March 14, 2022 • 7 mins
Panama City Beach is a resort town in Bay County, Florida, located on the Gulf of Mexico. The city is often referred to as just "Panama City", along with their slogan "The World's Most Beautiful Beaches" ..which is due to the unique, sugar-white sandy beaches of northwest Florida. Panama City Beach is a popular vacation destination, among families and spring breakers. Especially among people in the Southern United States. Among the many things to see and do in Panama City, is one of the most beloved fixture attractions for over 60 years, featuring old-fashioned family fun with a putter, the time honored Goofy Golf.
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LINKS to EVERYTHING: solo.to/southernoddpod
HOST JARED ORDIS: solo.to/jaredordis
[ADDITONAL INFORMATION]
Questions or Business Inquiry, Email Us @ ordisstudios@gmail.com
Researched was used for this episode of Southern Oddities, and we couldn't have made it possible without the journalism and dedication from these awesome sources of information:
Roadside America [Story 6161] - Wikipedia [Panama City Beach, Florida] - Visit Florida [Northwest Panama City Beach] - Panama City beach [Main Website] - Goofy Golf PC [Main Website] - Florida Panhandle [Things to Do Goofy Golf] - Florida Historic Golf Trail [Goofy Golf Panama City Beach] - Unusual Places [Goofy Golf Florida]
"Southern Oddities" is created & produced by Jared Ordis, an Ordis Studios production.
This show is part of the Ordis Studios Network
Copyright © 2022 by Ordis Studios
solo.to/ordisstudios
[FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA & MORE]
LINKS to EVERYTHING: solo.to/southernoddpod
HOST JARED ORDIS: solo.to/jaredordis
[ADDITONAL INFORMATION]
Questions or Business Inquiry, Email Us @ ordisstudios@gmail.com
Researched was used for this episode of Southern Oddities, and we couldn't have made it possible without the journalism and dedication from these awesome sources of information:
Roadside America [Story 6161] - Wikipedia [Panama City Beach, Florida] - Visit Florida [Northwest Panama City Beach] - Panama City beach [Main Website] - Goofy Golf PC [Main Website] - Florida Panhandle [Things to Do Goofy Golf] - Florida Historic Golf Trail [Goofy Golf Panama City Beach] - Unusual Places [Goofy Golf Florida]
"Southern Oddities" is created & produced by Jared Ordis, an Ordis Studios production.
This show is part of the Ordis Studios Network
Copyright © 2022 by Ordis Studios
solo.to/ordisstudios
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
The South is full of history,tells of the strange creatures that defy logic,
outlaws who took towns and roadside curiositiesthat cause in tree, Grab your
sweet tea, gather around, andlet spin a yarn. Welcome to Southern
Oidies. Panama City Beach is aresort town in Bay County, Florida,
(00:27):
located on the Gulf of Mexico.The city is often referred to as just
Panama City along with their slogan theWorld's most Beautiful Beaches, which is due
to the unique sugar white sandy beachesof northwest Florida. Panama City Beach is
a popular vacation destination among families andspring breakers, especially among people in the
(00:52):
southern United States. But among themany things to see and do in Panama
City is one of the most ofit Fixed Your Attractions for over sixty years,
featuring old fashioned family fund with aputter, the time honored Goofy golf.
In the beginning, miniature golf wasminiature like the so called tom Thumb
(01:17):
courses from the nineteen twenties and thirtiesthat were a little more than greens,
with maybe a gnome or a tinywindmill. As an obstacle. It was
a great invention, but today's standardsit's dull. Then along came Lee Copland.
Lee began building dinosaurs and other oddcreatures in the late nineteen forties at
(01:38):
his older brothers Pee Wee Golf inCalifornia. By the time the late nineteen
fifties arrived, Lee was ready totake miniature golf and blow it up to
Hollywood blockbuster size. So he builthis masterpiece, Goofy Golf in Florida,
and opened it up in the summerof nineteen fifty nine. And although it
(02:01):
was miniature golf, it was alsoa crazy visionary art theme park. Lee
advertised, Goofy Golf is a worldof magic and it definitely looks otherworldly,
showcasing a ton of wildly painted themedgiant figures built to grab attention from passing
(02:21):
cars. There are ancient monuments andspace age icons, with a few monsters
and aliens tossed in. You cancrawl inside a Chinese dragon or stick your
arm out the nose of an EasterIsland tiki head. All of Goofy Golf's
biggest characters have colored light bulbs foreyes, and they glow at night.
