x
Breaking News
More () »

Man builds free mini golf course in Fort Collins

Matt Gettig took a strip a grass that no one wants to take care of and turned it into a ten-hole mini golf course in old town Fort Collins.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Problem spots on lawns are common. One area might not grow anything but weeds. Others are tough to mow. Then there is that pointless strip of grass between the sidewalk and the road.

"The hell strip," said Matt Gettig, while he pointed to said piece of landscaping. 

Gettig owns Matt's Down to Earth Sprinklers. He also does a lot of work cleaning up those hell strips. 

"About 50 percent of what I do goes to redoing these things," Gettig said.

A few years ago he got an idea. It all started with a lot of free time during the pandemic and a errant piece of Astroturf. 

"A leftover piece of Astroturf was going to get thrown away, but that turned into a father son project," Gettig said. 

He enlisted his son, Ray, and they turned their hell strip into a mini golf hole. Lightning Mini Golf, as Gettig calls it, was born. And it was popular. 

"This got so popular I decided, me and ray my son decided, to build another one because there was a line of people every morning," Gettig said.

Neighbors liked it, so Gettig put eight more holes in yards around old town Fort Collins. He said it has helped him get to know neighbors he's never met. 

"How could you be negative about mini golf," Gettig said.

All of the holes are built with recycled objects, and any costs are taken care of through donations. Gettig said he donates extra money to Fort Collins' Animal Friends Alliance. 

"I just wanted to do something more than just let people play free mini golf," Gettig said.

Gettig also put up a free course at the Lyric Cinema in Fort Collins.

Lightning Mini Golf is open 24/7— even in winter, when Gettig has to clear the holes.  

SUGGESTED VIDEOSLatest from 9NEWS


Before You Leave, Check This Out