Happy birthday Putt-Putt - 69 years old today

Today marks 69 years since the world's first Putt-Putt course opened.

The first Putt-Putt Golf course was set-up by Don Clayton in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA on this day back in 1954.

Putt-Putt is the only patented game of miniature golf and began in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1954. In the 1960's Putt-Putt franchises began opening outside of the US, in locations such as South Africa, Australia and Japan. There were also courses in the UK, the first of which opened in Sunderland in 1968. Others followed at Flamingo Land in Yorkshire and in Buxton, Derbyshire. However, information on these UK courses is limited. You can read the Putt-Putt story on the Putt-Putt Fun Centres website.

The Putt-Putt miniature golf course in Three Anchor Bay in Moullie Point / Sea Point, Cape Town, South Africa. Photo by PJ Goedhals

Ephemera from the Putt-Putt Golf centre at Moullie Point in South Africa. From PJ Goedhals

A Putt-Putt Postcard from South Africa

A selection of Putt-Putt tokens

On the competitive side of the game, Putt-Putt tournaments have been played since 1959. You can read about the history of the PPA and APA on the Professional Putters Association website.

A Putt-Putt Puzzle of a very crazy Miniature Golf course. Published by Hallmark Cards Inc. Many thanks to our friend 'Hacksaw' Jon Drexler for sending it across the pond to live in the Crazy Golf Museum

Check out the Putt-Putt Golf website for more information on Putt-Putt brand minigolf. You can find out more information about Putt-Putt tournaments on the Professional Putters Association (PPA) website.

Putt-Putt items from Cape Town, South Africa

A look at some ephemera from the Putt-Putt Golf centre at Moullie Point in South Africa.

It was marvellous to receive these Putt-Putt Golf items from Cape Town, South Africa!

A scorecard, discount card, free game card (two free games remaining) and a Putt-Putt Golf ball from South Africa

Many thanks to my friend, supporter of The Crazy Golf Museum and international jetsetter PJ Goedhals for sending them to me. They are from his local course at Moullie Point in South Africa.

The Putt-Putt miniature golf course in Three Anchor Bay in Moullie Point / Sea Point, Cape Town, South Africa. Photo by PJ Goedhals

Some of my cousins have visited the course too.

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Putt-Putt's birthday

Today marks 66 years since the world's first Putt-Putt miniature golf course opened.

The first Putt-Putt Golf course was set-up by Don Clayton in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA back in 1954.

Putt-Putt miniature golf is 66 years old today

Today marks 66 years since the world's first Putt-Putt course opened.

The very first Putt-Putt Golf course was created by Don Clayton in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA back in 1954.

Putt-Putt is the only patented game of miniature golf and began in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1954. In the 1960's Putt-Putt franchises began opening outside of the US, in locations such as South Africa, Australia and Japan. There were also courses in the UK, the first of which opened in Sunderland in 1968. Others followed at Flamingo Land in Yorkshire and in Buxton, Derbyshire. However, information on these UK courses is limited.

You can read the Putt-Putt story on the Putt-Putt Fun Centres website.

Tournament Putt-Putt

On the competitive side of the game, official Putt-Putt tournaments have been played since 1959. The first local competition took place in 1955. You can read about the history of the PPA and APA on the Professional Putters Association website.

Televised events

The game has been televised quite a bit over the years, with ESPN in the USA carrying tournaments. Every year they air repeats of Putt-Putt tournaments as part of ESPN 8: The Ocho's programming.

You can watch a number of events from the 1970s to the 2000s on the Putt-Putt Funhouse YouTube Channel.

Playing Putt-Putt

The closest Emily and I have got to being at a Putt-Putt course are some postcards, game tokens, a jigsaw puzzle and a photo one of my family took at a course while in South Africa.

Saying that however, I did win a free round at Putt-Putt of Warren in Ohio last month. I'm looking forward to playing there in the future.

