It may be called Looney Golf but in just over two years a Bradford leisure venue has proved itself to be a very sound and successful business idea.
By Annette McIntyre
The city’s first Crazy Golf venue has gone from strength to strength since it was launched in September 2021.
Since then Looney Golf Leisure Venue, in the former Boyes store on North Parade, has added a whole host of entertainment into the mix – and is now introducing indoor escape rooms.
Earlier this year it was shortlisted for Best Indoor Entertainment at the LTG Global Awards 2022/23.
At a time when many businesses are struggling Looney Golf seems to be bucking the trend – and is attracting customers not just from Bradford but from around the country.
“There are many centres similar around the UK but none that offer the kind of entertainment mix that we do, having mini golf, archery, pool, darts, table tennis, and football pool,” owner Raja Yasin said.
He added that the entertainment options were all picked to bring the newest fun and games to Bradford, and were all the first in the city.
He explained how Looney Golf came about.
“The idea came from how I have family and friends who love the game and the good times it brings them, who are always having to go out of town for it,” he said. “One day I thought why should we have to go elsewhere for these moments and good times with family and friends – and right there I decided, if no one else was going to bring mini golf to Bradford, I would! So I sat with a friend, planned it out, closed my eyes and went for it.”
Raja set the business up with a team of friends, Naveed Shafiq, Adnan Saleem, Hashim Yasin, Bakr Yasin, Nadir Yasin, Omar Royal, Abbas Yasin and Adheel Iqbal. In addition, much of the artwork was created by Northern Mural Co.
Raja said: “We worked continuously throughout Covid. We are all good friends and worked from 10am round the clock till 3am the next day, seven days a week. For sure it was tough but we worked as a team and all worked at the same pace to get it done.
“We are all born and bred in Bradford and we do have a dream to make it a national company but as there was not a crazy golf venue in Bradford ever, we decided for Looney Golf to be the first and to help bring tourism into Bradford.”
The friends set out to create a venue that caters for teenagers and the wider community to give them somewhere to go and relax. The pool tables and table tennis were added specifically for young people to enjoy.
The team decided against outsourcing the building of the golf holes because they didn’t want the designs to be too similar to those at other venues.
“We wanted to bring a completely unique experience and therefore we crafted all our designs ourselves and put it all together ourselves,” Raja said.
The country was still affected by the Covid pandemic as they worked to get the centre up and running.
Raja said Covid was a concern as it was tough to get materials as they worked to meet their deadline.
“There were doubts whether it was a mistake as Covid was still active at the time and we didn’t really know what to expect as it was a new venture for me – but we made sure we considered how best to keep our customers safe. We carefully assessed all our options and put the necessary precautions in place to make sure everyone could have a fun but safe visit at looney golf.”
Despite the initial hurdles business has boomed.
“We started off as just a mini golf venue however over the last 2 years we have massively grown to now also providing archery, football pool, table tennis, pool, darts and arcades and we are currently also opening up some indoor escape rooms,” Raja said.
“The games we have are available to families, friends, colleagues, couples, anyone really and whilst some things like archery are for a certain age up the rest of our activities are available and attract anyone of any age.
“So far each year we have presented a brand new concept of leisure to Bradford which has never been done before in the city, which is why our venue is so unique.”
Looney Golf came into play in 2021, Crazy Targets was introduced in 2022 and Wacky Billiards was added in 2023. Now Paradox Escapes is in the making.
The friends chose Bradford because it is their hometown – and they certainly haven’t been disappointed with the support they’ve received.
Now Raja says: “We want to give back to our community that has stood by us each day, helped us get nominated for awards, been there from opening day to current and so it’s only right that we keep bringing more to that community that supports us so dearly.
“From not knowing what to expect till now, the Bradford Community has shown us full support and the Looney Golf has gone better than expected, it’s been amazing.
“ Don’t get me wrong every business has its quiet days, but overall – like our customers tell us – it is what Bradford needed. It’s one of the reasons why we are able to keep expanding more and more to bring fresher and more entertaining activities all the time.
It’s not just local customers who are keen to use the games.
“We are attracting people from outside of Bradford, we’ve seen customers from all over,” Raja said.
“We regularly have groups coming from surrounding cities and we also have customers that have travelled from as far as London to come visit, the main reason being the reviews and the videos they see online and wanting to be here to experience it all first hand.”
Earlier this year Looney Golf was shortlisted for Best Indoor Entertainment at the LTG Global Awards 2022/23.
“It felt amazing to be shortlisted for an LTG Award, it was the last thing we expected,” Raja said. “We have just really been keeping our heads down trying to expand and bring bigger and better stuff to the venue. We didn’t expect to be noticed so soon. An achievement like this within two years of running is definitely not a small feat and it is one we are very proud of – and we thank our customers and community for their ongoing support.”
But they are not content to sit on their laurels. They are now busy planning for the future and preparing the next attraction at their venue.
“We are in the process of opening up some fresh escape rooms filled with locks and puzzles that really require some ‘outside the box’ thinking,” Raja said.
“We’re really excited to see how Bradford and beyond reacts to the new addition of fun. Beyond that, we have some plans so keep watching this space. Who knows, maybe branching out to other towns might be on the agenda.”
Raja and his team are keen to play a part in showcasing Bradford and attracting people to the city. And they also appreciate running a venue that people in Bradford are proud to have as part of their city.
He expects even more people to visit the venue as the Bradford City of Culture status helps bring in visitors.
He stressed that visitors from outside of Bradford had so much to look forward to – “City Park, Looney Golf and all the entertainment we offer. They have Saltaire, there’s also the river, the nightlife and of course we cannot forget the food! People who haven’t been to visit Bradford yet don’t know what they’re missing out on!”
