HM Adventure Golf are enjoying an unprecedented period of activity at the moment with a number of course builds underway across the UK. Currently, the family-run Swindon based company is making international news because of its involvement with a temporary 9 hole adventure golf course which has been installed in the nave of Rochester Cathedral.
Headlines in the Daily Mail, Sun and Telegraph have spoken about some of the criticism levelled at the church authorities resulting from their decision to try and broaden the appeal of the church and bring new and younger visitors to the Cathedral, creating a fun and welcoming atmosphere. There has also been a lot of positive support from clergy, visitors and the local community alike.
The free-to-play course has been funded by the Rochester Bridge Trust, a not for profit organisation which aims to encourage young people to learn more about the engineering behind bridges. Each hole is accompanied by a scale model of a different type of bridge as a ‘putt-through’ or ‘putt-over’ obstacle. It includes the original Roman bridge at Rochester, and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge at Dartford, all of which are accompanied by information for further learning.
“We pride ourselves on our versatility”, said Simon Baker, Director at HM Adventure Golf. “Our courses range all the way from large permanent outdoor installations, indoor courses through to examples like this, which use a modular panel construction. We’ve many years of experience working with clients all over the UK and abroad and work with OUR team of specialists so we can tailor a complete turn-key solution for every location, theme and budget.
“The type of course installed at Rochester Cathedral is suitable for both outdoor and indoor locations where the client needs to ensure minimum disruption or alteration to the site; we can literally lay the course down onto a prepared surface, lay artificial grass and props and its ready to play. The modular course is equally easy to uninstall – which makes it ideal for temporary ‘pop-up’ ventures like this one”.
Toby Robson, sculptor and prop builder who worked on this project said, “One of the great things about HM Adventure Golf is the theming which they can bring to a project like this. I’ve spent a very happy few weeks working closely with The Rochester Bridge Trust, designing and constructing functional props for the holes which represent some of the key bridges in the local area. It means that courses can be completely bespoke, exciting to play and with a meaningful link to their location. It also allows clients to devise all sorts of ‘value adds’ in terms of educational information which has proven really popular with local schools.”.
Clients like the Rochester Bridge Trust recognize the appeal of Adventure Golf, a craze which seems to be showing no sign of slowing in popularity or growth. It remains an absolutely ideal leisure pursuit for locations once occupied by retail outlets or even places like Rochester Cathedral which want to offer a family-oriented attraction.
For more information, contact Simon Baker on 01793 872600 or email info@hm-adventuregolf.com
HM Adventure Golf www.hm-adventuregolf.com