Tucked away off of Exit 62, a puppeteer sits outside of his business chatting with a customer from the clothes outlet next door.
Dance music thumps from inside, punctuated by the dinging and roaring of arcade games lining the side wall around an 18-hole mini-golf course.
George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt look over the American-themed course from their place on the miniature Mount Rushmore. Themed holes play off of landmarks such as the Washington Monument, the Gateway Arch and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Owner and puppeteer Doug Long purchased Scutter Putters, previously USA Mini Golf, June 1 of last year.
Since then, the business has seen new purple and glow-in-the-dark paint, a re-vamped party room and a wall of arcade games. These additions are only a piece of Long's vision since deciding he wanted to take a break from the traveling life of a puppeteer performer.
Long is a self-taught puppeteer and ventriloquist. He worked at Disney World on the Lion King puppet show and with the Henson Company in New York. He toured the states east of the Mississippi River with the Granpa Cratchet Puppet Company for three years.
In 2006, Long started his own puppet show starring Rowdy Rooster. Long and Rowdy travel with fairs performing shows, but the Opelika native was ready for a change.
"I just got tired of the travel, pulling the trailer up and down the road," Long said. "I figured I would like to stay home, but still wanted to stay in kid-related entertainment. That's when I found this place."
Learning that the previous owner was looking to sell, Long saw the potential.
"Back when I walked in here, I envisioned what it could be for kids all the way up to college-age and adults," Long said.
Scutter Putters is the only completely indoor golf course in Alabama, according to Long. It has drawn not only locals to the store, but also families from Montgomery, Columbus, G.A. and Ft. Benning, G.A.
Currently, Long is trying to break away from people's impressions of the golf course before he became the owner.
"We've been really trying to reach the students [in Auburn]," Long said. "Because if you're not in the party scene or club scene, you're looking for somewhere to go besides that. Several students who have found that I'm out here come out Friday and Saturday nights."
Friday and Saturday nights are black-light nights at Scutter Putters. Glow-in-the-dark balls and holes are used to light the course, and a mirror ball, fog machine and laser lights add to the atmosphere.
Jacob Clemmensen, junior in bio-systems engineering, said he did not know about Scutter Putters.
"If I was looking for something else to do in Auburn," Clemmensen said. "I would definitely consider going there."
Long said the biggest struggle that he has faced was getting the name out there, but that he is looking forward to the potential the business has.
"I saw the potential right when I walked in," Long said. "That is what I started working toward, the potential for what this place could be for the community, for all of Lee County. There's a lot of people in Lee County that don't even know it is here."
Golf costs $7 for one round, or $10 for unlimited. Long also offers a $2 student discount with a student ID.
Long has not stopped his career as a puppeteer throughout the process of making a new business. He will be doing more shows with Rowdy Rooster in fall, and is working on another show with a new character, Agnes Fitzgerald, who is a former performer from Las Vegas.
Eventually, Long said he believes the building could house both of his businesses.
"It's not unfeasible to make a little theater in the back," Long said. "Looking down the road, if I had to put it all together, I would have a puppet theater in the back where you could bring kids in on Saturday, then do a college or older themed show Saturday night."
The 18-hole tour of America started as a dream, one of many Long has.
"You know, dreaming doesn't cost anything," Long said. "I don't really look at myself as the entrepreneur. I just look at myself as a person who loves doing what I do. Entrepreneurs are the people with those big offices. I'm just a little person from here that just has dreams and always had dreams."
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