A Putt-Putt postcard from South Africa

I do have some Putt-Putt tokens in my collection. I'm always on the lookout for more though

A look at Putt-Putt courses in the USA and South Africa

Luckily some of our fellow miniature golf enthusiasts, bloggers, minigolf rivals and friends have shared photos of some of their favourite Putt-Putt courses with us.

Putt Putt in Richmond, Indiana. Photo by Tom and Robin at A Couple of Putts

The Putt-Putt Fun Center course in Hickory, North Carolina photographed by Pat Sheridan of The Putting Penguin minigolf website

Pro Putter Matt Bellner playing the Putt-Putt course in Arlington, Texas

  

The Putt-Putt miniature golf course in Three Anchor Bay in Moullie Point / Sea Point, Cape Town, South Africa. Photo by PJ Goedhals

Find out more

Check out the Putt-Putt Golf website for more information on Putt-Putt brand minigolf. You can find out more information about Putt-Putt tournaments on the Professional Putters Association (PPA) website.

2016 - what a year

A look at a minigolf calendar from 2016.

During lockdown I've been looking through the archives and vaults of the Crazy Golf Museum and one of the things I found was this signed Matt "Mattie 5" Bellner calendar from 2016.

What an item!

What a year!

Matt is a professional Putt-Putt player and a member of the US national minigolf team. Check out the Mattie 5 website for more information.

If you had a time machine would you go back in time or forwards into the future?

Mattie 5's minigolf movie

There are plans for a new miniature golf movie from Putt-Putt and Mini Golf Champion Mattie 5.

Our friend and Putt-Putt fanatic Matt 'Mattie 5' Bellner has just launched a GoFundMe campaign for his minigolf movie.

We're looking forward to seeing the end result!

Putt-Putt Pro Matt Bellner playing the course in Arlington, Texas

Happy birthday Putt-Putt - 65 years old today

Today marks 65 years since the world's first Putt-Putt course opened.

The first Putt-Putt Golf course was set-up by Don Clayton in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA back in 1954.

Over the years a number of our fellow miniature golf enthusiasts, bloggers, minigolf rivals and friends have shared photos of some of their favourite Putt-Putt courses.

Putt Putt in Richmond, Indiana. Photo by Tom and Robin at A Couple of Putts

Putt-Putt is the only patented game of miniature golf and began in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1954. In the 1960's Putt-Putt franchises began opening outside of the US, in locations such as South Africa, Australia and Japan. There were also courses in the UK, the first of which opened in Sunderland in 1968. Others followed at Flamingo Land in Yorkshire and in Buxton, Derbyshire. However, information on these UK courses is limited. You can read the Putt-Putt story on the Putt-Putt Fun Centres website.

The Putt-Putt miniature golf course in Three Anchor Bay in Moullie Point / Sea Point, Cape Town, South Africa. Photo by PJ Goedhals

The Putt Putt Fun Center course in Hickory, North Carolina photographed by Pat Sheridan of The Putting Penguin minigolf website

Putt Putt Pro Matt Bellner playing the course in Arlington, TX

Matt Bellner playing the Putt Putt course in Lake Charles, LA, USA

On the competitive side of the game, Putt-Putt tournaments have been played since 1959. You can read about the history of the PPA and APA on the Professional Putters Association website.

Putt Putt Fun Center in Richmond, Indiana. Photo by Tom and Robin at A Couple of Putts

Allan Cox, aka The Putter King, has been playing Putt-Putt in tournaments and for fun for a number of years and has perfected his shots on a lot of Putt-Putt courses down under.



Unfortunately the closest Emily and I have got to playing Putt-Putt are some postcards, some game tokens, a jigsaw puzzle and a photo one of my family took of a course while in South Africa!

A photo of the Three Anchor Bay Putt-Putt course in January 2017. Photo by Adam Trigg

A Putt-Putt postcard from South Africa

I do have a lot of Putt-Putt tokens in my collection

A Putt-Putt Puzzle of a very crazy Miniature Golf course. Published by Hallmark Cards Inc. Many thanks to our friend 'Hacksaw' Jon Drexler for sending it across the pond to live in the Crazy Golf Museum

Check out the Putt-Putt Golf website for more information on Putt-Putt brand minigolf. You can find out more information about Putt-Putt tournaments on the Professional Putters Association (PPA) website.

