Reviews on Tripadvisor say …
Dire!
The crazy golf is something from the past, cracked surface and nothing crazy about it…
Miniature golf falling to bits
Having lived here on and off since childhood, I can honestly say the mini golf has not been updated since then.(over 30 years)!
Here is a video of the ten holes they are talking about. All of them are to be removed to make way for a more exciting play area – whatever the latest consultation decides upon. So are any of the holes worth saving? Vote for your favourite.
Give them a makeover but keep them!
It is wonder the land has not be designated for more housing development. A study has just recommended building another 1100 homes to the North of Abingdon in addition to the 1000 already given planning permission. They recommend building on the green belt between the Peachcroft Roundabout right along to Radley College.
It depends what is planned to replace them. We have been told about “exciting” developments in the past, only for them to be a waste of time.
I’d be happy to keep the crazy golf, as I don’t know anywhere else locally that has one. Spend a few quid and make it nice again š
It is quite telling, as metaphors go, for this ā crazy golf and everything Abingdon. Iād say, very roughly, that since the last 5 years or so ācrazy Golfā has made a fairly substantial resurgence. It has had a āmake overā in principle, there are new and interesting crazy golf venues surfing this very wave, they make money, they are a go-to destination for many. (Iām not suggesting it is a magic bullet for Abingdon, Iām only talking within context). My point isā¦who exactly has their finger on the pulse hereā¦and has totally missed a trick? What is their name? What is there remit? When is their PDR? And why do we continue to allow them to be paid with our money to miss out on fantastic opportunities presented to them on a plate?
āGetting rid of the crazy golfā was the train of thought 15-20 years ago. Why do we continue to be so far behind the curve?
Great fun. I say keep it and refurbish.
Daniel – You could be very right, we are getting out just as the smart money gets back into Crazy Golf. A bit of a refurb and some well placed publicity would see it turn a profit for little outlay.
….and that’s JUST for the golf Badger. It is not unusual for “Abingdon to be getting out, as the smart money comes in”. And we are PAYING for that [lack of] ex-spurtese…
I will ask it “out there” again….
Does anyone out there have enough legal nouse for us to determine whether “The Veil”, or whoever, is “fit for purpose”? I can’t be the only one who is fed up of being at the dirty end of their poor decisions.
“If there’s one thing Londoners go crrrazy for, it’s crazy golf. At least that’s what the sheer number of courses popping up all over the capital would lead us to believe. With all the crazy golf London has to offer, punters can now get a hole-in-one (or five, or eightā¦) at mini golf courses on a rooftop, in a pool hall and in a former war bunker. But which is the best? Luckily for you, keen putter, we’ve caddied all the finest spots together for your perusal. Check them out below and then tee up for more great London events this summer” See http://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/the-best-crazy-golf-london-has-to-offer
It looks like the best crazy golf parks are themed ones…from Jurassic park themed ones, with velociraptors rising up out of lakes of blood, to quirky junkyard/scrap themed, with ‘twisted junk, car booty and charity shop shizzle’.
So…come on…WHAT WOULD (could?) Abingdon’s attraction be? …we have a real chance here…money is about to be spent on this…why don’t WE say what WE want!
I am happy to say what we want for it, but only if we can stop paying someone else to come up with [lack of] ideas too. Otherwise we are doing their job for them….and they are still getting paid with our money.
How about a road network system…complete with traffic queues that you have to negotiate the ball through. (But you would have traffic lights that would ease the flow of cars, which would then enable you to play your shot…) You could have an Old Gaol…which your ball goes into…and comes out as a marble, because the greedy contractors have stripped your asset…and how about a run down derelict charter area, complete with dripping water, flaking concrete and slippery damp floor? (in fact not much work needed to make the present golf course look like the last one!). There could be a cinema….no wait, forget that one….
But around the peripheral, would I’m sure, be some wonderful flowers…
Went by it on Sunday walking the dog and thought how run down the crazy golf area was !! I spent many a hour as a youngster there !!! I say keep it and spend some money on it as I’m sure some new Tarmac wouldn’t cost much !!! Why does the local council just leave these areas to rot astounds me !!!
Iām so sorry to hijack this post, but at 7.55 this morning I saw a cyclist in a white t-shirt knock down a young girl in green school uniform by the iron bridge. He looked over his shoulder, said something to her, and just cycled on into Wilsham Road, leaving her to pick herself up off the tarmac. Are the rules for cyclists the same as for motorists who have an accident with a pedestrian? A motorist would end up in court for not stopping. I have no doubt that the girl didnāt look, and Iām not blaming the cyclist for the crash itself, but having been knocked to the ground, what young girl will be able to ask for help when the grown man who hit her just cycles off?
Sarah, unfortunately that is nothing to do with pedestrians, or cyclists, or car drivers. Simply the sort of people we share our communities with; and the hummus dippers will tell us we must love them regardless.
