A
n old-fashioned and beloved miniature golf
center has found new life in the hands of a
local family.
When Joe Vivirito and family heard that
Mars-Bethel Golf might permanently close after
more than 50 years in business, the Middlesex
Township natives knew they couldn’t let that
happen. They banded together, determined to
resurrect the treasured business.
Vivirito, who is an artist by trade, took over
the operations of the golf center along with his
sister, Debbie Bartley. However, four generations
of Vivirito’s family members help to run the
center.
“We all remember coming here as kids,” says
Vivirito, 45. “Everyone loved it and we would
hate to lose it. We wanted to revive it.”
The course opened in 1950 after Gertrude
Naser took ownership of a nine-hole pitch-and-
putt course in Bethel Park—more than 30 miles
from its current location. In 1964, Naser and
family moved to Mars, purchasing 28 acres of
woodlands along Route 228. Despite the move,
the family decided to keep “Bethel” in the name
for recognition. Naser’s daughter, Mary Hooten,
eventually took over the business and ran it for
several decades. (Hooten’s family still owns the
property, but the Vivirito family controls the golf
center’s operations.)
Vivirito notes that the transition happened
quite quickly. His family heard in February that
the course would close; by early March, they
had become its formal management team. Since
then, the family has been working seven days a
week to make upgrades and improvements.
“It’s been crazy and a lot of work, but we all
jumped in and decided to do it. When I say my
whole family is helping out, I mean my whole
family,” he says with a laugh. This includes not
only his father and his own children, but also his
siblings and their children as well.
So far, the family has upgraded the clubhouse
to include a dining area featuring café-style
seating and hot foods like hamburgers, fries and
nachos. They’ve also added a birthday party
room–aptly dubbed the Par-Tee room—that can
host up to 18 children at a time.
“When people come in and see what we’ve
done, their jaws drop,” adds Vivirito. “It’s
exciting.”
Outside, they’ve begun what Vivirito calls a
“gentle facelift.” They’re upgrading the statues
and figurines that adorn each hole on the mini
golf course, and have cleaned and restored the
brick and wood and installed new bright-green
carpet on every hole. Vivirito’s mother-in-law
sewed a new tie for the gorilla and a giant tutu
for the elephant, and Bartley hand-painted
several of the figures, including Humpty-
Dumpty, the elephant, parrot and giraffe. To
maintain the center’s quaint, old-fashioned vibe,
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Mars Area | Fall 2017 | icmags.com 19