Golfland Entertainment Centers are a chain of family
amusement centers,
miniature golf courses, and
water parks located in
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
and
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
. The company was founded in 1953.
Locations
*"Milpitas Golfland" in
Milpitas, California
Milpitas (Spanish for or little cornfields) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, part of Silicon Valley and the broader San Francisco Bay Area. Located on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, it is bordered by San Jose, California, S ...
(1199 Jacklin Road, )
*"Camelot Golfland" in
Anaheim, California
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...
(3200 East Carpenter Avenue, )
*"Emerald Hills Golfland" in
San Jose, California
San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...
(976 Blossom Hill Road, )
*"Golden Tee Golfland" in
Castro Valley, California (2533 Castro Valley Boulevard, )
*"Golfland Sunsplash" in
Mesa, Arizona
Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The population was 504,258 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Arizona, third-most populous city in Arizona, after Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, T ...
(155 West Hampton Avenue, )
*"Golfland Sunsplash" in
Roseville, California
Roseville is the most populous city in Placer County, California, located within the Sacramento metropolitan area. As of 2019, the United States Census Bureau, US Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 141,500, making it the third-l ...
(1893 Taylor Road, )
*"Golfland USA" in
Sunnyvale, California (855 East El Camino Real, )
*"
Scandia Golfland" in
Fairfield, California (4300 Central Place, )
Former locations
*
Big Surf —
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...
(sold to Inland Oceans LLC)
*Waterworld —
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
*Stockton Golfland —
Stockton, California
Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is the most populous city in the county, the List of municipal ...
*Southern Hills Golfland —
Stanton, California
*Olathe Golfland —
Olathe, Kansas
Olathe ( ) is the county seat of Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, fourth-most populous city in both the Kansas City metropolitan area and the state of Kansas, with a 2020 Uni ...
History
The Golfland locations in Stanton and Sunnyvale, California were hotbeds for the burgeoning
fighting game community in the 1990s, with many players congregating in Golfland arcade halls to play ''
Street Fighter II''. Golfland USA in Sunnyvale was the location of
Battle by the Bay
B3: Battle by the Bay, the B4 Championships, and the B5 Championships were the first three instances of the open (sport), open fighting game event that is now known as the annual Evolution Championship Series. B3 was created by Tom and Tony Cannon ...
in 1996, the first nationwide fighting game tournament.
Sunsplash water parks
The locations in
Mesa, AZ and
Roseville, CA each have a
water park attached to their FECs called Sunsplash. These parks charge separate admission and operate in the summer.
The park opened in 1983 and the
water park opened in 1986.
In the movie ''
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'', Bill, Ted, and Napoleon visit a fictional waterpark called ''Waterloo'' in
San Dimas, CA. The scenes at Waterloo are a cross between establishing shots at San Dimas Raging Waters and shots with the actors at Golfland Sunsplash.
Notable attractions
The Sunsplash locations in Roseville and Mesa feature
waterslides and other water-based attractions, where most are available at both parks.
* ''Cauldron'' (Mesa), ''Vortex'' (Roseville): A bowl-shaped waterslide that drops riders four stories down into a rotating bowl that drops into a pool at the bottom. The Roseville installation is the first bowl-shaped waterslide in the world.
* ''Double Dare'': a coil-shaped waterslide where riders enter the ride from a
trap door.
* ''Master Blaster'': a water slide that uses pressurized water to propel riders uphill to create a roller coaster experience.
* ''Revolution'': A waterslide that drops riders seven stories toward a bowl, rotating them multiple times
* ''Sidewinder'' (Mesa), ''Stealth'' (Roseville): A waterslide that drops riders five stories onto a cone-shaped
half-pipe that drains into the pool below.
* ''Stormrider'': a large slide that drops riders into a bowl-shaped that rotates toward a drain in the center.
* ''Thunder Bay''
wave pool.
References
External links
*
{{Amusement-park-stub
1953 establishments in California
Miniature golf
Water parks in California