Friday, March 27, 2015

Crazy Golf in Wardown Park Luton

The Crazy Golf and Minigolf courses in Luton's Wardown Park are no more!

Miniature Golf in Wardown Park, Luton
The sign for the Miniature Golf courses is still there

On Wednesday 25 March my friend and sometimes minigolf rival Simon 'Practice' Hall let me know that the minigolf and crazy golf courses in Luton's Wardown Park had been removed, so I had to head down for a look.

The Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in Wardown Park, Luton on the 25 March 2015
The fibreglass holes of the Crazy Golf course have been dug out of their foundations and put in a pile. The muddy patch in the background is where the miniature golf grass putting course was

The Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in Wardown Park, Luton on the 25 March 2015
The old Crazy Golf holes piled on top of hole 1

The Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in Wardown Park, Luton on the 25 March 2015
A view of the Crazy Golf course area, with the 'grass' Minigolf layout on the left

The grass Miniature Golf course had been in Wardown Park since 19 June 1934 when it was opened by the town's Mayor. The fibreglass Crazy Golf course was a much later addition.

Hole 6 of the Crazy Golf course in Luton's Wardown Park in May 2007
Hole 6 of the Crazy Golf course in Luton's Wardown Park in May 2007

The Crazy Golf course was the 18th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on 5 May 2007, with the Grass Putting Miniature Golf layout the 19th played on 19 May.

Emily playing Crazy Golf in Luton's Wardown Park in July 2007. The very green grass putting layout is on the other side of the fence
Emily playing Crazy Golf in Luton's Wardown Park in July 2007. The very green grass putting layout is on the other side of the fence

I hadn't seen or heard anything in the local media about changes to the minigolf area of the park and the staff in Wardown Park Museum didn't have any further information on the removal of the courses.

I asked Luton Borough Council why the Crazy Golf and Minigolf Putting courses in Wardown Park have been dug up?

They responded telling me it's a new meadow planting project with Sheffield University. There'll be nine plots, pathways and 'picnic zones'.

I then asked what was going to happen to the obstacles from the course and was told that the course will be reinstalled in another area of the park.

Mystery solved.

It'll be interesting to see what the area looks like when it's finished and where the Crazy Golf holes end up.

Playing hole 3 of the Wardown Park Crazy Golf course in Luton in 2007
Playing hole 3 in some golfing attire in 2007

An Autumn/Winter look to the Crazy Golf course Wardown Park, Luton in November 2011
An Autumn/Winter look to the course in November 2011

Hole 1 of the Crazy Golf course in Luton's Wardown Park as it used to look in May 2007
Hole 1 as it used to look

Playing the miniature golf grass putting in Wardown Park, Luton in May 2010
Playing the miniature golf grass putting in Wardown Park in May 2010

Check out the links below for photos and videos of the courses since we first visited them in 2007.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy Golf & Minigolf Courses in and around Luton, Bedfordshire
- Course Played #18 Luton (Wardown Park) - Crazy Golf
- Course Played #19 Luton (Wardown Park) - Miniature Golf
- Wardown Park in Luton - Changes to the Crazy Golf Course & Ducks Fighting
- Crazy Golf at Luton's Wardown Park - November 2010
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf at Luton's Wardown Park
- More Snow - Sledging & Crazy Golf
- Snow halts play
Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
Luton

Videos:
- View of the Crazy Golf Course at Wardown Park in Luton
Crazy Golf course changes at Wardown Park in Luton

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sheffield uni meadow plots! Put them somewhere else. What a shame. Crazy.

Richard Gottfried said...

I read in this week's Luton News that the former Mini and Crazy Golf site at Luton's Wardown Park has now re-opened and is called the 'Luton Minigolf Meadows'!

Strange as there is no longer any minigolf there.

The photo in the paper does look nice, and Wardown Park is a pleasant spot just outside of the town centre, but it's still annoying that the site has had all trace of the actual minigolf courses removed, while bearing a new name with the word minigolf in it.

The Crazy Golf facility will be relocated to another area of the park, but no word as to where it'll be put has been announced yet.

The grass Miniature Golf course had been on the site in Wardown Park since the 19th June 1934 when it was opened by the town's Mayor. The Crazy Golf course was a much later addition to the spot.

The project was funded by the University of Sheffield, the F3ues Urban BESS project and the Green Estate. With the seed provided by Pictorial Meadows.

For more information about the Luton Minigolf Meadows and opening time visit the Luton Borough Council website.