These days, Garry Sawatzky is part entrepreneur, part graphic artist, part janitor.
He’s at Skull Island, his mini golf course in Wasaga Beach, each day at 6:30 a.m., making sure everything is pristine for the arrival of the first guests.
At 73, Sawatzky can’t bring himself to retire, so he’s constantly adding new features to keep the Skull Island experience fresh.
In his 20s, Sawatzky started out in fine art, “But I quickly discovered I was going to starve to death. I couldn’t get a real job so I switched to commercial art. I started out doing signs, then graduated to murals. I discovered murals paid a lot better than fine art.”
Sawatzky started designing mini golf courses in the 80s. The first was Rattlesnake Canyon in Osoyoos.
“Very quickly, I discovered this was a real business," he said. "There was money in them there hills.”
Seventeen years ago, Sawatzky moved to Ontario to be closer to his first grandchild.
“I needed something to do and I considered becoming a property developer, then I found this piece of land in Wasaga Beach," said Sawatzky. "Initially, this was a field, and I did everything myself – the murals, the ships, the rocks...”
He says the inspiration for Skull Island was less Nancy Island than Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean. He knew it had to be a catchy name, and an immersive experience.
“Our demo has changed significantly in the 15 years since we opened. It used to be very blue collar and sort of wild west. These days, we see more cottagers than beach goers. People will travel one and a half hours to get here,” he observes. Over the course of the summer season, Skull Island typically sees 33,000 to 34,000 visitors. “We add new features every year. We have to keep it fresh so it’s a new experience every time you come back. And people do come back.”
Last year’s new feature was a giant lizard, sunning itself on a rock with eyes that light up at night. That feature was built entirely in his home workshop in Creemore. “This winter, I’ll be working on a sea monster that will rise up out of the pond.”
The Skull Island property on Main Street in Wasaga Beach is zoned to permit a six-storey building. Sawatzky says he’s considering building a hotel and making the mini golf course indoor. “That’s three or four years down the road. I’ll keep the pool and redesign everything else. Sort of Skull Island 2.0. This will be my last kick at the can. I still love designing and building, but I just can’t work the 12-hour days any more. These days, I’m down to about nine hours.”
It takes about an hour to play the course at Skull Island. Admission is $14.95 for adults, $10.95 for youth ages six to 12, and $7.95 for children five and under.
