Funspot...The Spot for Fun!

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Funspot's Classic Mini-Golf...Still Popular After 43 Years
by Roger Amsden, News Correspondent for The Weirs Times

WEIRS BEACH - Mini-golf, which got its start in 1916, came permanently to the Lakes Region in the summer of 1952 when John and Bob Lawton opened a nine-hole course on the second story of Tarlson's Arcade at the Weirs Sports Center. "We were amazed at the response. All day long there were lines of people waiting outside the door to get inside to play," Bob Lawton recalls of the instant success which greeted the mini-golf operation. Lawton said the course was modeled after one he had seen in Barre, Vt., while attending college at nearby Norwich University, and recalls that he and John worked many nights until three in the morning to build the course.

Funspot's twenty-one acres on U.S. Route 3 prior to clearing for the mini-golf in the spring of 1964.

After 10 years of successful operation the brothers decided that for their business to really grow they would need an area with more parking than was available at The Weirs and in 1963 they registered the name Funspot with the state of New Hampshire and started looking for land in the vicinity of the Weirs which would fit their needs. Click on image to enlarge view At the same time they were working on a design for a mini-golf course and developed one inspired by classic mini-golf courses which were the rage of the 1930s and 1940s. In fact, the Lawtons still have the original drawn-to-scale plans of both the Weirs Sport Center course and the Funspot course in the Funspot archives, as well as photos and postcards of many of the mini-golf courses they looked at during the design process. In the spring of 1964 the brothers purchased a 20-acre parcel of land on Rte. 3 just south of Scenic Road and set out to build their own amusement center, which today has grown into the largest arcade in the nation with over 500 games.

One of the original ornaments, the Mount Washington, in downtown Laconia prior to being installed.

And a lot of the sweat which went into building the course was their own. "We both took vacations so that we could get the course ready that summer," Bob recalls, pointing out that the stone walls around the course were hand-built by John and have stood the test of time over many years. Some of the other physical labor was provided by a group of Laconia State School residents who were in programs designed to help prepare them for transition into the labor force. "They loved it, being outdoors to work. We'd pick them up in the morning and give them lunch and take them back home at the end of the day. I don't remember how much they were paid, but they certainly loved every minute of it here," says Lawton.

The 19-hole mini-golf course, built around the theme of New Hampshire landmarks, proved an even bigger success than the nine-hole course at the Weirs Sports Center. "It was a big hit from the start," says Funspot co-owner Bob Lawton, who recalls that the turnout the first day the course was open, Aug. 1, 1964, was so big that more trees had to be cut down so that the parking lot could be expanded the next day in order to accommodate all of the customers who wanted to play. But those first few months showed the limitations of the gravel fairways and when the course opened the following summer it was made of cement, allowing for a consistency in conditions which were not attainable using gravel.

"It's designed to be challenging," says Bob Lawton, noting that a hole-in-one is possible on every one of the 18 greens but that some real skill is needed in planning and executing each shot. The first hole has a scale model of the Mt. Washington cruise ship which was built by Jim Clough of Winnisquam and has been maintained and rebuilt over the years by Funspot maintenance foreman Cal Hahn. Other historic landmarks include the Spindle Point observatory; the Jackson covered bridge, the West Alton Railroad station, the North Conway Railroad station and the Cog Railway. The scale model of the famous Cog Railway is one of the prominent features of the mini-golf and is easily identifiable by motorists passing by on Rte. 3. It was built by master craftsman Fred Thompson, who lived near the Kancamaugus Highway in Conway and was well known as "Popcorn Freddie." Other features include a fountain and a waterfall which add a note of serenity to the course. "People find the sound of running water very soothing, very calming," says John Lawton, who also points with pride to the two mountain ash on the course which provide shade and blend in well with the large boulders on the course, helping to create the feelings of a natural amphitheater. A shaded area with picnic tables next to the course provides a quiet place for relaxation with the trees muffling the sound of passing traffic along Rte. 3. The course even has a whale to remind visitors of the New Hampshire seacoast area and it is one of the more popular holes on the course. Lisa Mueller of Cincinnati, Ohio, won a lifetime pass to Funspot with her choice of "Waldo" as the name for the whale. And mini-golf remains one of the most popular attractions at Funspot, having provided millions of hours of enjoyment for hundreds of thousands of visitors ever since it opened.

Mayor Hugh Bownes cuts the ribbon, opening Funspot's Mini-Golf on
August 1, 1964.

Beautiful nighttime photo of Funspot's Mini-Golf take shortly after in grand opening in August 1964.

Mini-golf not your thing? Check out some real golf in our Indoor Golf Center!