September 7, 2018
by Tom Loftus (aka Mr. Tee)
If you’ve been following the saga of Sir Goony Golf / Spring Lake Park Amusement up to this point, we’ve documented an opening, name change, and publicity stunt all during the first two years of the business. The initial owners, Hy Itman and Mort Bloom, owned a number of businesses in Minnesota including the Gay 90’s. In 1984, the two gentlemen sold the course to a married couple named Jim and Patricia (Pat) Hovanetz. According to Pat, “Hy and Mort started Sir Goony Golf with a plan of setting up their four sons in a business. It seems that the sons had other ideas, however”. In addition to Spring Lake Park Amusement, Mort owned and ran the legendary Gay 90s in Downtown Minneapolis until 2008. I imagine the club took priority but all I know for sure is that a new story began.
Pat Hovanetz shared how they became owners of a miniature golf course:
My husband had worked for Grain Belt Brewery which had closed the plant. He had always wanted to own his own business. We went to Goony and had a great time and the seed was planted. He contacted the owners and they agreed to sell. That was May 1984. Those early years were lean and there was no money for us from the business. Fortunately, I had a very good job at Northwest Bancorporation so we were able to live on my income.
And with any business, there are ups, and downs. Pat shared a few:
Most satisfying: Customers, enjoying themselves as families, in a wholesome way and returning as future generations. When we were closing, I enjoyed and marveled at the many comments I heard about how much they loved the place. I wished my husband could have heard the comments too.
Most challenging: The financially difficult times which lasted for many years. The high property taxes which reached a high of about $38,000 in the mid 2000’s. The difficulty of keeping a semblance of family with my job being 8-5 and my husband’s being all day until 11 pm. Plus for me, the fact that I had a challenging, responsible career as well a having to do the books, payroll and reporting for the mini-golf.
For over 30 years, the couple kept the Goony Golf / Spring Lake Park Amusement open to the public during the non-snowy months in the northwest suburbs. Repairing motorized obstacles and adding new layers of paint were a constant each summer. Sadly, Jim Hovanetz passed in 2011 after a battle with colon cancer. My own memories of the course started in the mid-80s around the time Pat & Jim purchased the course in their 40s. As I start to reach the middle ages of my life, I regularly think about how cool it would be to own a course as magical as Goony Golf. These two owners lived the dream and maintained a magical mini golf space longer than it was financially viable. We’re grateful to have had the opportunity to play all of their courses numerous times.
Part 2 – It Came From Tennessee (or maybe Florida)
Part 4 – The “Bo” of Anoka County
