As early as the 1920s, facilities with paved lanes were being built in Great Britain and the USA as a smaller variant of golf courses. They were mostly created in the immediate vicinity of golf greens for practice purposes, but soon spread to Europe as a family sport. In order to be able to hold competitions in this skill sport, there were early attempts to standardize the facilities. But only the Swiss Paul Bongni was able to assert himself in the long term with his system, which he patented in 1951 under the brand name "Minigolf".

 

On March 19, 1954, the first system based on the Bongni system went into operation in Ascona, after the municipality had already issued the building permit on November 27, 1953. In the early years, the new sport was still unknown, so business in Ascona did not get off to the desired start, despite the founding of the Minigolf Club Ascona in 1955. Therefore, after a few years, the plant was sold to the owner of the land, Filippo Tonascia. It is still family-owned today. The layout of the 18 lanes is still the same as it was back then. Only the numerous palm and deciduous trees have grown and give visitors pleasant shade even in summer.

 

In the meantime, the Bongni system has also established itself internationally. As early as 1955, the Minigolf Club Ascona won the championship title at the first Swiss team championships. Since 1959 minigolf European championships and since 1991 world championships have been held on standardized courses. The first world champion was Miranda Graf, a granddaughter of Filippo Tonascia.

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Here you can find the Minigolf Club Ascona: https://www.facebook.com/groups/170508563092186/