Caddyshack mixed with mini golf was my theme for this years costume. This took me a few weeks to complete working on it when I could usually late nights in the garage. I used many different tools to complete this project and there are a million ways to do something like this. Be safe have fun and put your own spin on it, Hope you enjoy!

Materials Used

1. 1 4x8 sheet of 1/2inch plywood

2. 7 8ft long 2x4 economy studs

3. 4 caster wheels

4. Downspout drain pipe or something similar to make the ball return

5. Various scrap pieces of foam to create the bank

6. A small motor that runs on 12 volt battery to run the windmill

7. Reostat to slow down the motor speed

8. Milk jug for the ball bucket

9. Indoor outdoor carpet

10. Dancing gopher

11. Screws, glue, staples

12. Accrylic Paint for the signs

13. Various plywood pieces to build windmill and signs

14. Construction adhesive

15. Staples, Screws, Nails

16. Wire, wiring adapters etc

17. 12 volt battery

Step 1: Building Frame and Deck

I traced out a shape I liked onto my plywood and cut it out with a jigsaw that will be my putting green. There isn’t a right or wrong here I looked up mini golf course images on google and went from there. This can be as big or small as you want depending on what you plan to put on the "green" and where you will will be wearing it. Next I made a frame out of 2x4s to attach the deck to. The size of the frame will depend on the size of your deck but I would make it as wide as possible without sticking out past the deck. My frame is 2.5ft wide x 6ft long. You will need to decide on how tall to make your deck because you will be drilling holes in the top for your feet to slide through so you appear dwarf size. I knew my casters were 5 inches tall and I wanted it approx 20 inches from the floor to the top of the deck. Everyone’s height is different so I would suggest sitting on a folding chair and measuring from the floor to the bend at the back of your knee. That should give you about the right height for walking and sitting when in the costume. Once the frame was built I attached 4 caster wheels to each corner using bolts and the attached the deck to it using screws. I used like 6 screws down through the deck into the frame it’s not holding much weight so no need to go overboard.

Step 2: Foot Holes

Once I had the deck attached it was time to figure out the location of my foot holes. I just eyeballed where I thought the ball hole would go and where obstacles would go. I also made sure I was far enough in that I would have deck behind me to sit on. Once I had everything marked I stood on the deck and lined up how my feet should be angled and traced them with a marker. Then I cut holes out with jig saw. Go slow take your time and cut smaller first. You can always make them bigger later if need be. I used a beer box to mock up a windmill for size, small container for the cup hole and a stuffed gopher. I also started shaping a bank on the end closest to the ball cup using pink foam.

Step 3: Ball Return

I needed a way to get the ball back after I hit it into the hole. Solution was old downspout pipe ran under the deck at a slight angle to just behind where I am sitting. An old milk jug screwed to the frame catches the balls and is easy access for me to grab while being hidden. I used screws into the pipe but anything that holds it up in place will work. Simple as it gets.

Step 4: Sign

Every golf hole has a sign at it and this can have anything you want on it make it your own. I made mine out of some old plywood I found in the trash. I used the Bushwood Country Club crest because that was in the movie Caddyshack. I printed the crest traced it out and painted it with acrylic paint from Hobby Lobby. The back of the sign I carved and wrote on to look like people had been marking it up over the years. I then just chose a spot that I thought looked good on the back corner of the deck using an old piece of wood and 2x3 under the deck to secure it.

Step 5: Gopher Hole

I got a dancing gopher on Ebay and I waited until he arrived to cut the hole for him. First I made a cardboard template to ensure proper hole size. I chose what i thought was a good location traced the template and cut out the hole using a jigsaw. I decided to have the gopher sticking out about halfway. I made a small shelf for him to stand on using 2x4 wood. Foam bank was shaped using a big rasp.

Step 6: The "grass"

I used indoor outdoor carpet for the putting surface and attached it using construction adhesive and staples. To form it around the curves and get it smooth and tight I cut relief slits every 4-6 inches. The led lights were placed on just to see how they would look I didn't attach them yet. When I cut the foot holes and the gopher hole in the carpet just did X slits and didn't wrap around the hole.

Step 7: Windmill, Wiring, Skirt

The windmill was made from scrap material I had laying around and its kind of just hacked together nothing fancy. I attached a small motor to the top the runs off a 12volt battery. This is also connected to a reostat mounted within my reach to turn on and set the windmill speed. The 12volt battery was taken from a motorcycle and I just mounted it to the frame. I ran my wiring down the inside of the windmill the drilled a small hole in the green and then ran the wires along the wooden frame to the battery and connected with alligator clips when I wanted power. The gopher was activated by a push button near his feet and ran off 4 AA batteries. The activation button would be to far away so I connected a new longer wire from the gopher back to a momentary switch. I'm pretty sure my switch was an old doorbell button but either way it got the job done. The blades of the windmill which I do not have pictured in here are also made of thin plywood. I stuck my hand in it multiple times with no problems the fan isn't moving fast and just stopped so I wasn't worried about hurting anyone. The Skirting to cover the edges was just some cheap plastic table cloth secured with staples and cardboard. An old sheet is a good alternative or cardboard. See next pictures for fully covered sides.

Step 8: Shoes and Clothes

The shoes I found and I used a jigsaw to cut out the sole so they would slide up to my knee. This took a little while I cut some test fit then cut more test fit again etc. Your attire can be anything you choose but I went the more classic golf route. The mustache I got from Amazon and it worked perfectly.

Step 9: Completed Costume

The night of the event I went to I putted around for about 45 minutes to an hour with no problems. Everything worked perfectly and I even managed to make a few putts. Hope you enjoyed my costume, I had a fun time making it!