Hopefully we'll get to play the Putt-Putt format of the game on our travels in the future.

Related blog posts:
- Putt-Putt
- A token blog post
- Putt-Putt in Cape Town, South Africa
- A Putt-Putt Postcard from South Africa
- Putt-Putt Germiston in Johannesburg, South Africa
- Putt-Putt at Three Anchor Bay in Moullie Point/Sea Point in Cape Town

Links:
- Putt-Putt Golf
- PPA Database
- Professional Putters Association (PPA)

Putt-Putt in Cape Town, South Africa

A look at the Putt-Putt miniature golf courses at Moullie Point in Cape Town, South Africa.

Many thanks to my friend and world traveller PJ Goedhals for sending over some photos from his visit to his home town Putt Putt course in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Putt-Putt miniature golf course in Three Anchor Bay in Moullie Point / Sea Point, Cape Town, South Africa. Photo by PJ Goedhals

PJ managed to shoot an even par and the lowest round of the day!

Local champion PJ Goedhals on the Putt-Putt leaderboard

PJ said that the courses used to be blue and orange, with the course closest in the photo being the orange course. According to his old stats, it plays about 3-4 shots tougher than the blue course.

PJ's scorecard from the round - a round of 36 on a Putt-Putt course is solid

I've blogged about the course before, the first time was after buying a postcard of it, the second time was when Adam Trigg sent me a snap of it while he was there.

Check out PJ's other guest blog posts on the Ham & Egger Files.

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the first Putt-Putt course, set-up by Don Clayton in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA back in 1954.

We're yet to play the Putt-Putt brand of miniature golf. Sadly there are no longer any Putt-Putt courses in the UK. Hopefully we'll get to play the format on our travels in the future.

Putt-Putt Germiston in Johannesburg, South Africa

A look at a postcard coupon good for one free round at Putt-Putt Germiston in Johannesburg, South Africa.

I recently bought 50 more postcards for my collection of minigolf cards and among them was this Putt-Putt advertising postcard/coupon. It's not the first version I've seen, but it was still well worth getting as it's such a nice piece of ephemera and minigolf history.

Putt-Putt Golf Courses - South Africa's Premier Putting Courses. A postcard coupon good for one free round at Putt-Putt Germiston, Johannesburg

This postcard is stamped for a free game at 'Putt-Putt Germiston', the other one I have is for 'Putt-Putt Southdale'. Sadly the Germiston location is no longer there.

The reverse of the postcard coupon good for one free round at Putt-Putt Germiston, Johannesburg

My expert minigolf contact from South Africa PJ Goedhals identified the location on the front of the card as the Putt-Putt miniature golf course at Three Anchor Bay in Moullie Point/Sea Point in Cape Town - PJ's local course! Some of my cousins have also visited the course.

A photo of the Three Anchor Bay Putt-Putt course in January last year

Putt-Putt is the only patented game of miniature golf and began in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1954. In the 1960's Putt-Putt franchises began opening outside of the US, in locations such as the one on the postcard, as well as Australia and Japan. At one time there were even Putt-Putt courses in the UK. You can read the Putt-Putt story on the Putt-Putt Fun Centers website.

Related blog posts:
- Putt-Putt
- Postcard
- Postcards
- South Africa
- A Putt-Putt Postcard from South Africa

Happy birthday Putt-Putt

Today marks the 64th anniversary of the first Putt-Putt course, set-up by Don Clayton in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA back in 1954.

To mark the occasion I've spoken to a number of my fellow miniature golf enthusiasts and bloggers and they've shared photos of some of their favourite Putt-Putt courses.

Putt Putt in Richmond, Indiana. Photo by Tom & Robin at A Couple of Putts

Putt-Putt is the only patented game of miniature golf and began in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1954. In the 1960's Putt-Putt franchises began opening outside of the US, in locations such as the one on the postcard shown below, as well as Australia and Japan. You can read the Putt-Putt story on the Putt-Putt Fun Centres website.

