Wantagh, NY — Jones Beach State Park in Nassau County has been a world-famous attraction since it opened in 1929. Each year around 6 million visitors take advantage of the 6 1⁄2 miles of white-sand beaches, a boardwalk, and two swimming pools that are part of the historic park. The new West Games Area of the park opened last summer to offer more recreation and entertainment options to visitors, including an 18-hole mini-golf course installed by SYNLawn New York.
The SYNLawn New York team was recommended for this exciting project by their long-time friends and collaborators at Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners and hired by G & M Earthmoving to install the course before the park opening in July 2020.
Overcoming COVID Challenges During Installation
One challenge was working on this installation in the early months of the pandemic. Due to social distancing regulations, they had to work with a smaller team, requiring more days than normally required for a project. It ended up taking twice as long to complete the project. To ensure the safety of the workers, they took their temperatures daily and set up hand sanitizing stations. While it was tough working in the summer heat with air restrictions from wearing face masks, they wore them during the installation.
To show appreciation for her team’s hard work during the pandemic, the owner of SYNLawn, Anastasia Phillips, purchased family passes to Jones Beach for each of them to enjoy later in 2021.
Creating a State-of-Art Mini-Golf Course with High-Quality Synthetic Turf
To create the 9,500-square-foot mini-golf course, the team from SYNLawn New York installed all 18 greens on top of precast concrete holes. The professional-quality golf grass products used for the project included SYNLawn’s Precision Putt, best known for its performance and superior ball control. The mini-golf project also included SYNTipede 243 for golf turf fringe, providing strength and resiliency due to SYNLawn’s exclusive Super Yarn Technology, the safest and cleanest turf available on the market. The golf course also included SYNLawn’s SYNPlay 48 in Florida Blue to simulate the course’s “water hazards” for a touch of realism and fun.
The team drew on the experience and skill from similar golf course projects, like the state-of-the-art youth sports complex recently installed for the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, to deliver a professional-quality mini-golf course that millions of people will enjoy for years to come.