Mini Mid Canterbury
Ashburton, Canterbury
Circa Budget:
$500,000
Hole-in-One for Community
Breathing life into Ashburton's EA Networks Centre with an 18-hole mini golf course that captures Mid Canterbury's essence. As part of the venue's 10-year milestone, "Mini Mid Canterbury" boasts terraced designs with local flair—think Mt Hutt climbs, braided river bends, and a handcrafted salmon tribute— all wrapped in weatherproof tilt slabs for endless play.
What was once an underutilised area is now a lively, free-to-play attraction that welcomes locals and visitors alike. From innovative prototyping to seamless install, this project highlights our knack for turning bold briefs into enduring attractions, blending accessibility, challenge, and charm for every generation.
Don’t miss Mini Mid Canterbury on your Ashburton trip — book here.
“It’s something that I see serving our community for 20, 30 years to come.”
Meeting Council Needs
The successful execution of this project stemmed from our commitment to meeting every requirement of the Council’s brief head-on. We ensured:
Fixed Delivery Date: The project was completed within the tight timeline, regardless of weather conditions.
Durability and Use: The course was built tough for round-the-clock, 24/7 use by the public.
- Budget Certainty: Just like with every project, we stuck precisely to the proposed budget—no surprises or extra bills for the Council
Design Balance: The layout balances family fun with genuine skill challenges.
Minimal Upkeep: Design choices were made to ensure minimal upkeep is needed long-term, saving costs for the Council.
Local Themes: Every hole features themes that nod to Ashburton icons, from the Rakaia Salmon to Mt Hutt.
Accessibility: The design is fully accessible for all ages and abilities, with the first 11 holes kept flat for ease of access with prams or wheelchairs.
Creo managed the entire project end-to-end, acting as a single contractor. This “one-stop shop” approach made life super easy for the Council since they only had to chat with us, streamlining coordination and eliminating the hassle of managing a dozen different vendors or tradies.
Built Smart, Designed to Last
This Mini Golf Course represents Creo’s boldest swing at innovation. We leveraged new techniques and materials to ensure both speed of delivery and long-term durability:
Tilt Slabs: The use of tilt slabs for the hole construction was a Creo first, allowing for faster manufacturing in our Oamaru facility before being trucked to site. This was perfect for incorporating detail-heavy themes and maintaining a fast pace.
Concept-to-Build Workflow: We streamlined the process by skipping full shop drawings, jumping straight from concept to build-ready specifications with precise measures and technical specs before moving into prototyping.
Material Innovation: For quirky elements like the sheep or combine harvesters, we rigorously tested timber, rubber, 3D prints, and steel. The winning solution was digitally printed aluminum faces over LVL timber frames. This construction is highly durable, weatherproof, and features a Resene paint system for easy touch-ups, ensuring the vibrant colour pops for years to come.
“You don’t see an 80-year-old grandmother playing on a new playground. Here, you have the three-year-old, the 80-year-old, and anyone in between.”
Themed Holes Breakdown
Creo’s design team captured the heart of Mid Canterbury and distilled its most iconic landmarks, industries, and landscapes into 18 playable holes. We handled full design and built the majority of elements inside our Oamaru workshop to eliminate weather delays, delivering the entire course in record time.
- Hole 1 – Braided rivers and the Ashburton District Council river logo
- Hole 2 – Ashburton town clock tower
- Hole 3 – Irrigation schemes that power local farming
- Hole 4 – Lake Hood watersports culture
- Hole 5 – Dairy farming with rubber yard and grazing cows
- Hole 6 – Ashburton Aviation Museum
- Hole 7 – Local sports: rugby, netball, hockey, cricket
- Hole 8 – Ashburton River pedestrian bridge
- Hole 9 – Whakanui Beach coastal terrain
- Hole 10 – Native longfin eels and traditional hinaki traps
- Hole 11 – Rakaia salmon landmark
- Hole 12 – Rakaia Bridge structure
- Hole 13 – Sheep farming heritage
- Hole 14 – Arable farming with combine harvester and silos
- Hole 15 – Staveley ice rink
- Hole 16 – Methven village pubs and hot pools
- Hole 17 – Hakatere Conservation Park and Mount Sunday
- Hole 18 – Mt Hutt skifield slopes
A Touch of Local Flair
We believe that great projects are a collaboration of engineering, community, and creativity. We were delighted to partner with local Oamaru artist, Wicksey, to bring a truly unique and vibrant touch to the Mini Mid Canterbury Golf Course. Wicksey’s incredible talent transformed two key holes into genuine pieces of local art.
Hole #12 pays tribute to the iconic Rakaia salmon statue. The centrepiece is a salmon sculpture, which Wicksey meticulously painted. His artistic vision added realistic detail and striking colour, making this model a fun, fishy obstacle and a beautiful ode to the region’s famous fishing landmark.
Inspired by the Ashburton Aviation Museum, Hole #6 features miniature planes. Wicksey’s brushwork brought these models to life, giving them authentic-looking liveries and a sense of dynamic flight. His work ensures that the spirit of local aviation history is literally flying high on the course.
This course is more than just a game—it’s a vibrant showcase of local talent and a celebration of the unique landmarks that make the Ashburton District special.
“It offers challenge and variety for repeat play, caters to different levels of mobility, and meets the requirement of an unmanned community facility.”
The Magic Behind the Mini Golf
We usually keep our construction secrets under wraps, but for a project this fun, we couldn’t resist. This is an exclusive sneak peek behind the fences where the Mini Mid Canterbury Golf Course came to life. Every member of the Creo team was excited to be involved, from the design office to the fabrication floor. Seeing the vision turn into physical reality was a genuine thrill.
These photos capture the hard work, the collaboration, and the absolute passion our team poured into creating this vibrant community asset. Enjoy this rare glimpse into The Creo Way of building play.
A Heartfelt Thank You to Ashburton District Council
A big thank you to Ashburton District Council for the fantastic partnership on Mini Mid Canterbury. Special thanks to Mayor Liz McMillan, former Mayor Neil Brown, former Councillor Leen Braam, Sarah Mosley (Group Manager People & Facilities), and Richard Wood (Sport & Recreation Manager) for their work, vision and insightful interviews in our opening day video. Your ideas, trust, and collaboration helped Creo deliver an accessible, durable course that’s already bringing the community together. We couldn’t have done it without you.
Connect with our team to design a vibrant playground, select top-tier equipment, explore safe surfacing, choose complete packages, or add shelters. Your ideas drive our creations.