DEFUNCT: Goony Golf (Championship Course) – Spring Lake Park, MN

Played many times over the last 3 years

Review by Mr. Tee

I remember visiting Goony Golf in the 1980s not only for the mini golf but for water slides. Outdoor water parks (family aquatic centers) were a hot attraction during that era and for a period of time they took up the real estate that is now the Championship Course at Goony Golf. If you want a sense of what it looked like (or at least as far as my memory serves me), watch the date scene from the first Karate Kid. As large destination water parks grew in number and small water parks became more common in community centers and hotels, water slides were removed from family entertainment centers. Fortunately, Goony Golf used the terrain to add yet another option to their already strong mini golf complex. Unlike the brightly colored and kitschy north and south courses, the Championship course looks and feels like a more traditional miniature version of the game of golf.

Rating:

Hole-in-One -The course uses a fairly generic looking cement waterway of bright blue water that flows from a very modern looking water fall. Dull looking rocks, bushes and small trees are used in the landscaping design and layout. You’re thinking how in the world did this course end up getting a hole-in-one but stick with me.

While our mini golf bias leans towards kitsch, we do enjoy the game as a whole and are quite competitive in our regular outings. Goony Golf’s Championship course puts both of our putting skills to the test. In our adventures I usually pit myself against the Pink Putter for the lowest score. Narrow playing surfaces, sloped terrains and creative hole placement make staying under the six strokes per hole limit a feat in itself. The major battle one faces is against the course par. While frustrating play is a regular complaint of ours in reviews, the intentionality of challenge built in to this course is clear. The playfulness of the design is only appreciated after you finish. I find the challenge of the course keeps me coming back. Easily the most difficult course we’ve played to date and a nice change of pace from Goony Golf’s other top notch offerings.

Update: Goony Golf was permanently closed in July of 2017 and the land has been repurposed for senior living facilities.