If you were to believe social media then the modern-day driving range is now an all-singing, all-flashing version of what many of us grew up with. While it will appeal to many, this hi-tech world plays a game that many of us are unfamiliar with when we want to have a bit of a fun or put in some serious practice.
Boomers and Swingers, 10 miles from Manchester city centre, is a driving range unlike any other and about as far removed from any of the above. In fact it doesn’t even describe itself as a driving range – it’s a ball whacking field without any flags. And it has decommissioned military tanks for targets.
“I was telling everyone that I was going to get tanks on the range, I had no idea how and then looked how much one might be it was around £150k. But I kept telling people that it would happen,” explains Boomers and Swingers’ owner Nick Solski.
“Then a regular customer came in and mentioned that a company had bought a warehouse in Worsley down the road and that they had three tanks that they needed to get rid of. An hour later we were drinking tea and choosing where to put them. They were in James Bond’s Goldeneye. We’ve got a video of them coming in the first day, it was carnage but great fun.”
Two of the tanks take pride of place in the middle of the range while the other is your first impression of the place, sitting in the car park.
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Solski took over what was Astley driving range seven years ago after a circuitous route that took him via El Paraiso in Spain, six years at Shrigley Hall before working at the David Leadbetter Academy at La Cala when the recession of 2007 kicked in.
“One of the members had a business selling different electricity and gas. I called one Chinese restaurant and they put the phone down on me so I…
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