Austin – The ever-changing skyline of Austin is unrecognizable from the college town feel of the 80s. Watching fireworks from Auditorium Shores was always a highlight of any childhood summer in the state capitol but sitting in that park, you always knew that Peter Pan Mini-Golf was nearby and well worth a visit. “We’re just simple,” said Margaret Dismukes Massas. “Old-school nostalgia is our calling card.”
Margaret grew up in this area and she has seen lots of change. “Things were a lot slower in the ’60s and ’70s, and a lot weirder,” said Margaret. “It’s hard to explain when you drive by these old… Even my old street where I grew up. And it’s like, ‘I don’t recognize this anymore.’”
But there’s been one constant in her life, the putt putt course that was started by her family. “It was started by my dad and his brothers,” said Margaret. “My dad, Glenn Dismukes, two brothers, Jack and Clifford Dismukes, opened operations here in 1948. At the time, it was called Varsity Links. Didn’t look like it does today. Didn’t have all the sculptures, but it was a simple golf course. And over the years, it evolved.”
With the city exploding around it, Peter Pan Mini-Golf gives folks the old school Austin feel. It’s quirky, weird, and a staple that doesn’t change. “There’s an emotional part of ‘This is old Austin,’” said Margaret. “This is the old Keep Austin Weird right here. And people that have been around any length of time, this is what they connect with old Austin. And they’re desperately wanting us not to become another cookie cutter city where everything gets raised and we just build condo buildings, but to keep these things that make it special. By and large, 99% of the comments are, ‘Don’t ever change. Keep it, keep it, keep it.’ So that’s our desire, to keep that for… It’s part of the culture of Austin.”
There aren’t any neon lights, loud music, or animatronic animals blocking your ball from making it in the hole. This is a simple course with a few fun figures that have stood the test of time. “We do have Peter Pan. We do have a couple of pirates,” explained Margaret. “We have Captain Hook and we have Tinkerbell, but then we have a whole bunch of other stuff that’s very eclectic and doesn’t have anything to do with Peter Pan. It was just whatever struck his fancy.”
You see, it was Margaret’s Dad, Glenn, who made all these crazy characters. Each and every one was handcrafted by Glenn over the 60’s and 70’s, and each of them found a place to perch on the hill at Peter Pan Mini-Golf. “My dad is the original artist,” said Margaret. “He did it just as a hobby. Wasn’t his primary occupation, but out in the backyard and in our garage, he was always carving and making new things. He created the Peter Pan, the T-Rex, a whole bunch of the original characters all scattered throughout the golf course, most of them just modeled after a ceramic piggy bank, or Peter Pan was modeled after the Jolly Green Giant on the green bean can. And T-Rex was just… He loved dinosaurs. He had a thing about dinosaurs, so he created the T-Rex. So it’s very eclectic, and we do have an artist now that keeps things painted and maintained.”
While the characters might have a fresh new paint job that’s a funky reimagining on the outside, the spirit of these statues hasn’t changed, and neither has their positions on the putt putt course. That’s especially important for two pieces in particular. “That is the most iconic image that you see all over,” said Margaret. “It’s been used on souvenirs in Austin-centric shops. So that is the most iconic shot, and that’s probably the most sentimental to me, is just standing below and looking up and seeing Peter Pan with the T-Rex towering over.”
With nearly 80 years of history on this hill, the fate of Peter Pan Mini-Golf is the true hazard on this golf course, considering they still have to lease out the land on which the 36 holes sit. “The gentleman that owned the land back in the ’50s, when he died, he left it,” said Margaret. “He didn’t have heirs, and he left it to be used for the benefit of the orphans of Texas. It went into a trust that went to the Texas Youth Commission that has now become the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. So all the monies raised off this property and others that are in the trust all go towards youth programs. We have every confidence that we’ll be able to work with the Juvenile Justice Department and sign another long-term lease like we have in the past.”
So, folks keep putting away and pulling for Peter Pan Mini-Golf to continue its iconic run in Austin. “Well, this is old school mini-golf,” said Margaret. “The people of Austin are really desperate to keep not just ours, but other older businesses like ours. People don’t want Austin to just look like another rubber stamp city, but these are the things that made Austin unique.”