Mini golf venue hits the market

The land and building containing one of New Zealand’s foremost mini golf courses – which played host to the 2022 NZ Mini Golf Open – have been placed on the market for sale.

The purpose-built and well-maintained commercial property in a suburban quarter of the coastal township of Whitianga is home to Wild Wood mini golf course – justifiably regarded by players as one of New Zealand’s best mini golf courses because of the extensive landscaping and vegetation plantings which segregate the holes from each other.

The quality of playing facilities and the surrounding environmental ambience of the Whitianga mini golf course was one of the primary reasons the venue was chosen to host a national mini golf championship.

The 18-hole Wild Wood mini golf course winds its way through lush semi-tropical vegetation including banana trees and multiple water features which are home to families of cute red-eared turtles. A round of mini golf at the venue costs $15 for adults and $10 for children. The venue has dedicated facilities for hosting children’s birthday parties.

The 2,201-square metre commercially-zoned Wild Wood site in Joan Gaskell Drive straddles Whitianga’s ‘big-box’ retail strip housing the likes of New World supermarket, The Warehouse, Woolworths, and PlaceMakers on one side, with the high-end homes built around the Whitianga waterways suburb located on the other side.

The freehold Wild Wood mini golf course land and 74-square metre commercial administrative building at 67 Joan Gaskell Drive in Whitianga are now being marketed for sale at auction on March 19 through Bayleys Whitianga. Salesperson Josh Smith says the property is being sold with a lease in place to Wild Wood mini golf through to January 2027, although the business is currently in hiatus, and not trading.

“Any buyer of the property therefore has the option of negotiating with Wild Wood’s operators to potentially purchase the existing business, which has been identified as having huge potential to expand its activities into the food and beverage or hospitality sectors subject to appropriate council consents,” said Smith.

“The lay-out and ambience within the grounds of mature sub-tropical gardens, combined with a largely under-utilised portion of space within the property’s barn structure – housing an office, bathrooms, and storage area – would perfectly replicate the likes of the Secret Garden bar and restaurant operation which operates so successfully in Waihi Beach on the Coromandel Peninsula.

“Alternatively, the building’s indoor floorplan could be converted to sustain a very cool suburban café – serviced by ample off-street parking on-site, and with additional parking spaces on the street immediately outside the flat rectangular-shaped site.

“Either of these permutations would ensure 67 Joan Gaskill Drive would be well set up to become the preferred local café or hospitality hotspot of choice for residents living across the affluent waterways enclave – meaning locals could walk to the destination rather than having to drive or ride a bike into Whitianga town centre for a coffee or glass of wine.”

Capitalising on the popularity of the sport of golf over the past five years, Smith said the unused space within the Wild Wood premises could also be developed to feature a golf simulator facility to attract an adult clientele.

“Thinking even further outside the square, the location could contain a combination of bar and pizzeria operating alongside a driving range – such as seen at Remuera Golf Course in Auckland, and at several venues on Australia’s Gold Coast and Surfers’ Paradise,” Smith said.

“This would firmly underpin Whitianga’s reputation as one of New Zealand’s best seaside recreational towns.”

Smith said the landscaped 18-hole mini golf course and all vegetation throughout the venue was included as part of the land and building chattels. The currently formant mini golf course would require minimal gardening and maintenance to allow for re-opening.

He said the Wild Wood mini golf facility offered a family-friendly land-based activity for holiday makers visiting Whitianga, and as a venue for young families living in the township and celebrating children’s birthday parties.

“With a commercial zoning, and substantial street frontage, the substantial flat site at 67 Joan Gaskell Drive could, with appropriate council consent, also be redeveloped into a more traditional commercial operation,” Smith said.