Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Nine years of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Today marks nine years since the start of our crazy golfing travels!

Photo of the Treasure Island Adventure Golf course on Long Curtain Road in Southsea

Back on the 30th September 2006 we visited my brother Christopher down in Southsea, Hampshire and while there had a game on the Treasure Island Adventure Golf course on Long Curtain Road near Clarence Pier. On the lucky last hole I managed to 'fire the cannon' and won a free game. The rest is history!

The Free Game Pass that set the ball rolling!

Since that first course visit we've visited a grand total of 671 courses around the world. Of these we've played 389, while 282 of them have been unplayable for a variety of reasons.

Who knows why so many courses around the country fall into disrepair!?

Earlier this year we hit some BIG minigolf landmarks on our tour, with visits to the 600th and 650th courses in overall and in the UK while on holiday in the South West of England.

This summer I also revisited Southsea for Christopher's Stag Do and managed to squeeze in a round on the Victory Trail Adventure Golf course at Treasure Island - and I once again hit the top hole to win a free game!

Photo of the Victory Trail minigolf course at Treasure Island Adventure Golf in Southsea
The Victory Trail at Treasure Island - where our tour began

There's some nice theming on the Pirate course

As well as some tricky holes

The 8th on the Victory Trail

The last hole

The Lucky Last Hole in Southsea - scene of a few Free Game wins. None have ever been claimed

We estimate there are around 50 more courses we're yet to visit in the UK. Although when we began there were around 600 courses!

Check out the photos and links below from some of our landmark course visits.


Southsea has been a happy hunting ground for free game cards

#25 Great Yarmouth (Jungle Golf at the Gardens)

The Jungle Golf course is now the site of a Segway Grand Prix track

#50 Tampere, Finland (Beton Concrete Minigolf)

Emily on international duty with the GB team in Finland


The tricky minigolf course in Guildford

#100 visited overall and played #173 Gorleston-on-Sea (Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf at Pop's Meadow Putting Green)

Photo of the Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course at Pop's Meadow Putting Green in Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk
A felt-less Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course


The BIG 100th course played

#125 Swansea/Abertawe (Crazy Golf at Singleton Boating Lake)

The Crazy Golf course in Swansea


A windmill on the Masters course in Southport

#175 Las Vegas - King Putt (North West Las Vegas, USA) - Indoor Mini Golf

Photo of the King Putt Mini Golf course in Las Vegas
King Putt Mini Golf course was a cool stop on our tour

#200 Castleford Cosmic Golf Indoor Blacklight Minigolf at Xscape - Curse of the Mummy in 3D

The 200th course played was a blacklight indoor minigolf in Castleford

#250 Stockholm, Sweden (Beton Minigolf at Tantogårdens BGK, Tantolunden Park)

Photo of the Minigolf course at Tantogårdens BGK, Tantolunden Park, Stockholm, Sweden
Emily playing the Beton Minigolf course in Stockholm, Sweden ahead of the 2011 Nations Cup tournament

#258 played and #400 visited overall Clevedon - Crazy Golf

Crazy Golfing on at the 400th course visited

5-Year Anniversary Revisit - Southsea (Treasure Island Adventure Golf - Victory Trail)

Photo of the Treasure Island Adventure Golf course in Southsea
Five years after first playing the Victory Trail we revisited the course for a game


Photo of the Treasure Island Adventure Golf course in Southsea
The Warrior Trail course in Southsea. The second course ever played on our tour


Crazy Golf in Bognor Regis
Playing Crazy Golf in Bognor Regis


Many thanks to everyone who has helped us out with tips of where to play over the last nine years. It's much appreciated.

I wonder where we'll have traveled to by this time next year!

How many more scorecards and free game passes will we have added to our collection too?

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Southsea

Links:
- Treasure Island Adventure Golf website
- MiniatureGolfer.com website

Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Facebook, check out our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Minigolf Spot-the-Ball competition

Picking up a prize in a Splash Point Mini Golf course online competition.

Emily recently used her years of minigolf knowledge and experience to claim first-place in the Splash Point Mini Golf 'Spot-the-Ball' contest!

Emily won a decommissioned flag from Splash Point Mini Golf. The course has now introduced new red flags

Photo of the Splash Point Mini Golf course in Worthing
Emily had to guess where the ball - played by Portugal's Nuno Cunha (the reigning British Masters champion) - was. You can see the answer here

Splash Point Mini Golf is an 18-hole course in Worthing's Denton Gardens. The game has been played on the site since the 1920's, with the Splash Point Mini Golf course a new addition to the town's attractions in 2010.

The course was the 181st played on our tour and we've revisited a number of times since. It's well worth a visit.

Splash Point Mini Golf has hosted a number of tournaments since opening and the layout is a real test of minigolf skill. Check out the great video from the 2012 British Masters filmed by the team at 2dogimaging.



