When I made my first trip back to my hometown of Lexington, Kentucky in over two years a couple of months ago, my friend Jenny asked me what I wanted to do in my limited time there. I had two musts. First, we must go to Billys BBQ which remains, in my estimation, the best BBQ I have ever had. Second, I had to go play Jesus Golf.
To clarify, the name of the establishment isn’t Jesus Golf, it is more a name of convenience coined by locals of my generation. In actuality, the place is part of the Lexington Ice Center, which is a venue that offers an ice rink, recreational sports league facilities, and your standard religious-themed 54-hole mini golf course.
The owners of the Ice Center are devout Christians and believe that people can have fun and get a little taste of the lord at the same time, so back when I was a kid, they built a mini golf center with three courses to choose from: Old Testament, New Testament, and miracles.
We always choose New Testament, believing all of Jesus’ finest work makes for the best course. We always realize five holes in what we want is Miracles, as all of the best parts of the Jesus narrative are on that one, while the New Testament course is a little more conceptual and esoteric.
I could go on for days about this anomalous little gem from my childhood, but instead, I will simply let the photos tell the story of what a mini golf course can accomplish with the power of the lord and a trip to the cement figurine store (Note: if you click on the “i”, you can see the captions explaining what some of these things are):
Cultural Nitpickery 