Miniature Golf Rates to Increase 50 Cents

Players at Sherman Oaks Castle Park will pay 50 cents more for a round of miniature golf beginning June 5, the city Recreation and Parks Commission decided this week, but senior citizens 65 and older will pay the same $5 adult rate as before.

The new rates of $5.50 for an adult round and $4.50 for a child’s round of golf put the Castle Park fees more in the range of other Southland miniature golf courses, said Jim Andervich, the recreation and parks assistant general manager for the Valley. A parks department survey found that Castle Park, 4989 Sepulveda Blvd., was charging about $1 less a round than most similar courses.

The early-bird special--only $1 for a round of golf if play is started before 11 a.m.--still applies, as does the $1 fee for subsequent rounds on the same day.

The additional revenue will cover costs of security and utilities at Castle Park. “All the money is put back into [the golf course] for the improvement of facilities,” Andervich said.

The last fee increase was enacted in January 1991.

Although new management of the Sherman Oaks Castle Park arcade, batting cages and food services will soon be sought, the city will continue to oversee golf.

Since Recreation and Parks is an independent department, City Council members will not consider the matter unless they invoke their rarely used power of reconsideration.