The true spirit of Cape Cod

Where are you looking for the soul of Cape Cod? The strong surf on the Outer Cape? The powerful Coast Guard beacon? The vast expanse of the Great Swamp?

I play mini golf. Oh, I can already hear the groans and protests. What kind of madness is this? The spirit of Cape Cod is in the choppy surf, the majesty of the osprey, the beauty of a bayside sunset. It’s certainly not in the pretend world of astroturf, a—good grief—putt-putt golf.

But on the contrary, to me the soul of Cape Cod is the concept of a family vacation, and one of the charms of the Cape is its appeal to vacationers of all levels, whether relaxing on their deck overlooking the Chatham Inlet or sharing two queen beds- size in a room. motel room and many golf is where we all meet.

Big families, small families, all shapes and colors and languages ​​and ages. I even saw families of pirates or at least families dressed as pirates.

The miniature golf course is a true snapshot of our great republic, and Cape Cod is a miniature golf paradise. I really don’t understand why the Chamber of Commerce doesn’t promote it more.

I’ve played a lot of golf all over the Cape, from a lightly overgrown backyard course behind the now-defunct Rose’s Restaurant in Dennis to the fancy franchises on Route 28.

You can play somewhere Instagram-worthy with a pirate ship or a purely vintage course like the one at Wellfleet Drive-In. The names suggest the exotic: Skull Island, Putters Paradise, Holiday Hill, Wild Animal Lagoon. Or my favorite, Susan’s Garden.

And you can often take a soft serve right to the side. Can you do that at the Country Club? You can count on some consistency between courses, like an impossible right-angle dogleg that requires pool table strategies, or a shoot that has more moguls than a ski hill, or a cup with a wraparound ridge that makes diving impossible the putt. The 18th hole will always swallow your ball. There will be a water hazard, usually with very questionable water. At Sandwich minigolf on route 6A there are verses from the Bible. If you’re lucky, it will be a windmill, a scary mannequin or a giraffe.

You don’t even need to know how to play golf. You don’t need to buy equipment. All you need to remember is the color of your ball, a happy idea that regular courses should adopt and put up with a putter that will certainly be too heavy or too short and you will need patience.

You will wait at every hole. There are some rules. Six tries, that’s all you get, unless you say, under the age of eight, then you can keep trying until your parents or those behind you yell “enough!” No crying, even if your sister sends your ball flying out of bounds. No swearing unless it’s under your breath. As a competitive golfer, I understand it’s difficult, but seriously, if you swear at miniature golf, you need to go find a beach.

Look, I love so many natural things about Cape Cod, the wide flats of Cape Cod Bay, the winding boardwalk at Marconi, the sweeping dunes and Provincetown, even the drama of nor’easters, but I’m a lover of others. summer vacation part. Sticky t-shirts, ice cream and miniature golf, and that’s why on a warm summer night in August, as the moon rises over South Yarmouth, you’ll find me centered in the soul of Cape Cod on the 7th hole of Pirates Cove, trying very hard not to be beaten by an 8 year old.