England's first official Japan Park Golf course opens in South Shields' North Marine Park

England’s first official Japan Park Golf course, which is best described as a mixture of mini-golf and croquet, has opened at North Marine Park in South Shields.

It has been brought to the town by Ken ‘Zack’ Smith, who introduced the game to Scotland when he lived there for more than 20 years.

Ken, who is originally from South Shields, moved back home and has been trying to bring the game to the borough as a way of raising money for local charities.

In order to bring it to South Tyneside, he co-founded Sanddancer Community Japan Park Golf and even registered it with the Nippon Park Golf Association in Japan to make it the first official course in England.

Ken has given the Shields Gazette an insight into how he found out about the game and revealed that it has been a success with those who have played it so far.

He said: “This is a game I found when I was looking for a new Callaway golf driver when I was living in Scotland; however, I discovered the club I was looking at was not a golf driver but a Callaway Japan Park Golf club.

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“Curiosity led me to investigating what Japan Park Golf was all about and to my amazement I found out that it originated in 1983 and over 11million Japanese people play it. 

“I brought the idea to my then golf club in Scotland where we developed a six-hole short course and it went from there, giving Japan Park Golf its first home in the UK.

“When I moved back to South Shields, I knew that I wanted to bring it with me to my hometown.

“Basically Japan Park Golf is a one club, one ball game that anyone can play.

“We’ve had nearly 600 people play here so far, families have been loving it and it has been great to see grandparents playing it with their grandchildren - we’ve even had people in wheelchairs playing.

“We’ve got a lovely short six-hole course here in North Marine Park and it is free to get involved in, all we ask for is a small contribution to charity.

“A big thanks to South Tyneside Council for allowing us to set this up and also thanks to everyone who has come down and got involved so far.”

Derek Winter, who is the secretary and co-founder of Sanddancer Community Japan Park Golf, highlighted that the game is not only helping local charities but also the health and wellbeing of those who play it.

He added: “It is a very easy and really simple game to play, which is for everyone of all abilities.

“Things like this can help with anxiety, depression or other mental health issues because when people are focusing on the game, it gives them something else to think about as well as being outside and in nature.

“We wanted to give something back to the community and further down the line, we are going to look to set up as a charitable trust.

“I usually go to an open mic night at the Sea Change Cafe, on Ocean Road, which is a great charity that helps young people with autism in the local area.

“We thought they would be perfect to be our official charity and last week, we managed to raise £238.39 in five days for them and even though the bucket is sealed, it feels quite heavy so hopefully it will a good amount this week as well.”

Sue Stonehouse, Green Party councillor for the Beacon and Bents ward, has stated that Japan Park Golf is great addition for to the borough, especially for families.

“This is an ideal opportunity for people to come down with their kids or grandkids and just have fun,” commented Cllr Stonehouse.

“It is a great idea and the full area is gated so kids are safe and I know for a fact that it will just get better as it goes on - this is the first course that has been created and I imagine it won’t be the last.

“It was great fun and a good laugh to get involved in.”

You can find out more about Sanddancer Community Japan Park Golf by visiting: https://japanparkgolfsouthshields.co.uk/.