Visit the Splash Point Mini Golf website for more details. The @Worthing_Golf Twitter feed is also worth following as there are frequent reports on local weather conditions, just in case you turn-up in Sunny Worthing to find the course closed owing to inclement weather.

Links:
- Splash Point Mini Golf website
- Splash Point Mini Golf on Twitter
- Splash Point Mini Golf on Facebook

Related blog posts:
- Splash Point Mini Golf in Worthing
- Worthing

Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Facebook, check out our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Mini Gulf minigolf at Dismaland

Photos of the miniature golf course at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park.

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
The oil caliphate themed crazy golf course at Dismaland

Our fellow minigolf enthusiasts Matt and Helen Dodd recently visited the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare and went along to the Dismaland theme-park created by renowned street artist Banksy. They were kind enough to send along some photos of the five-hole Mini Gulf course which features an oil caliphate theme.

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
A flamingo looks on

When I asked Matt, the reigning Surrey Invitational Minigolf Champion, what the it was like, he said "It was a dreadful course."

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
The corner of the flamingo hole

"But it's Dismaland after all." he added.

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
It might've been dismal, but it was only a quid a go. Although for five-holes after you've already paid to go in and it doesn't look so cheap. That grey sky looks bleak too

With the Dismaland site closing this weekend it's a course we won't ever get to play on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. But it's great to know that plenty of people got to have a go on the layout before it shut down.

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
Some barrels

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
A green

Matt and Helen recently hit 102 minigolf courses visited on their travels! Their landmark 100th course visit was the Tropical Trail course at Treetop Adventure Golf in Cardiff, Wales. That's another course on our 'to play' list! Matt also let me know there's an Adventure Golf course at Fishers Farm Park in Wisborough Green, West Sussex - that was their 101st course played.

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
Minigolf explorer Helen Dodd putting through an old tyre obstacle. In the Dismaland battle of the Dodds the result was a draw with a score of 18 apiece. There was no official par for the course. Nor were there scorecards

The Dismaland Bemusement Park was built on the site of the old Tropicana Lido on Marine Parade in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset. You can watch the Dismaland advert on YouTube to see what you've missed.

Weston-super-Mare has some permanent mini and crazy golf courses that we have played. We've also played a few art installation miniature golf on our tour too.

Link:
- Dismaland website

Related blog posts:
- Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park
- New indoor adventure golf course in Cardiff, Wales
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Monday, September 21, 2015

Mini Golf in Pyongyang, North Korea

Report from the first Pyongyang Minigolf Open Tournament in North Korea.

Photo of the Miniature Golf course in Pyongyang, North Korea
North Korea's first Miniature Golf course

My friend Dylan Harris runs Lupine Travel, a business that operates holidays and tours to the far flung reaches and hidden corners of our world. On his recent trip to North Korea he and his party competed in the first Pyongyang Minigolf Open Tournament!

Miniature Golf course in Pyongyang, North Korea
The Pyongyang Minigolf course club house sign

The Pyongyang Minigolf Open Tournament was a warm-up event to the 2015 DPRK Amateur Golf Open competition which was part of the Lupine Travel trip.

Miniature Golf course in Pyongyang, North Korea
Some coaching on the Flat Loop hole. A very tough obstacle

The competition was held on North Korea's first Miniature Golf course which is next to the Rungna People's Pleasureground. The course itself has a small clubhouse that sells beer and food.

Miniature Golf course in Pyongyang, North Korea
One of the competitors in the tournament receives some tips from the course staff

Fourteen players from nine countries competed in the one-round, 18-hole Pyongyang Minigolf Open Tournament. The competitors were from North Korea, the UK, Australia, Germany, Slovenia, Switzerland, Estonia, the Netherlands and Singapore.

Caddies from the course accompanied each group of three players and marked their scores. Players were also able to choose from a selection of professional minigolf balls to use on the tricky course.

The winner of the Pyongyang Minigolf Open Tournament was Calum Slowther from the UK with a score of 46.

Miniature Golf course in Pyongyang, North Korea
The Volcano hole

Organiser Dylan said "It was an interesting course to play. The staff there were very knowledgeable about minigolf and the various types of balls. We were told that the course used to be in Kim Jong Un's personal residence but he decided to gift it to the North Korean people and had it moved to its current location. The red velvet covered bench that can be seen on the photos is where it is claimed Kim Jong Un sat while he directed the workers on where to place each hole."

Miniature Golf course in Pyongyang, North Korea
The Pyongyang Minigolf course and red velvet covered bench in the centre

Dylan added "We were told the course holds local competitions and we were introduced to one of the members of staff who'd won the most recent staff competition. I'm going to get lots of practice in for the event next year and hopefully come back as a winner next time."

Lupine Travel run trips every month, but the next minigolf event will take place in October 2016 to coincide with the DPRK Golf Open.