(02:45):
Lee was also ahead of his timewhen it came to actually knocking a ball
around a miniature golf course, andunlike his earlier creations, most of Lee's
Goofy Golf artwork is interactive, challengingplayers to put through, or around or
into them. The two eighteen holecourses were built with mechanized hazards, a
(03:07):
snapping alligator, a monkey with aball swatting tail, a dinosaur using another
monkey as a yo yo, andgolfers have to hike through a subterranean black
light cave between holes seven and eight, skewing their vision with hot, pink
and green UV lights. In itsearlier years, Goofy Golf's massive sphinx and
(03:31):
tiky Head were the tallest things aroundin Panama City Beach, and today you
can still climb to the top ofthe tiky Head to take in some of
the best views around. Lee's sculpturesare so eye catching that most people don't
notice the full sized house behind theBrontosaurus. That's where Lee lived with his
(03:54):
family until he died in nineteen eightyeight. In the turbulent ecosystem of Beachfront
amusements, Goofy Golf has made aquiet virtue of stability. The attraction has
remained nearly unchanged since nineteen fifty nine, except for periodic repaintings of its concrete
(04:15):
behemoths and new combinations of garish colorsand designs. Killer storms and spring break
morons have thrown their worst at GoofyGolf, but it has survived with few
visible scars. Lee Complin's outsider artvision of miniature golf has mostly failed to
survive elsewhere, but his idea thatminiature golf needed to not be so miniature
(04:41):
has thrived. Plus, Lee wassmart. He built Goofy Golf on a
patch of land directly opposite Panama CityBeaches public peer so his visitors would always
have a view of the water.When you visit Goofy Golf, you have
your pick of two colorful put courses, each of which is challenging but manageable.
(05:04):
The pay and play process is abreeze. Just pay, select a
putter, choose your course, andyou're off. The next time you play
mini golf inside a volcano or aMayan pyramid, Thank Goofy Golf is It's
still a great miniature golf course anda mind expanding alternative to those prefab franchise
(05:26):
giants in the put putt world.But for more than half a century later,
Goofy Golf still delivers on that worldof magic promise. It's a guaranteed
hole in one for family fun.And while there are plenty of things to
see and do in Panama City Beach, Goofy golfs many fans insist that a
stop at this iconic spot as amust do for anyone. After all,
(05:50):
when was the last time you setin a monkey's palm, walked through a
dinosaur, ventured into a subterranean blacklightcave, or shot a golf ball into
a toilet. From aliens to ancientmonuments, these are just a few of
the curiosities and fabulous photo opportunities you'llencounter while visiting Goofy Golf. I hope
(06:21):
you enjoyed this unusual tale. Tofind out more about the show and keep
up with what we are doing,follow Southern Oddities on Twitter and Instagram by
searching at Southern iPod. Make sureto subscribe for free on Spotify, Apple
podcast Stitcher, or your favorite podcastlisting app. This show was created by
(06:45):
me Jared Ortists and as part ofthe Ortists Studios podcast network. You can
learn more about this show and moreshows on the network by visiting ortist Studios
dot com. And until the nexttime we spend a don't let the door
hitch you where the Good Lord splityou.
The South is full of history,tells of the strange creatures that defy logic,
outlaws who took towns and roadside curiositiesthat cause in tree, Grab your
sweet tea, gather around, andlet spin a yarn. Welcome to Southern
Oidies. Panama City Beach is aresort town in Bay County, Florida,
(00:27):
located on the Gulf of Mexico.The city is often referred to as just
Panama City along with their slogan theWorld's most Beautiful Beaches, which is due
to the unique sugar white sandy beachesof northwest Florida. Panama City Beach is
a popular vacation destination among families andspring breakers, especially among people in the
(00:52):
southern United States. But among themany things to see and do in Panama
City is one of the most ofit Fixed Your Attractions for over sixty years,
featuring old fashioned family fund with aputter, the time honored Goofy golf.
