Crawfox Mini-Golf 2004
May 23, 2004

"A Dragon's Tail," by party hosts Leslie Crawford and Steve and Sam Fox, started upstairs. The ball enters the belly of the beast, travels into the wall...
...and slides down the dragon's tail onto the castle ramp, located downstairs. Watch out for that moat.
Many golf balls met a fiery finish as they made the perilous journey to the mouth of the giant Tiki deity in "Tiki Torture," by Bud Peen and Robert Kanes.

The Tiki god smiled upon Kanes and Peen, who won their fourth best hole award in 2004...and promptly announced their retirement from mini-golf design.
"Par(k) If You Can," from the Ginsberg-Michael family, presented a replica of San Francisco's notoriously winding Lombard Street, and challenged the mini-golfer to find a parking spot.
Harold Ginsberg poses by sunny Lombard Street, festooned with real flowers.
The strategically placed monitor (attached to a Webcam) in Andy Brandt and Eric Dahl's "Dirty Pool" gave contestants a view of the target, which was...
...a mini-pool-table, placed out of view (bottom right). Mini-golfers used their putters as pool cues, of course.
"The Holeeland" by Alison Macondray, Matt Clark, Fred Macondray, Kristen Philipkoski, Kim Zetter, Kevin Cooke, and Harry Ransom started in an "undisclosed location" ...
...and wended its way through the wind-swept desert (note Sadam, in hiding), eventually detouring through Mecca.
The Passion of the Mel In a finish worthy of Hollywood, "The Holeeland" ended with a ramp leading to a tuxedo-clad Mel Gibson on a cross.
"Duchamp" was a traveling installation. If you ran into designer Rachel Levin, she would hand you a hole (like the one she's holding here). The Dada-esque par was "fish."
Video to go "Mini-Golf Mini-Therapy"--from Henry Kaiser, Kirk Steers, Steve Fox, and Robin Hathaway--started with a diagnosis and ended with a quick therapy session to resolve any mini-golf issues. The par? Why do you ask?
Regrettable foods was the theme of Hilary and Colin Duwe's "Gourmette." There was plenty o' spam, jello, and of course Wonder Bread on the table, all of which made for some tricky putting.
The split-level "Drop Zone," by Andrew and William Bernard, started on the deck. To play, you placed the ball into a pulley assembly, reeled the golf ball over the sand target below, got it lined up just right...
...and released the ball by pushing a button. The closer to the bull's-eye, the better your score. If you look in the center of the frame, just above the fence, you can see a golf ball on the way down.
"Ships Ahoy!" by John, Maeve and Robert Forster, used Super Soaker water guns instead of putters. Golfers placed a ball in the wooden sailboat, and squeezed the trigger to propel the boat to its destination. Each trigger pull counted as a stroke.
Rocks formed a formidable obstacle course for "Ships Ahoy!", but the greater danger was capsizing (though not in this photo, which was taken after the water had been drained).
What would happen if that American icon, the Big Boy, had been cast in the Harrison Ford role in "Raiders of the Lost Ark"? The answer may well be Harry McCracken's "Raiders of the Lost Big Boy."
After a putt up the "Raiders of the Lost Big Boy" ramp, the golf ball sets the a boulder into motion, and Indiana Jones-style mayhem ensues.
The traditional mini-golf cake, courtesy of B.K. Moran and Charlie Haas, the patron saints of mini-golf.
Bud and Robert hoist the trophy, their fourth win in a row.
Matt Clark won "best dressed," but the entire Holeeland team made a powerful sartorial statement.
Harry McCracken poses with the Big Boys.
Mini-golf therapist Kirk Steers trots out his Austrian accent and offers a dubious diagnosis to Margit Wennmachers.
The "Ships Ahoy!" crew--John, Maeve and Robert--relax before the shooting starts.
Charlie Haas takes in the sights.
Sherry Mitchell, Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Francisco and the Peninsula (the designated charity of Crawfox Mini-Golf 2004), gets into the spirit.
Click here to visit the main Crawfox Mini-Golf page, documenting the revelry all the way back to 1993.