It’s tee time for the first glow-in-the-dark mini-golf course in Tri-Cities

Wendy Culverwell
·3 min read

Let’s Glow Mini Golf, the brainchild of a Kennewick mom looking for activities for her youngish sons, opens Oct. 4 in the heart of the Tri-Cities.

Let’s Glow is an 18-hole, indoor, tropical safari-themed destination at 731 N. Columbia Center Blvd. near the newly opened Natural Grocers.

It is open 2-9 p.m. on Wednesday, its first day.

Let’s Glow is led by Brittney Hallman, who was inspired to create Let’s Glow because she wants more family-friendly activities for her sons, 13 and almost 7.

The 5,000-square-foot course includes a small video game arcade and a party room that can be rented for birthdays, team-building exercises and other events.

The entire course, from picnic tables to putters and golf balls, glows under black lights.

Score cards and bright colored golf ball sit on the counter of Let’s Glow Mini Golf.
Score cards and bright colored golf ball sit on the counter of Let’s Glow Mini Golf.

Inspired in Arizona

Hallman said she always found it a challenge to find suitable activities for her kids. When the family visited an indoor glow-in-the-dark mini-golf course during an Arizona vacation, she was wowed.

“We need this in the Tri-Cities,” she thought.

Owner Brittney Hallman stands inside the spatter tunnel of Let’s Glow Mini Golf, an 18-hole, tropical safari-themed venue.
Owner Brittney Hallman stands inside the spatter tunnel of Let’s Glow Mini Golf, an 18-hole, tropical safari-themed venue.

Hallman, who had not previously started a business, returned home and created a business plan.

The plan sat for about a year before she began scouting potential sites. She needed 4,000 to 6,000 square feet.

It didn’t take long to find what she wanted — a former thrift shop in the elbow of a shopping center with well-known neighbors, including Planet Fitness, Max Air Trampoline Park, Dutch Bros Coffee, HoneyBaked Ham and others.

She got the keys on June 4.

Black lights and neon paint create a colorful glow inside the dark Let’s Glow Mini Golf in Kennewick.
Black lights and neon paint create a colorful glow inside the dark Let’s Glow Mini Golf in Kennewick.

Golf Universe tie

In a coincidental bit of timing, that’s the day she learned Golf Universe was preparing to move from its West Clearwater Avenue quarters, leaving the future of its own two outdoor mini-golf courses uncertain.

Those mini-courses will stay open through the end of the year. Lionel Kunka, manager of Golf Universe and a friend of the Hallman family, welcomed Let’s Glow to the community, calling it a strong addition.

“I’m really happy that another mini-golf course is coming to the Tri-Cities,” he said.

Let’s Glow Mini Golf is an 18-hole, tropical safari-themed destination at 731 N. Columbia Center Blvd., No 114, south of Columbia Center mall in Kennewick. The 5,000-square-foot mini golf course includes a video arcade and a party room for birthdays, team building exercises and other events.
Let’s Glow Mini Golf is an 18-hole, tropical safari-themed destination at 731 N. Columbia Center Blvd., No 114, south of Columbia Center mall in Kennewick. The 5,000-square-foot mini golf course includes a video arcade and a party room for birthdays, team building exercises and other events.

Transformation

Hallman spent four months transforming the old thrift shop into a mini-golf business, aided by her boyfriend, Matt Magan, her children, her dad and other relatives.

The crew painted walls and ceiling black to serve as a backdrop for the decor, which glows under black lights. They refinished the concrete floor with an epoxy surface embedded with reflective flakes.

Magan painted the elephant that greets visitors and the palm trees in the event room. Another relative painted a monkey, continuing the tropical/safari theme. A lion is expected to join them.

Hallman, her sister, the boys and their friends painted the “spatter” tunnel, flicking glowing paint on the dark walls Jackson Pollock-style.

“We’ve got some artists in the family,” she said.

Brittney Hallman, her sons and their friends spray paint in the splatter tunnel in Let’s Glow Mini Golf in Kennewick.
Brittney Hallman, her sons and their friends spray paint in the splatter tunnel in Let’s Glow Mini Golf in Kennewick.

If you go

She casts Let’s Glow Mini Golf as an affordable destination for families looking for indoor activities, particularly as the weather cools.

Admission, which includes 18 holes of mini-golf, a putter and ball, is $13.95 for adults and $8.95 for children ages 4-8. Children 3 and under are free.

The 5,000-square-foot mini golf course includes a video arcade and a party room for birthdays, team building exercises and other events.
The 5,000-square-foot mini golf course includes a video arcade and a party room for birthdays, team building exercises and other events.

Let’s Glow offers party packages for its Par-Tee room, which can accommodate about 30 people. It rents in two-hour blocks and includes mini-golfing and wristbands.

Let’s Glow sells soda, snacks and Dippin’ Dots but is not a food venue. Groups are welcome to bring food and non-alcoholic beverages.

Hours are 2-9 p.m., Monday-Thursday, 2-10 p.m., Friday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Saturday, and 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday. It is closed on major holidays.

A full website is forthcoming. In the interim, follow Let’s Glow on Facebook.

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