Course is closed *Last Update 9/5/16*
Perils of the Lost Jungle Return
to Virginia page
(at Woody’s Driving Range)
11801 Leesburg Pike
Herndon, VA 20170-2106
(703)430-8337
Price: $9.50
Par: 41 Other
Activities: Driving Range
2003 Ratings 2009 & 2015 Ratings
Difficulty: 7 Difficulty: 5
Creativity: 6 Creativity: 6
Atmosphere: 11 (Our tribute to Spinal Tap) Atmosphere: 11 (Our tribute to Spinal Tap)
2003 Rating
Hands down, no questions asked, one of the best (if not the very best) miniature golf courses we’ve ever played. That’s it, we’ve made the statement and we’re sticking to it. This course was like walking into a miniature golf version of the Jungle Cruise at Disney World, that’s how much effort went into making this course. Each and every hole has something to keep you interested and something that keeps with the theme. There’s skeletons stuck in quicksand, totem heads in the waterfall, talking tiki gods, snakes (why’d it have to be snakes?), crazy monkeys, a witch doctor, and an alligator with a surprise. There’s so much more that to even list all the little things they did to make this course great would take up pages (for example: watch for the “spider webs”, the crazy fog machine and the animal trapped in a shipping crate). Did we mention that you can actually play mini-golf too? We ended up playing the course twice in two days because we were so enthralled with all the props that the mini-golf got lost the first time around (and it’s a lot cooler to play the course at night as we found out). The holes themselves are pretty creative and a lot of them are a bit longer, creating some extra difficulty. Most of the holes are makable in one or two, which means that the par is online with the difficulty.
The only two knocks we have against the course is a) it’s expensive, but you get your money’s worth and b) the tee mats are beat up a bit. When you work it out through that’s one negative point stacked up against 200 positive points. There’s only so much words can describe, so I urge you to talk a look at the pictures on the course’s website and what we have posted here as well.
Reviewed by: Pat, Mandy, Scott and Putt
Reviewed in 2003
2009 Rating
Back in 2003 The Putting Penguin reviewed Perils of the Lost Jungle and deemed it one of the best courses we have ever played. In 2009 this course maintains its position at the top of our list! This course is like an amusement park. There are animatronic animals, props galore, and even frogs that spit water. Many of the features have remained the same since 2003 with only slight changes. Since we last reviewed this course the most notable addition is the Tarzan who swings overhead across the course. There is music played throughout the course. The most recognizable is the Indiana Jones theme.
The course is designed in such a fashion that you can’t really see what is coming up on the next hole until you get to it. There are constant surprises. It’s not a bad thing if there’s a wait to play the next hole so you have time to look at everything. Even on a busy day there is no such thing as a tedious wait.
This course is worth the price and the drive, and is convenient to anywhere in Northern Virginia. The course is well maintained, and the staff is friendly. It’s also well shaded for the hot summer days. For the sake of adventure and discovery we’ll leave out the details, and we encourage you to experience it for yourselves!
Reviewed by: Mandy, Krystal & Dale
Reviewed in 2009
2015 Ratings
This year it was announced that Woody’s Driving Range and Perils of the Lost Jungle will be closing due to the disruptive nature of some nearby construction and we had to play the course one last time. Putt even came out of retirement – he normally just plays in tournaments now – for a final round. The article noted that the owner does plan to open a new miniature golf nearby and for everyone’s sake we hope he does. Playing this course 12 years after we first stopped by, we were able to reaffirm our statement that this is the best experience we’ve ever had on a miniature golf course. As noted a couple of times above, it is a fully immersive experience. When you drive into Woody’s all you notices is that a full bamboo jungle was built on the left-hand side of the road – you can’t see one bit of the miniature golf. Entering the course has the same line experience as you might find as Disneyworld, complete with a guide to send you on your way. Many of the core features of the course remain year after year but there continues to be subtle changes and additions over the years. It’s amazing that with all the items we mentioned above we left out such items as the putt-through temple with the movable door and the amazing descriptions that each hole sign includes to add to the theme of the hole. By the end of the round you really do feel like as if you’ve made a trip through the jungle all within a short drive of Washington, D.C. We hope many people get the opportunity to play this course before it closes and would really love to see any new ventures the owners embark on because we’re sure it will be more of the same! We can only hope to see the course that will knock Perils of the Lost Jungle off of the #1 spot on our course rankings!
Reviewed by: Pat, Liz and Putt
Reviewed in 2015
Course Pictures 2003 (click to enlarge)
Course Pictures 2009
Course Pictures 2015
Map
Price: $9.75
Par: 41 Other
Activities: Driving Range
Difficulty: 5
Creativity: 3
Atmosphere: 10
Overall
I did not care for my experience at this course nor do I think the $9.75 for
the course is warranted.
This course looked great and was well kept. It had tons of eye candy to
look at AROUND the holes which caused the kids in front of us to be 100x more
interested in that then actually playing mini golf. All atmosphere
and very little course design or interest.
Most holes were PAR 2's which usually means straight putts are all that was
required. No moving obstacles on the course to avoid, a few bumps or
banks but nothing that made it very challenging. If you play here you
are 100% paying for the extras and not the actual course.
Overall it is a nice course with a few decent holes, amazing atmosphere, with
long lines and high prices. No interest to ever go back.
Reviewed by: Jim F
Reviewed in 2011