Mini Golf Tips: How to Get Better and Win
To get better at mini golf, control your speed before anything else: a ball that rolls up gently drops in, a fast one hops over the cup. Use the walls for bank shots (the ball leaves a wall at the same angle it hits it), read slopes before you putt, time windmills and moving obstacles, and play safe away from water. Two putts beat a splash every time.
1. Speed first, then aim
Most strokes are lost to speed, not direction. A cup only catches a ball that's rolling slowly, and the slower it rolls the more of the cup it can use: a gentle putt that's slightly off line can still curl in, while a fast one that's dead centre can jump the hole and run on.
Aim to have the ball finish about a ball's length or two past the cup if it misses. Then even the miss leaves an easy tap-in. This is called lagging the putt, and it's how good players avoid three-putts.
2. Bank it off the walls
When the cup is round a corner, don't try to squeeze past it. Use a wall like a mirror: the ball comes off at the same angle it goes in. Pick a spot on the wall that's halfway between you and the cup (in a mirror sense), aim there and let the wall do the turning.
Banks lose a little speed at every bounce, so a two-wall bank needs noticeably more power than a straight putt of the same length.
3. Read the slope before you putt
Ramps and hills push the ball downhill the whole time it's on them. Putting uphill needs more power than you'd think, and the ball rolls back if you're short. Putting downhill needs far less. When a slope runs across your line, aim on the high side and let the slope bring the ball down to the cup.
In GameLake the arrows painted on a slope show which way it pushes, and they drift slowly downhill.
4. Time windmills and moving obstacles
Windmill blades and moving logs bounce the ball back if they're in the way when it arrives. Don't putt the moment you're ready: watch the obstacle go round once, count the rhythm, and putt so the ball reaches the gap just after a blade or the log has passed. Remember the ball takes a moment to get there.
5. Play safe near water
Water costs you the putt and a penalty stroke, and you play again from the same spot. When the line to the cup runs along an open edge, it's usually better to putt to the safe middle of the green and take two than to gamble on one. Save the bold shots for holes with walls around them.
Narrow docks and stone bridges are about aim, so take a moment to line the arrow up straight. Bumpers, on the other hand, kick the ball away hard: don't putt near them unless you mean to use them.
6. Sand: go around, or hit firmer
Sand stops a ball very quickly. Putting through it rarely works, so look for a line around it, often a bank off a side wall. If you do end up in the sand, hit noticeably harder than usual to get out.
7. Setting up a hole in one
- Pick your holes. Aces are realistic on short holes with a clear line or a single bank. On long holes with water, play for par.
- Find the line first, then judge the power. Imagine the ball stopping a little past the cup.
- Use the back wall. On holes with a wall just behind the cup, a ball that's slightly too fast can come back off it and still drop.
- Repeat what worked. On a course you play again (like GameLake's Easy, Medium and Hard), remember the putt that went in last time.
8. Practise with Teach me
In GameLake's Mini Golf, press Teach me and Hop the frog tries hundreds of putts with the real game physics, keeps the ones that still work if your hand shakes a little, and draws the best line and power on the course. He also says why: "Bank it off the left wall, so it rolls back toward the cup. That line rolls past the log." Tap Putt to play it (on holes with logs or windmills Hop waits for the moment he planned for) and watch what happens, then try the next one yourself. A round with Teach me counts as practice, so it stays off your best score and the leaderboard.
Start on Easy, where a dotted line shows where each putt starts rolling, then move up to Medium and Hard, and try the Daily course to compare your score with everyone else's. New to the game? Start with how to play mini golf.
Frequently asked questions
What is the secret to mini golf?
Speed control. A ball rolling slowly drops in even if it's slightly off line, while a fast one jumps the cup. Aim to finish just past the hole, and use the walls for bank shots.
How do you hit a bank shot in mini golf?
Treat the wall like a mirror: the ball leaves at the same angle it hits. Aim at the point on the wall that bounces the ball toward the cup, and add a little power for each bounce.
How do you get a hole in one in mini golf?
Choose short holes with a clear line or one easy bank, find the line first, then putt just hard enough to stop a little past the cup. A wall right behind the cup can catch a ball that's slightly too fast.
How do you get past the windmill?
Watch the blades go round once, then putt so the ball reaches the gap just after a blade passes. On GameLake a blade only knocks the ball back, with no penalty.
Should you hit the ball hard in mini golf?
Usually not. Firm putts are useful uphill, out of sand or for long banks, but a ball that's too fast skips over the cup and can run into water.