Mini Mid Canterbury, the district’s new mini golf course, is on track to open on Saturday 22 November.

The 18 holes have themes inspired by Mid Canterbury features, like our braided rivers, farming industry and sports like snow skiing.

Mayor Liz McMillan said it was exciting to see the course in its final stages of construction.

“The asphalt on the last holes is due to be laid and this week we had a group of Year 7 and 8 students from Longbeach School come along to help plant native grasses and hebes.”

The students met first with Council’s biodiversity officer and the Kanuka Mid Canterbury Regeneration Trust to learn about the plants chosen for the course, and what they would need to grow.

The mayor, and former mayor Neil Brown, then joined the students to put the plants in the ground.

“We even had the chance to have a little test run on one of the holes, and that was very entertaining,” Mayor Liz said. “This is something that people of all ages will be able to enjoy together.”

Mini Mid Canterbury will be officially opened on Friday 21 November and councillors have been invited to take part in an inaugural and social round of mini golf.

The course will then receive a final inspection before opening to the public the following day.

If you have your own golf equipment, the course will be free to play on. Putters and balls can also be hired at the EA Networks Centre reception for $5 per person.

Bookings and equipment rental can be completed online at the EANC website, with bookings opening from next week.

Mayor Liz said the course would be busy and players needed to book online to avoid long queues.

Another unique feature of the course is that there will no paper scorecards; golfers will be able to scan a QR code to access a digital scorecard on their smartphone; it will be capable of recording individual and group scores.

At each hole, visitors will also be able to scan a QR code to learn more about the theme of the hole. Holes 1-11 are on the flat and designed to be mobility friendly, with the other holes on higher terraces.

Council and EANC are also running a competition via their Facebook pages, with the winner guaranteed their choice of timeslot on opening day and free equipment rental for a group of up to six.