgett.

Beach residents and visitors may remember the old statue of a safari hunter that used to be a Jungle Golf staple. Vandals destroyed the 24-foot tall figure years ago, but his hunting rifle still hangs on the wall of the arcade, which was built in 1978.

One thing that hasn't changed at Jungle Golf is the animal theme. The tiger eerily peers through fronds, the hippo's wide-open mouth attracts cameras and the gorilla, although daunting, begs a hug. Jungle Golf's tropical atmosphere is a draw for children and adults alike.

"It looked like fun," said Amanda Fink, 22, of Pennsylvania, who saw Jungle Golf from Pacific Avenue and decided to play with her fiance, Leo Moses. "I'm a kid at heart."

She got a hole in one on Hole #5, "Victoria Falls," when she putted her golf ball through a tunnel of rock and it landed in the cup on the other side.

Midgett's received many offers from people who want to buy the property, but he looks to his son, Trey, 14, and daughter, Tara, 11, who help out at the family business and knows they're two more reasons why he's not planning to sell anytime soon.

"It's a nice way to make a living," he said.

Stacy Parker, stacyparker@cox.net