Lupine Travel was formed in 2007 and specialises in trips to unique destinations. You can travel to North Korea, Chernobyl, Eritrea, Turkmenistan, Transnistria, Iran, Iraqi Kurdistan, Bhutan/Nepal, Somaliland/Ethiopia, Antarctica and more with Lupine Travel. Check out the Lupine Travel website for details of the trips available.

The Miniature Golf course in Pyongyang is of the 'Eternit' variety found in Continental Europe. Emily and I have played some of these courses in Finland, Sweden and in the UK. Emily also holds the British Women's Record score on the format with a round of 24(-12) when she competed at the WMF Nations Cup in Stockholm, Sweden in 2011.

Links:
- Lupine Travel website
- Lupine Travel on Twitter
- Lupine Travel on Facebook

Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Facebook, check out our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter.

Happy Miniature Golf Day 2015!

Today is a BIG day in minigolf!

According to various sources 'Miniature Golf Day' is always celebrated on the 21st of September - a date that is always highlighted on our calendar. So head out and have a putt, there are hundreds of courses in the UK (indoors and out) and tens of thousands of layouts around the world.

Photo of Richard Gottfried playing in the World Crazy Golf Championship in Hastings
Playing in the World Crazy Golf Championship in Hastings - home to some fine minigolf courses

We've visited 670 miniature golf courses since September 2006, cracking our initial target of 600 earlier this summer.

Check out the post 'Mini Golf Days in 2015' for more info on days to celebrate the great game.

On Saturday 9th May it was 'National Miniature Golf Day' and for the occasion we headed to the English seaside resort of Skegness - a hotbed of minigolf!

Photo of Richard Gottfried playing some Arnold Palmer Mini Golf in Skegness on National Miniature Golf Day 2015
Playing some Arnold Palmer Mini Golf in Skegness on National Miniature Golf Day 2015

Each Monday is #MinigolfMonday on Twitter, so hashtag your Crazy, Mini and Adventure Golf posts.

Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Facebook, check out our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter.

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Crazy Golf at Greens Cafe in Padstow

Playing Crazy Golf in Padstow, Cornwall.

Photo of the Crazy Golf course at Greens Cafe in Padstow

This summer we hit the BIG minigolf milestone of our 600th course visit as part of our holiday in the south west of England. During that trip we also made our 650th visit when we arrived at Greens Cafe, Crazy Golf and Grass Putting in Padstow Harbour, Cornwall.

Photo of the Crazy Golf course at Greens Cafe in Padstow
We had great weather on our visit

Photo of the Crazy Golf course at Greens Cafe in Padstow
Greens Cafe and Minigolf is very close to the harbour in Padstow

Greens Cafe is home to a brilliant Crazy Golf course that has 18 unique holes. We've played a lot of minigolf courses with concrete surfaces and they are not always that playable. The Green's course was not only playable, but skill-based and great fun too. We'd definitely play there again.

Photo of the Crazy Golf course at Greens Cafe in Padstow
The Crazy Golf course is set out on four levels

Photo of the Crazy Golf course at Greens Cafe in Padstow
An uphill shot from Emily

Photo of the Crazy Golf course at Greens Cafe in Padstow
We had a whale of a time on the course visit

Photo of the Crazy Golf course at Greens Cafe in Padstow
Emily heading towards a very good score

Photo of the Crazy Golf course at Greens Cafe in Padstow
There are plenty of unique obstacles on the course

The course was the 629th visited in the UK and the 378th played overall. It was also the 51st visited and 12th played on our holiday roadtrip.

Photo of the Crazy Golf course at Greens Cafe in Padstow
Some Egyptian-theming!

We really enjoyed our round on the course and both scored some great holes-in-one. In our match-up we tied on a score of 34.

Photo of the Crazy Golf course at Greens Cafe in Padstow
On the home-straight

There's also a good looking Pitch & Putt course at Greens, however we didn't have time to play it this time.

Photo of the Mini Golf course at Greens Cafe in Padstow
The Pitch & Putt course was also called Grass Putting on some of the signs

Photo of the Mini Golf course at Greens Cafe in Padstow
The tiered grass miniature golf course

We really liked the scorecards at the course, and a really nice touch was receiving a sticker for scoring a hole-in-one. Some great minigolf souvenirs.

Photo of the Crazy Golf course at Greens Cafe in Padstow
What a view

For more information, opening times and prices visit the Greens Cafe website.

Photo of the Crazy Golf course at Greens Cafe in Padstow
There's a sprinkling of Arthurian legend on the course too

To date we've visited 670 minigolf courses on our Tour, with 21 of them overseas. This means the next course we visit will be the 650th in the UK. When we began travelling to visit all the courses in the UK there were around 600!

Links:
- Greens Cafe Padstow website
- Greens Cafe Padstow on Twitter
- Greens Cafe Padstow on Facebook

Related blog posts:
- Mini Golf in the South West of England
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - List and links for all Miniature Golf courses visited to date

Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Facebook, check out our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter.