A History of Spring Lake Park Amusement / Sir Goony Golf – Part 2: It Came From Tennessee (or maybe Florida)

August 13, 2018

by Tom Loftus (aka Mr. Tee)

The Sir Goony Golf Franchise was launched in 1962 by Dutch McGrath in Chatanooga, Tennesee with the opening of a new course. Notably, this wasn’t far from one of the first mini golf courses/franchises in the 1930s, Tom Thumb Golf. According to Tim Hollis’s Minibook of Minigolf and Roadsideamerica.com, McGrath didn’t land on the concept of the oversized fairytale characters on his own. As a traveling salesman, McGrath happened upon Goofy Golf course(s) in Florida. Finding that the Goofy Golf founder, Lee Koplin, had not received copyrights on the character designs, Dutch went ahead with slightly modified versions in Tennessee. To be fair, he wasn’t the only one as the Jolly Golf and Wacky Golf courses took similar inspiration and in some cases, apparent replication. Maybe everyone was hepped on the same goofballs?

Sure. Roadside culture characters were nothing new when Koplin created his first Goofy Golf course in 1958 but if you compare the Goofy and Sir Goony Golf franchise figures, the comparisons are beyond parallel thinking. Both featured large T-Rex statues lifting characters up and down. Goofy Golf used a monkey and Sir Goony used different versions of a neanderthal. Goofy Golf had a bobble-headed bird that attempted to block the cup. The resemblances to the Goonybird are uncanny. Humpty Dumpty. A bear standing upside down. An alligator with a moving mouth. Strikingly similar in look and functionality. This isn’t to diminish the magic of the Sir Goony Golf characters but it gives them the context of history.

(Left) Goofy Golf (Right) Sir Goony Golf. Photo from The Minibook of Minigolf by Tim Hollis

From The Minibook of Minigolf by Tim Hollis

(Top) Goofy Golf gator from Tim Hollis’s Minibook of Minigolf

Thanks, Tim for making this book. Click on the image to order.

Sir Goony Golf expanded from a single location in the south through the southern coastal region over to the southwest, and California with a few odd exceptions. In total, there were about 36 franchise locations that popped up until 1984. By my count, there were only five locations in the northern half of the USA. Sinking Spring, PA. Wisconsin Dells, WI. Milwaukee, WI. Lake George, NY. Spring Lake Park, MN. The Spring Lake Park was the 2nd to last of these oddities that remained open to the public. The Lake George course is currently in operation.

Mort Bloom and Hy Itman opened a location of the Sir Goony Golf miniature golf franchise in the Minnesota suburb less than 10 minutes from where I was born on my 1st birthday: June 1, 1978. I’ve found little so far about the original opening but a quote from an archival piece in ABC newspapers sums it up perfectly. “I think this place is terrific”. No goofy history could ruin this place we enjoyed so many times.

Scorecard used at many of the locations. This is from the Milwaukee course.

The hazy history of the mini golf boom across the Southern coastline of the United States near the middle of the 20th lives on. Stories passed on in books and blogs are what we’re holding onto at this point but we still have a few establishments and features amongst the living to remind us of this oversized past. Support them while you can.

We welcome all further clarification as the stories I share are a collection of bits I’ve pieced pulled together. This is a history we love exploring and happy to take lots of trips back. Thanks to Debra Jane Seltzer at RoadsideArchitecture.com , Tim Hollis, and the Hovanetz family for the photos, information, and stories. All photos, unless captioned otherwise, are courtesy of Pat Hovanetz. Photos are from the early days of the mini golf course. More to come!