The Putt Putt Fun Center course in Hickory, North Carolina photographed by Pat Sheridan of The Putting Penguin minigolf website

Putt Putt Pro Matt Bellner playing the course in Arlington, TX

Matt Bellner playing the Putt Putt course in Lake Charles, LA, USA

On the competitive side of the game, Putt-Putt tournaments have been played since 1959. You can read about the history of the PPA and APA on the Professional Putters Association website.

Putt Putt Fun Center in Richmond, Indiana. Photo by Tom Loftus and Robin Schwartzman at A Couple of Putts

Unfortunately the closest Emily and I have got to playing a Putt-Putt course is a postcard, some game tokens, a jigsaw puzzle and a photo one of my family took while in South Africa!

A Putt-Putt postcard from South Africa

I do have a lot of Putt-Putt tokens in my collection

The Putt-Putt course at Three Anchor Bay in Moullie Point/Sea Point in Cape Town, photo by Adam Trigg

A Putt-Putt Puzzle of a very crazy Miniature Golf course. Published by Hallmark Cards Inc. Many thanks to our friend 'Hacksaw' Jon Drexler for sending it across the pond to live in the Crazy Golf Museum

There used to be Putt-Putt brand minigolf courses in the UK, but they're long gone.

Check out the Putt-Putt website for more information on Putt-Putt brand minigolf. You can find out more information about Putt-Putt tournaments on the Professional Putters Association website.

Between 1958 and 2000 there were a number of newsletters and magazines produced and the online archive is a mine of information. My favourite Putt-Putt World cover is definitely that of the Summer 1982 edition (volume 24, number 3)!

Related blog posts:
- A Putt-Putt Postcard from South Africa
- Putt-Putt at Three Anchor Bay in Moullie Point/Sea Point in Cape Town
- A token blog post

Links:
- Putt-Putt
- Professional Putters Association (PPA)

Putt-Putt at Three Anchor Bay in Moullie Point/Sea Point in Cape Town

A look at a Putt-Putt course in Cape Town, South Africa.

Many thanks to Adam Trigg for sending me a snap of the Putt-Putt course at Three Anchor Bay in Moullie Point/Sea Point, Cape Town from his recent trip to South Africa.

The Putt-Putt course at Three Anchor Bay in Cape Town

I've blogged about the course before as I own a postcard showing the course. My friend PJ Goedhals was a local champion of the venue and tells me the two courses were previously painted distinct colours - one orange and one blue.

The Putt-Putt course on the 1960s postcard

We're yet to play the Putt-Putt brand of miniature golf. Sadly there are no longer any Putt-Putt courses in the UK. Hopefully we'll get to play the format when we're next in the USA.

A Putt-Putt Postcard from South Africa

We recently visited York and attended the International Postcard Expo held at the racecourse to see what miniature golf postcards we could find. We found a bumper crop.

We picked up 31 minigolf postcards for our collection at the York CardExpo

The very first postcard we bought at the fair was from Brian Lund of Reflections of a Bygone Age who had saved a great old Putt-Putt card from South Africa for me.

The reverse of the card is stamped from 'Putt-Putt Southdale', a suburb of Johannesburg, and doubles as a FREE game card!

Putt-Putt is the only patented game of miniature golf and began in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1954. In the 1960's Putt-Putt franchises began opening outside of the US, in locations such as the one on the postcard, as well as Australia and Japan. You can read the Putt-Putt story on the Putt-Putt Fun Centres website.

Update 22/04/15: My expert minigolf contact in South Africa PJ Goedhals has been doing some research on the location of the Putt-Putt course shown on the postcard and he tells me that course is not in Johannesburg as I had thought based on the words 'Putt-Putt Southdale' stamped on the reverse.

The location on the front of the card is actually the Putt-Putt miniature golf course at Three Anchor Bay in Moullie Point/Sea Point in Cape Town - PJ's local course! Great to hear that it's still standing. I can't find a website for the course, but it has got a Google+ page.

