Ferrymead Golf and Leisure Park is Christchurch's premier family fun centre, packing a links-style golf course, three themed mini putt courses, a 26-bay all-weather driving range, paintball, GellyBall, an on-site golf shop and a licensed cafe and bar into one beautifully scenic venue beside the estuary.
Golfers can choose between a par 3, 9 hole course made up of seven par 3s and two par 4s, and a 2766m, 18 hole par 58 regulation course with two pin placements on every green, winding its way along the estuary amongst the cabbage trees and tussocks that define the area. Green fee players are welcome seven days a week, and Fling Golf offers a different way to play. Mini putt comes as Volcano, Grassland and Jungle Putt, with packages for kids, adults and groups.
Ferrymead Paintball adds inner-city battlefields with various game scenarios on large and smaller fields, and events run year-round: kids' and adult parties, stags and hens dos, team building, corporate groups, weddings and Christmas functions. The fully licensed cafe and bar serves WOW pizzas and burgers, espresso coffee, pies and cabinet food, while the golf shop stocks quality second-hand drivers, irons, putters, fairways and complete package sets.
Ferrymead Golf and Leisure Park has quietly assembled just about every way to hit a ball, blast a friend or mark an occasion onto one scenic patch of Christchurch, and it wears its title as the city's premier family fun centre with good reason. In a single visit you can play a round on a links-style golf course, take on three themed mini putt courses, smash drives on a covered 26-bay driving range, battle it out on an urban paintball field, then wind down with a pizza and a drink at the licensed cafe and bar. It is the kind of place where the experienced or budding golfer in any family, and everyone who came along with them, finds something to do.
The heart of the park is golf, and it is treated as a genuine facility rather than an afterthought. Green fee players are welcome seven days a week, with two courses to choose from. The 9 hole course is a par 3 layout of seven par 3s and two par 4s - an ideal stretch for beginners, juniors or anyone short on time. Step up to the 2766-metre, 18 hole par 58 regulation course and you get a round with a traditional links feel, winding along the side of the estuary amongst the cabbage trees and tussocks that define the area. Every green carries two pin placements, so the course plays differently from one day to the next and keeps repeat visits honest.
Warm-up and practice happen at the all-weather driving range: 26 individual bays, traditional and novelty targets, full-distance quality golf balls and great views, with the cafe and bar close by. Concession cards are available for regulars, and Fling Golf offers a different way to play for anyone curious.
Mini putt here is more than a single strip of obstacles. There are three differently themed courses - Volcano, Grassland and Jungle Putt - and you can play one or take on all three, indoors, outdoors or both. Packages cover kids, adults and groups, single course or multiple, which makes it as competitive or as casual as your crowd wants it to be.
For more adrenaline, Ferrymead Paintball runs Christchurch's own inner city battlefields: an urban-themed field with various game scenarios, large and smaller playing areas, and a bunch of upgrade packages. GellyBall rounds out the line-up as another group game on the same site.
Events are a genuine part of the business. Kids' parties, adult parties, stags and hens dos, work functions, team building days, corporate groups, celebrations, school and sports club outings and Christmas functions are all catered for with a range of affordable packages, and Christmas functions have been promoted with free venue hire. Weddings get a standardised wedding package designed to take the stress out of the myriad details of hosting the day.
And no visit ends without food. The fully licensed cafe and bar serves WOW pizzas and burgers alongside espresso coffee, pies and cabinet food during opening hours, so groups can roll straight off the 18th green, out of the putt course or in from the paintball arena and onto a table.
The on-site golf shop rewards a browse even if you arrive with a full bag, carrying quality second-hand drivers, irons, putters and fairways plus complete ladies' and men's second-hand package sets - a friendly route into the game without new-club prices. Gift cards can be purchased online, and activities can be booked in advance through the park's online booking system.
All facilities - the driving range, mini putt, cafe, golf course and paintball - open at 8.00am daily. Closing times stretch with the week: 8.00pm on Mondays and Tuesdays, 9.00pm Wednesdays and Thursdays, 9.30pm Fridays and Saturdays and 7.00pm on Sundays, leaving room for after-work range sessions and long summer evenings alike. Whether you come for the golf, the competition or the pizza, it is all here in one beautifully scenic venue - which is exactly why Christchurch families keep coming back.