| City/Town: • Norman |
| Location Class: • Amusement |
| Built: • 1994 | Abandoned: • 2010 |
| Status: • Abandoned |
| Photojournalist: • Michael Schwarz • Mary Evans |
Perfect Swing has been closed down since 2010 due to a tornado that swept through and tore up part of the building. Now in 2012 it still sits and nothing has been done. Ironically their website is still active stating “We will temporarily be closed for remodeling due to the May 2010 tornado. The Driving Range will remain open during the remodeling phase. Please check back for future updates.” – Click to see a commercial aired in 2009
And of course the driving range is closed too.
News 9 Article
By Rusty Surette, NEWS 9
NORMAN, Oklahoma — For a Norman business, Monday’s severe weather was perfect timing.
“We had about 80 elementary kids here until 1:00 in the afternoon,” said Allison Akard, general manager of the Perfect Swing on Highway 9.
The family fun center took a direct hit by the storms and caused significant damage to the property. Akard said everyone, including employees, had left by 4:30 p.m. The storm hit about an hour later.
The front building is nearly split in two and is now close to collapsing.
“The city of Norman has already been here and said we would have to tear down the garage, our corporate center and a pavilion,” Akard said.
The company does plan to rebuild and reopen.
“We’ve been open since ’89 and this is the first time weather has done this here,” Akard said.
Website from 2007 (LINK)
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I was in Norman June of 2019 I saw people there just having fun
I remember about 10 years ago I would take my children there for there birthday partys they had a blast. I was hoping they would be open so I could take my granddaughter, we had a lot of good memories there.
I live in the apartments next to it, there are people living or doing work on it and will call the cops if you try to get on the land; even if just taking pictures.
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Thanks for sharing.
nice pic bro http://www.duniapuisi.com
Why couldnt you get any pictures from the inside?
all doors and windows are doubled boarded inside and out, there was concern over the location becoming a trap house – you can understand the difficulty of getting inside without carrying tools that if caught would comfortably get you charged with breaking and entering.
I was born & raised in Norman and this place was a staple to my elementar/middle school years! I practically learned how to drive with those go-karts! School parties, birthday parties, end of season soccer parties, and even experienced a night time "rave" party there. I wish y'all could have actually got inside the main building to take photos. If I remember correctly, there was a huge "jungle-gym" area & arcade games on the lower floor, and air hockey tables & hoop shot games on the second floor. Oh the memories!!
Thank you for the information.
Why couldnt you get any pictures from the inside?
I-I remember going to Perfect Swing all the time when I was a child.. Those were nice times..
Such an interesting place… After looking into it further, the driving range opened first in 1989 with the "Fun Center" being built and opened later in 1994. Hardwick still owns the property, and it is still maintained by his brother who lives in Norman. It's almost like they're planning on doing something with the property. So weird.
Does anyone have the contact information for the owner of this property? I understand him to be a Mr James Hardwick? Supposedly he lives in California? I am needing to contact him ASAP. Thanks!
Contact his brother, Ken Hardwick. You can find his information on Google.
[…] Perfect Swing Family Fun Center is a staple in Norman, even after its closure in 2010. I remember going there a handful of times when I was in high school, in the early part of this century. It was like a Celebration Station, but it had a driving range. A lot of teenagers made it their hangout place on weekend nights, and business seemed to be booming before a storm swept in and devastated it. […]
Driven past this a million times and always wondered what happened. As always, thanks for the great post!