Julian; that is brilliant!
Daniel – I too have a soft spot for the Pitch and Putt, but in this case we WERE asked what we wanted – and the Pitch and Putt came 8th out of 9 (see Backstreeters’s post of 29 August. OK that wasn’t a direct democratic vote, but a consultation with a range of community groups, however it was followed by a wider public ballot which attracted a great many votes, with the vast majority supporting measures to improve the Pool rather than the play areas.
Sadly, democracy doesn’t always bring the result that we as individuals want – now what does that remind me of?
PS what’s wrong with hummus? Come to think of it, I don’t use it as a dip, but as a spread,so maybe it is the dippiing you object to and I am OK.
Creating a decent crazy golf course requires more than just a bit of tarmac, or a repair of the tired system Abingdon has …. but it could be done for far more modest investment than a lot of the schemes Abingdon has tried.
Yes, crazy golf is on the up – so this is a silly time to close the facility. I have even been to a new “glow in the dark” course in Poole, Dorset that was amazing.
The river bank is a perfect location for such a thing … it is an up and coming thing …. it is a money spinner …. it is a great result for a modest investment …. so naturally, ABingdon will want to close it.
Remember, once civic assets like this are gone it is unlikely there will ever be the capital investment to create it from scratch again.
… There’s nothing wrong with hummus, some of my best friends eat hummus.
I can see the contradiction, in that we were “finally asked”, but this is what we said. However, if we are being asked, can we stop paying people who are supposed to know? Again, is merely an example, but if someone is employed to oversee or amenities, it must surely not be be beyond their remit to have their finger on some kind of pulse.
But, I guess, I concede that actually, sometimes democracy does bring the results that we, as individuals want.
We played crazy golf there just as the school holidays were coming to an end. My son enjoyed lots of visits there over the years as well as to the tennis courts. The condition of the tarmac has always been bad but he’s only 9 and he still enjoyed himself. The man that worked in the kiosk told us everything was closing early September and it would be turned into a green gym area.
It would have been lovely if there was enough money to upgrade the golf area.
The condition of the crazy golf tarmac, has indeed been the main problem for many, many years. Whatever the age of player there has to be some element of challenge in trying to show ‘skill’, for the game to be really enjoyable. As far as I can see the poor surface has simply taken away from this. Crazy golf can be great, and a major overhaul would be a smart move. It will always be a fairly simple course, to avoid anything too prone to vandalism.
As part of a *’cheap’ refurb the holes could be themed with coloured tarmac and logo’s of things the town/area is famous for could be incorporated so MG, Morlands, the White Horse, the town logo/crest, the Cranbourne Homes logo š ,etc, etc.
*’cheap’ – relative term… nothing’s cheap!
More expensively and less vandal proof 3D obstacles could be incorporated relating to the landmarks of the town so perhaps Abingdon bridge, the Abbey Gateway, the Old Gaol, the County Hall, St Helens, plus some of the logos above.
Of course sadly it’ll never happen and in 20 years or so we’ll be lamenting the passing of the amenity on this site when Crazy Golf is a guest sport in the Olympics that year :-))
I was particularly concerned that an article a few weeks ago regarding the future of the Tennis courts at the Abbey Meadows said:
“Charlotte Dickson, the Vale’s cabinet member for leisure, said she was unaware of the proposal to remove the tennis courts.”
As the Abbey Meadows upgrade is presumably one of the major leisure activities in the Vale, it seems absurd that the Cabinet Member for leisure would be unaware of the proposals!
http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/news/14709019.Tennis_players_hit_out_at_plans_to_scrap_the_courts_in_town_to_improve_other_leisure_facilities/
Since she is a councillor for Wantage it is unsurprising that she would not keep up to date with developments in Abingdon.
Looking at the vale makeup at the moment, i do not think any of the cabinet members at all represent wards in Abingdon? Unless Sandy Lovatt (Chair of planning) counts as a cabinet member?
Ramp up the housing in Abingdon and watch South Oxfordshire suck even more income out of the town, cheered on by the grinning IQ vacuum Matthew Barber (The Bumbling Inept).
Ain’t these people osmosed from the Brexit vote that the public have nothing but contempt for them?
Total makeweights.
Wait and see….Didcot will get one…. They, at least, have some forward thinkers! (Cinema, shopping centre, RAILWAY!)
It isn’t really a crazy golf course though is it? When I heard the town had a crazy golf course, I pictired windmills, castles and brightly coloured obstacles.
What I found was some cracked tarmac and concrete.
While I think an actual crazy golf course would be great and be a unique selling point for the town, I think it would need to ripped out and started again.
..they’ll certainly rip it out chuffy.
My son loved the crazy golf when he was younger; smarten it up and keep it!
The course was the very first I ever played.
Very sad to see the course being removed completely. A missed opportunity to refurb the course and make it an asset for the town.