A NEW jungle-themed crazy golf course has opened midway between Farnham and Odiham – and promises to be a hit with families this summer.

Junglemania Adventure Golf, found off the A287 to the rear of the BP garage in Mill Lane, is truly a family affair.

Great granddad Jerry, granddad Neil Finn, his sons Ben and Joseph, and even grandson Blake, aged just four, have all rolled up their sleeves to help bring the course to fruition – and the results are astonishing.

One and a half acres of scrubland has been painstakingly landscaped with wildflowers and water features over the past 12 months – with an appreciative buzz of bees, dragonflies and butterflies greeting visitors.

And the course itself is a cut above, with the family showing immense attention to detail and hand-crafting the holes from scratch.

The Finns have spent the past five years planning each of the 18 holes, and have gone to great lengths to source the best artificial grass going, laid on a permeable sub-base to ensure the surface plays like a real putting green all year round.

Each hole offers an easy route and a harder route for golfers to test their mettle – with the added peril of bright orange bunkers and blue ‘water’ hazards, with the grass pile pointed away from the hole to make it tricky to get your ball back on course.

There are also adult tees and junior tees as an extra ‘leveller’ for younger guests.

“We’ve been planning the holes for years,” said Ben. “I spent quite a bit of time in America and so played a lot of them out there and pinched a few ideas!”

One particular masterpiece is the penultimate 17th hole, being a traditional ‘skee ball’ design where players have to take their chances hitting the ball up a ramp, with the jeopardy of potentially losing or gaining shots depending on which hole their balls ends up in.

The Finns have sourced a menagerie of fibre glass animals from Cornwall, including a life-sized rhino and two-thirds sized elephant, many of which provide an obstacle or two along the course.

Speakers will play the sounds of the jungle throughout the course, adding to the atmosphere.

And around the perimeter is a Mini Land Rover Experience for three to ten year olds, inviting young drivers to complete challenges as they drive around the course to earn their ‘driving licence’.

Joseph said: “There will be some children who don’t want to play golf but do want to drive – it just enables the whole family can come out and that hopefully there is something for everybody.”

A wheelchair-friendly path also snakes between the holes.

The Finns first gained planning permission for the crazy golf course five years ago – only for Odiham Parish Council to ask if they would consider building houses on the site instead to help meet local housing targets.

This proposal was nipped in the bud by Hart District Council, however, and so last July the family reverted to Plan A and began building their own crazy golf attraction.

Since then, the Finns have collectively removed around 900 tonnes of “rubbish” from the site, put in about 1,200 tonnes of stone, as well as around 1,600 metres of drainage pipes and all the electrics.

Neil and Ben have done much of the labour on site, with Joseph establishing the website and booking system, and even young Blake helping fill in ditches with his toy wheelbarrow!

And it will remain a family operation once open, with Neil's youngest daughter also set to run the cafe, which will boast indoor and outdoor seating, selling hot and cold food and drinks – open to all-comers, not just crazy golfers.

Joseph has also relocated his and his wife’s start-up ‘bubble desserts’ business Fruchoc to the course, having run this from home after being made redundant last year.

“We hope people will get to know us as a family, come here for a family day out or even just a nice cup of coffee,” said Joseph.

“We are a part of the community and want to give back as well, and support local charities and schools.”

Junglemania will open all year round, seven days a week from 8am to 9pm initially, with the Finns going to great lengths to ensure the course is weather-proof.

Unlike most crazy golf courses, where the turf (if any at all) is glued crudely on top of concrete, Junglemania has instead sourced the best turf going, laid on a sub-base of crushed concrete and ‘Grano Dust’ to ensure the holes are fully permeable and will drain well in the event of any downpours.

The family also plans to apply to the council for floodlighting and an alcohol licence, and “down the line” an indoor course, complete with new clubhouse.

Drop-in visits are welcome, but booking ahead is recommended – with ‘tee off’ times five minutes apart to ensure visitors are nicely spaced out.

And it promises to be a quick start, with the course already generating a lot of buzz online.

Joseph said: “We don’t have something like this on our doorstep and in the space of a week and a half since launching our Facebook page, we’re close to 1,500 followers already!

“And the day after we launched our page, the World Crazy Golf Championships people reached out to say they had just written an article to let all their members know about us– so who knows, we may host a championship!”

Neil added: “It has been a long, tough slog. But we are nearly there now.”

* Book a round (adults £10, children and concessions £7.50, families £30) at www.junglemaniagolf.com