Looking at the card again it makes sense that one standard postcard/advertising card was produced for marketing purposes and then distributed to all of the Putt-Putt courses in South Africa. So the Southdale location stamped on the reverse of the card is in Johannesburg, but the image is of the course in Cape Town. Many thanks to PJ and his Putt-Putt contacts for the info.

There are currently Putt-Putt courses in a number of US states as well as a competition circuit operated by the Professional Putters Association.

The PPA website has an archive of Putt-Putt World Magazine - a great resource and an interesting read indeed.

Check out MiniatureGolfer.com for details of minigolf courses in South Africa.

Links:
- York International Postcard Expo
- Reflections of a Bygone Age
- Picture Postcard Monthly Magazine
- Putt-Putt Fun Centres
- Professional Putters Association

Related blog posts:
- Postcard
- Postcards

Miniature Golf Days in 2013

Special days to celebrate Minigolf!

If, like me, you're a fan of Miniature Golf (and it's many varieties) you'll be pleased to know that there are a number of special days to celebrate the great game!

The first will be on Saturday 11th of May 2013 which marks 'National Miniature Golf Day'.

The second is 'Miniature Golf Day' which always falls on the 21st of September and this year will be a Saturday.

Playing the 18th hole in front of the crowd at Wroxham Barns in the 2011 BMGA English Open

Interestingly two British Minigolf Association Tour competitions will be taking place on each of the above 'days', with the BMGA British Championships taking place at Wroxham Barns in Hoveton, Norfolk on the weekend of the 11th & 12th of May. Saturday 21st September will see the first day's play of the BMGA British International Open contested at Strokes Adventure Golf in Margate, Kent.

Playing hole 2 at the 2012 BMGA British Open at Strokes Adventure Golf in Margate, Kent

Last year on the 6th of May the Austrian Minigolf Federation (Österreichischer Bahnengolf-Verband - OBGV) organised the third-annual 'Minigolf Tag' ('Minigolf Day').

Related Blog Posts:

- Miniature Golf Days in 2012

- Dates for your Diary - National Miniature Golf Day

- Happy Miniature Golf Day 2011

- How I celebrated Miniature Golf Day 2011

- Let's get Minigolf 'trending' - Twitter, Minigolf and #MinigolfMonday

- Types and Variants of Miniature Golf visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Links:

- National Miniature Golf Day on Wikipedia (within ‘Miniature Golf’ article - the first edition was in 2007)

- Miniature Golf Day on the Holiday Insights website

- #MinigolfMonday on Twitter

- British Minigolf Association

- World Minigolf Sport Federation

Miniature Golf Days in 2012

Special days to mark the great game of Miniature Golf.

According to ‘the internet’ there are two days each year to celebrate Miniature Golf!

The first of these is National Miniature Golf Day and falls on the second Saturday in May, this year it’s on Saturday 12th of May. The first ever National Miniature Golf Day was held on the 12th of May 2007!

The second of these is Miniature Golf Day and is always on the 21st of September.

This year the British Minigolf Association Tour will be at Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate, Kent on the 21st of September (a Friday) and the BMGA Players Championship (and BMGA International Players Championship) will be contested. The weekend of the 22nd and 23rd September sees the 15th annual BMGA British International Open tournament played at the course.

Playing hole 1 of the Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate, Kent

Where will you be playing Minigolf, Crazy Golf, Adventure Golf or Putt-Putt on the Miniature Golf Days this year...?

Related Blog Posts:

- Dates for your Diary - National Miniature Golf Day

- Happy Miniature Golf Day 2011

- How I celebrated Miniature Golf Day 2011

- Let's get Minigolf 'trending' - Twitter, Minigolf and #MinigolfMonday

- Types and Variants of Miniature Golf visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Links:

- National Miniature Golf Day on Wikipedia (within ‘Miniature Golf’ article)

- Miniature Golf Day on the Holiday Insights website

- "May 12, 2012 is National Miniature Golf Day" on Punchbowl

- National Miniature Golf Day blog post on The Lope

- #MinigolfMonday on Twitter