GLOWCOUNTRY INDOOR MINI GOLF

Brings Family Fun to Beaufort

story by KAREN SNYDER             photos by CHARLOTTE BERKELEY

With a dream of finding property, building a home, and owning their own business, the Wilsons packed up their RV in 2017 and headed to Beaufort to make their family’s dreams a reality. For those who have visited Glowcountry Indoor Mini Golf along the Spanish Moss Trail at 46 Robert Smalls Parkway, it’s clear that Kendell and Anthony’s vision to bring family fun to Beaufort is on its way.

Glowcountry Indoor Mini Golf adds a fun twist to the much-beloved game of miniature golf. Visitors play the 18-hole course in the dark with black-light illumination and a neon glow that gives this Beaufort destination its namesake.

Kendell Wilson says that after a year of research and looking for just the right property to live, she and her husband chose Beaufort as their home. “Just like everyone else, once we came here, we instantly fell in love,” she explains. “Who doesn’t?”

But beyond the couple’s desire to build a family home, their goal was to establish a Beaufort-based business to offer much-needed family entertainment in the community. “We get thanked all the time by people for opening our business here. It never gets old to hear,” she says. “Everyone’s been so welcoming to us.”

Kendell says they decided on a mini-golf business because it was a favorite pastime of her own family. With two sons, now ages 11 and 13, she explains that it was a “bit of a family passion. We always played mini golf together any chance we could,” adding that it’s a game anyone can play from the youngest toddler to senior citizens who often visit their course.

Though the Wilsons had a two-part dream of building a home and a business, “Our business is our number one priority,” says Kendell. Living in an RV on their property for close to three years while searching for the perfect location for their business, they knew they found it when they came across a warehouse that once housed a furniture and flooring store.

According to Kendell, “There were several businesses interested in the site, and we feel so fortunate that our business was selected to lease the facility. The owner, Lisa Wandrick, is so special to us. She’s like family.” After hearing their plans to start an entertainment-based business in the warehouse, Lisa was not only the landlord but played an active role in helping the Wilsons get started.

“We shared Lisa’s goal of wanting to bring something cool for families to Beaufort,” says Kendell. “I think Lisa appreciated our shared goals and wanted us to be there,” adding that Lisa even left them items in the industrial-style warehouse for them to use for their business.

“Lisa had a beautiful antique counter inside that she’s let us use for our snack shop. We so appreciate everything she’s done to help us establish our business.”

That generosity came very much into play when the Wilson’s launch of their new business came to an abrupt halt upon COVID-19’s arrival in mid-March. Having made many sacrifices to self-fund their business (one of which was to delay building their home), the Wilsons suddenly found their investment at risk just three months after opening.

“Once again, Lisa came to our rescue. We had to shut our doors and suddenly had no revenue coming come in, and Lisa forgave our rent during that time.”

“It’s been scary,” says Kendell, readily admitting the business is still struggling to get on its feet. “We’ve had to live off of the money that we had set aside for taxes and expenses.” Having lived in their RV for several years, the Wilsons had finally rented a house for their family, having delayed building a home. But now, they will be moving back into their RV due to the financial hardships the business challenges have caused.

“We wanted to keep our customers safe when COVID-19 came, so we were willing to do whatever was necessary. We followed the shutdown requirements and the mask mandates, but business has really slowed.” In fact, Kendell states, “Business is down by more than half since reopening again in mid-May.”

Facing much uncertainty about their business and their future, Kendell posted a message on Glowcountry’s Facebook page in October, transparently and passionately explaining a possible end to their business dream.

“That post was organically shared by our followers some 30,000 times! We were so grateful for everyone’s support. It helped spread the word that we need the community’s help and support. We want to welcome everyone back to Glowcountry!”

To do that, however, the Wilsons found themselves once again making additional investment in their business to ensure everyone’s safety. Anthony Wilson, who works in HVAC for Beaufort County, installed a special UV light system and HVAC units that sanitize the air inside the facility. Though they’ve always sanitized clubs and golf balls between every customer’s use, Glowcountry has made other safety additions, such as a new register to minimize touching, new plastic clipboards for scorecards that are easily cleaned, and plexiglass installed at the customer counter.

According to Kendell, capacity limitations haven’t been an issue at Glowcountry since mini golf is already a “socially distanced” activity with only individuals or small groups playing through the course at a safe distance.

“We have had to stop our birthday celebrations for now but still host private parties before the business opens on Saturdays and Sundays. And, we’ve continued to offer our great prize raffle for those who make the last hole challenge,” explaining that patrons who qualify have a chance to win prizes such as Xboxes, Nintendo Switch, iPads, and more.

According to Kendell, “We have even more plans to expand our business and passion for family entertainment beyond just the mini golf in Beaufort. We want to be here in Beaufort for many years to come!

We’ve taken every precaution to keep our customers safe and hope that they’ll come out and enjoy some family entertainment away from all the video games and devices at home. Now more than ever, family’s need a mental health break! We hope they’ll turn off the news, turn off their phones, and just come have fun and make memories.”