In the beginning, miniature golf wasminiature like the so called tom Thumb
(01:17):
courses from the nineteen twenties and thirtiesthat were a little more than greens,
with maybe a gnome or a tinywindmill. As an obstacle. It was
a great invention, but today's standardsit's dull. Then along came Lee Copland.
Lee began building dinosaurs and other oddcreatures in the late nineteen forties at
(01:38):
his older brothers Pee Wee Golf inCalifornia. By the time the late nineteen
fifties arrived, Lee was ready totake miniature golf and blow it up to
Hollywood blockbuster size. So he builthis masterpiece, Goofy Golf in Florida,
and opened it up in the summerof nineteen fifty nine. And although it
(02:01):
was miniature golf, it was alsoa crazy visionary art theme park. Lee
advertised, Goofy Golf is a worldof magic and it definitely looks otherworldly,
showcasing a ton of wildly painted themedgiant figures built to grab attention from passing
(02:21):
cars. There are ancient monuments andspace age icons, with a few monsters
and aliens tossed in. You cancrawl inside a Chinese dragon or stick your
arm out the nose of an EasterIsland tiki head. All of Goofy Golf's
biggest characters have colored light bulbs foreyes, and they glow at night.
(02:45):
Lee was also ahead of his timewhen it came to actually knocking a ball
around a miniature golf course, andunlike his earlier creations, most of Lee's
Goofy Golf artwork is interactive, challengingplayers to put through, or around or
into them. The two eighteen holecourses were built with mechanized hazards, a
(03:07):
snapping alligator, a monkey with aball swatting tail, a dinosaur using another
monkey as a yo yo, andgolfers have to hike through a subterranean black
light cave between holes seven and eight, skewing their vision with hot, pink
and green UV lights. In itsearlier years, Goofy Golf's massive sphinx and
(03:31):
tiky Head were the tallest things aroundin Panama City Beach, and today you
can still climb to the top ofthe tiky Head to take in some of
the best views around. Lee's sculpturesare so eye catching that most people don't
notice the full sized house behind theBrontosaurus. That's where Lee lived with his
(03:54):
family until he died in nineteen eightyeight. In the turbulent ecosystem of Beachfront
amusements, Goofy Golf has made aquiet virtue of stability. The attraction has
remained nearly unchanged since nineteen fifty nine, except for periodic repaintings of its concrete
(04:15):
behemoths and new combinations of garish colorsand designs. Killer storms and spring break
morons have thrown their worst at GoofyGolf, but it has survived with few
visible scars. Lee Complin's outsider artvision of miniature golf has mostly failed to
survive elsewhere, but his idea thatminiature golf needed to not be so miniature
(04:41):
has thrived. Plus, Lee wassmart. He built Goofy Golf on a
patch of land directly opposite Panama CityBeaches public peer so his visitors would always
have a view of the water.When you visit Goofy Golf, you have
your pick of two colorful put courses, each of which is challenging but manageable.
(05:04):
The pay and play process is abreeze. Just pay, select a
putter, choose your course, andyou're off. The next time you play
mini golf inside a volcano or aMayan pyramid, Thank Goofy Golf is It's
still a great miniature golf course anda mind expanding alternative to those prefab franchise
(05:26):
giants in the put putt world.But for more than half a century later,
Goofy Golf still delivers on that worldof magic promise. It's a guaranteed
hole in one for family fun.And while there are plenty of things to
see and do in Panama City Beach, Goofy golfs many fans insist that a
stop at this iconic spot as amust do for anyone. After all,
(05:50):
when was the last time you setin a monkey's palm, walked through a
dinosaur, ventured into a subterranean blacklightcave, or shot a golf ball into
a toilet. From aliens to ancientmonuments, these are just a few of
the curiosities and fabulous photo opportunities you'llencounter while visiting Goofy Golf. I hope
(06:21):
you enjoyed this unusual tale. Tofind out more about the show and keep
up with what we are doing,follow Southern Oddities on Twitter and Instagram by
searching at Southern iPod. Make sureto subscribe for free on Spotify, Apple
podcast Stitcher, or your favorite podcastlisting app. This show was created by
(06:45):
me Jared Ortists and as part ofthe Ortists Studios podcast network. You can
learn more about this show and moreshows on the network by visiting ortist Studios
dot com. And until the nexttime we spend a don't let the door
hitch you where the Good Lord splityou.
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