Working Holiday for Ex-Pat Adventure Golf Designer

Media Release

Working Holiday for Ex-Pat Adventure Golf Designer

What promised to be a relaxing Christmas at home with friends and family has turned into a working holiday for ex-pat Kiwi adventure golf designer Oliver Mahoney.

Over the past five years Oliver has helped transform Britain's traditional mini-golf industry into a booming adventure golf tourism business, and he's now taking his father's two 18-hole themed courses at Auckland Airport's Treasure Island to the next level with a major upgrade.

While the traditional game of golf is suffering worldwide from declining membership and rising debt, adventure golf is attracting more and more players because it's more accessible, affordable and family-oriented. "If they had made golf a family sport years ago there wouldn't have been a problem because it is a great sport" says Treasure Island owner Paul Mahoney.

What few people realise is that mini golf was first played at St Andrews in Scotland in 1867 because women weren't allowed to swing a club past their shoulder, but nowadays it's all about themed parks like Moby Golf, Jurassic Encounter and Dinosaur Escape. "It's now less about the game and more about the environment" says Oliver. Waterfalls, caves and pirate ships may seem over the top, but he says the game becomes more interactive and enjoyable for people.

Of the fifteen adventure golf courses created in Britain over the past five years, 30 year old Oliver has been involved in developing ten of them. One of his next projects will be a fun golf centre which combines adventure golf with so-called 'SNAG Golf' (Starting New at Golf) which is rapidly growing worldwide and features enlarged clubs, cups and greens.

However it's not all bad news for the traditional game. Oliver says more people could be encouraged to play real golf because many new adventure courses are being built next to golf centres in the U.K. "so it brings people to the golf centre that would never play golf."

Footnote:

The revamped Treasure Island will be open just in time for the Christmas Holiday period

http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/13341768.First_glimpse_inside_Jurassic_Park_style_attraction_set_to_bring_dinosaurs_to_life_in_Chingford/

© Scoop Media