Pitch and Putt, in one form or another, has been around since the early 1900’s.  It flourished briefly in England and parts of the United States, almost disappeared and then emerged in Ireland late in the 1930’s.  Today it is expanding rapidly in Europe and has spread to Australia and South America.

With the golf boom in the United States around 1910, several resorts added smaller or shorter golf courses to attract vacationers.  Around this same time wealthy land owners started building Pitch and Putt courses on their estates, on the west coast (particularly Hollywood) and a few in Florida.  With regular golf becoming more organized and developed these smaller courses were looked upon as a fad and slowly faded from existence. 

In England, during the 1920’s, Pitch and Putt or miniature golf courses were a feature of several English country estates and seaside resorts.  The game never flourished as an organized sport there but is still popular in public parks or on seaside resorts.

Sustained development began in Ireland in 1937. The credit is given to Mr. W.A. Collins, at the time Manager of the National Bank in Cork. Fountainstown is a small village on the shores of Cork Harbour, about ten miles from the city and was a popular holiday destination. Fountainstown Sports Club in the 1930's had facilities for several sports, including an 18 Hole Putting Green.  The  large number of members constantly using the putting green suggested possibilities to Collins and within a year a nine hole Pitch and Putt course had been built.

The advent of World War II in 1939 meant, inevitably, travel restrictions and rationing. With heavy military demands on steel and rubber, golf clubs and golf balls were in short supply during and after the war. In this climate, the short game flourished.  Hundreds of people of all ages enjoyed Pitch and Putt at Fountainstown and it quickly spread to Cork city, where courses were built in tennis clubs (Altona), a factory grounds (Millfield), an enthusiast's (P.J. Bell) back garden (Woodvale) and in an Army Barracks Sportsground (Collins).  

The Beginning In the early 1940s, the Irish Tourist Association sent representatives on a tour of inspection of the Cork courses with a view to developing the sport at seaside and other resorts (which they quickly did at Tramore and Killarney).  Politicians spoke glowingly of the sport's potential, owing to the small amount of land necessary for a course and that the game was in reach of the average citizen's pocket.  

In December 1944 the Irish Amateur Pitch and Putt Union was founded under the Presidency of W.A. Collins.  The union's Headquarters were in Cork. A Constitution was drawn up and rules were drafted with arrangements made to run competitions.  The foundation laid was sound - the Constitution and rules are substantially the same today. Two of the Cups which were presented to the fledgling Union - the Day Cup (for the Pitch and Putt Championship of Ireland) and the Elvery Cup (for the ladies Pitch and Putt Championship of Ireland) are still played for today in the modern-day P.P.U.I.  Men's' and Ladies' Championships of Ireland were played in 1946. The founders of the game were looking to the future even if they only had a few clubs at present.

The game continued to grow and in 1960 the Pitch and Putt Union of Ireland  (PPUI) was formed.   The office of the PPUI was set-up during the '60s  to continue to develop the sport and today there are more than 125 affiliated clubs in 10 counties and over 12,000 official members.  The PPUI hosts championships and competitions at National and Provincial level with each County Board organizing championships in their respective areas.

PPUI has promoted international development for many years and made efforts to contact courses and individuals in the United Kingdom and elsewhere with a view to achieving an world-wide organization.  In 1989, Sean Lynch and Ron Wilson, who founded Pitch and Putt in Australia, made contact with the PPUI which resulted in the first Ireland Vs Australia international at Cement in 1993.  Further international challenges followed at Fermoy in 1994 and at Royal Meath in 1995. The historic first-ever international on Australian soil took place in October 1996.

In 2000 the European Pitch and Putt Association (EPPA) and the first Board was elected with Mervyn Cooney (St Patrick's) elected the first President.  In addition to the organization of a European Championship, the founding countries of EPPA are committed to the promotion the sport of amateur pitch and putt throughout the continent of Europe.

In March of 2006 the Federation of International Pitch and Putt Associations (FIPPA) was formed to be the governing body of the sport of Pitch and Putt.  Representatives from 17 Pitch and Putt areas around the world signed their agreement to a Constitution empowering the creation of a global body for the sport.   A Board of seven members was elected to work along with a Secretariat and the future of Pitch and Putt was given a sturdy bedrock upon which to build.

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