*Ad: Tickets were gifted but the review is fully my own honest opinion
We’ve been wanting to give the kids an opportunity to play golf for a while now. In particular my son Seb, who on any given walk, will find the biggest stick and swing it at anything in his path, seemed to be a golfer in the making! So when new venture The GolfPROjx got in touch and asked if we’d like to try it, it was an immediate yes.
Set up by PGA professional Graham Cox, or Gray as he’s known, The GolfPROjx is a brand new state of the art virtual golf experience in Grappenhall, Warrington.
It’s virtual in the sense that the giant screen you stand in front of simulates the golf course and projects where the golf ball will land, but physically you do hold a real golf club and hit (or in my case, try to) an actual golf ball at the screen.
Tucked away in a warehouse off Thelwall New Road, the entrance between two houses is easily missed, the Sat Nav link on the Info Bar will take you right there, but just in case the entrance is between houses 351-353.
Upon arriving, they’ll set you up straight away with your choice of game or course. They use a piece of software called Trackman 4 from which you can simulate playing on all the big courses from around the world as well as playing lots of fun, kid friendly games.
We played three games in all, the first was a game called Capture the Flag whereby we had to hit targets on top of skyscrapers and helipads with the sounds of the street and helicopters whirling around you. Once you’ve hit the target and captured the flag you can then try and steal some of your opponents flags.
The second game, Jurassic was a great one for the kids as the golf course is set amongst volcanos, lava and dinosaurs! We played bullseye where you had to try and hit the centre bullseye to score the maximum points, with the points decreasing as you hit outwards from it.
The last game ‘Hit It’ was my favourite. As the name suggests the aim of the game was to hit the ball as hard as you could, a great game for those with anger management issues!! I desperately tried to beat my husband but alas it was an impossible feat. Even my 7 year old beat me!
There’ll be a golf professional on hand to provide a bit of coaching as you play along. On our visit we had Gray and I have to say he was brilliant with the kids. He patiently taught them how to hold the club, swing it properly and gave them friendly pointers to improve. I could see them getting better as the game went on, although the same couldn’t be said for me, I seemed to go in the opposite direction!
Equally if you’re already a keen golfer, then once the game is set up by them you can be left to your own devices if you prefer.
The sessions last either 30 minutes or an hour and you can take up to 4 children for a set price - great when you’re a bigger family or want to bring your kids friends with you. Prices and tickets can be found on their website here.
Alternatively rather than the group sessions they can offer 1:1 coaching, so if you’re looking to get your kids into golf, this would be a good route to go down. I’ve had a couple of Mums get in touch with me to say how impressed they were with this.
Although this write up is with a view to bringing children, I would add that it would be a great place to get a group of friends together and have a laugh, just watch it doesn’t bring too much of the competitiveness out amongst you!
If you are a serious golfer in addition to playing on simulated courses using the Trackman 4 software, there’s also a very cool hydraulic putting green which can create real-world slopes at the touch of a button.
Upstairs there’s a small area where the kids can chill with a few toys, so if you want a go at playing then older children could go up here for a breather whilst you play.
There aren’t any catering options at the moment, but you are welcome to bring your own drinks and snacks with you.
We all really enjoyed this family golf experience, especially as the kids have never done anything like this before so it was something different for them. When we got into the car to go home my son said “That was awesome, can we go again?!”. Age wise, my 4 year old enjoyed it but wasn’t old enough to engage properly with and concentrate on the games so although all ages are welcome (Gray has coached them as young as 3!) I’d say upwards from age 6/7 is best.
If you want to make more of a day of it after your time on the green then you’ve got the brilliant playground at Walton Hall Gardens a 10 minute drive away or Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden 5 minutes away.
