Here’s something I’ve been wanting to do for many, many months. We first drove past Sir Goony’s one day last year as we were using Brainerd Road to cross the area instead of I-24, and, earlier in the summer, I had an early lunch right next door to it at Rib & Loin, but this was the first chance that I’ve had to spend a few minutes walking around the course taking pictures of the statues and obstacles. I picked some of the best photos for you to see.
According to Roadside Architecture, this originally opened in 1960 as Goony Golf, the first in a medium-sized chain that reached 36 locations at its peak. It became Sir Goony’s in the late 1970s or early 1980s after the chain collapsed and the remaining locations all became independent. Some kept the name, and some, like this place, changed it slightly.
There is a second Sir Goony’s up the road in Knoxville, but the two businesses are not related any longer in anything but name, and don’t acknowledge each other on their websites. Chattanooga’s site, incidentally, looks like a free Angelfire page from 1999, and Knoxville’s site only loads sporadically.
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Is this not a fun place?! Went there as a child and now love the iconic statues representative of a simpler time. Thanks for the pictures!!! http://ohtheplaceswesee.com
I think that once we ever do make it to Knoxville for a day, running around the Sir Goony’s there with a camera would make a good break between restaurants!
Reminds me of the decrepit mini golf course you explored off Hwy 247 in my neck of the woods.
It’s a really fun side hobby. I’ve learned that since those obstacles / characters were never trademarked, they showed up at lots of different mini-golfs in the 1960s and 1970s. I remember being charmed by the crumbling Mad Hatter in Warner Robins, and there’s one all bright and shiny at the still-active Goony Golf in Lake George, New York. There are probably lots of other obstacles repeated on courses throughout the country, too!