Chrizy Golf in Manchester

A look back at the Chrizy Golf Masters competition.

The Chrizy Golf course was decked out in Christmas-theming

Five years ago I headed up to Manchester while my friend and minigolf rival John Moore travelled down to compete in the first - and to-date only - Chrizy Golf Masters tournament.

One of the holes on the tricky indoor layout

The one night only event was held on an Christmas-themed indoor pop-up Crazy Golf course at Manchester Piccadilly. Played over one 9-hole round I managed to beat John by one-shot to take the victory with a score of 20(+2).

Our scorecards from the tourney

Another trophy to sit on shelf

After the 2012 festive season was over the course was gone and the building remained empty, or used for other pop-ups, until the team at Junkyard Golf made it their home a couple of years ago. They too have since moved on to a permanent venue at First Street.

It was great to compete in the Chrizy Golf Masters competition and it's still one of the few courses I've played that has been decked out for Christmas. It was certainly the only bespoke festive-themed course I've played.

Back then the journey up to Manchester from Luton seemed like a very long way, now it'd be less than half hour from Cheadle Hulme!

Related blog posts:
- Chrizy Golf
- Christmas

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Craz-e-Golf at Skegness

I picked up this great minigolf card at a Postcard Fair in Stockport. The course in the photo is in the same location as England's first Crazy Golf course.

Craz-e-Golf is an interesting name for the game and not one we've seen before

The card was posted to Liverpool from Skegness on the 21st June 1977 (a Tuesday). Note the nice postcard cancellation on the card too. I wonder if May played the Crazy Golf while in Skeggy? 

The first Crazy Golf course in the country opened on South Parade in Skegness in 1926.

In May 2015 the course became the 363rd played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

A more recent look at the Crazy Golf course on South Parade in Skegness

Related blog posts:
- Crazy Golf on Skegness' South Parade
- The Original Crazy Golf in Skegness
- Postcards

Stopford House in Stockport

While out for a lunchtime cycle in Stockport I rode through the council offices at Stopford House and managed to get this nice snap of the Brutalist building - set against a rare blue sky in the town!

Stopford House in Stockport

Stopford House was used as the exterior of the Police Station in the TV show Life on Mars. The last time I photographed it back in June everything was looking particularly grey.

Stockport is full of wonderful and interesting buildings. It's quite a hotch-potch of architecture to be honest, but it all adds a certain character to the town.

Related blog posts:
- Stockport
- Architecture
- A 'tickable list' I won't be attempting to complete

Indoor Crazy Golf at Brean Leisure Dome

My blog post about the indoor mini-golf course at Funspot in Laconia, New Hampshire reminded me of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour visit to the Brean Leisure Dome back in November 2012.

We hadn't expected to find the course on our visit to Brean, so it was a pleasant surprise

The course became the 312th played on our tour

One part of the 9-hole layout

The other bit

The first elephant I'd putted through!

The tricky 8th hole

Emily tackling a big minigolf loop-di-loop

We've also played indoor minigolf at Amusement Arcades in Felixstowe, Cleethorpes, Hunstanton, and Whitby.

Related blog posts:
- Minigolfing in Bath, Wookey Hole, Cheddar and Brean (but not Bristol)

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Even Father Christmas is playing the Circle Game!

Is anybody safe from the Circle Game?

Don't look at Santa's right hand!

Indoor Minigolf at Funspot in Laconia, New Hampshire

A look at the indoor mini-golf course at Funspot New Hampshire.

Adam Lueb, aka Retro Adam on Instagram, kindly sent me this photo of an indoor miniature golf course he spotted during a Thanksgiving visit to Funspot in Laconia, New Hampshire.

The New Hampshire Landmarks indoor minigolf course at Funspot. Photo by Adam Lueb

Funspot New Hampshire is the 'The Largest Arcade in the World'! It's been open since 1952 and boast's Central New Hampshire's only 18-hole indoor mini-golf course.

The obstacles and features on the course come from Funspot's previous Landmarks of New Hampshire course which was open from 1964 to 2014. You can see a photo of that on Funspot's Facebook Page and YouTube Channel.

Check out the Funspot website for more info about the arcade and minigolf.

More photos from Adam's visit to Funspot can be found on his Instagram page.

On our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour we've played indoor minigolf at Amusement Arcades in Felixstowe, Cleethorpes, Hunstanton, Brean, and Whitby. Our travels actually began in 'old' Hampshire!

Links:
- Funspot New Hampshire's website
- Retro Adam on Instagram
- NeonCade website

Related blog posts:
- Guest blogs
- Indoor minigolf
- Amusement Arcades

Swingers Crazy Golf in London's West End

New Swingers Crazy Golf course opening in London's West End.

While down in London Emily swung by Swingers Crazy Golf's new West End location. The indoor minigolf venue will consist of two courses, currently under construction in part of the old BHS store at 15 John Prince's Street, just down the road from Oxford Circus.

The new Swingers Crazy Golf course is opening in the Spring

The new Swingers Crazy Golf West End venue is scheduled to open in March 2018.

The doors are open for more building work at Swingers Crazy Golf

The new Swingers Crazy Golf course is a neighbour of The Phoenix. We've been to a few 'do's' there over the years

In the meantime you can visit Swingers Crazy Golf's City courses at 8 Brown's Buildings. I played there in August this year.

Hole 8 of the Windmill Course at Swingers Crazy Golf in the City

Check out the Swingers Crazy Golf website for more information, opening times and ticket information.

Link:
- Swingers Crazy Golf website

Related blog posts:
- Swingers Crazy Golf
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Dino Falls Adventure Golf at the Trafford Golf Centre in Manchester

A look at the new Dino Falls Adventure Golf course at the Trafford Golf Centre in Manchester.

After an evening's shopping at the Trafford Centre we swung by the Trafford Golf Centre for a look at the new Dino Falls Adventure Golf course.

Hole 9

We're looking forward to having a round on the 18-hole course when the weather is a bit nicer than it was last night!

Hole 18

It's not the first time the Trafford Golf Centre has been home to a minigolf course. Back in the late noughties there was a 9-hole Championship Miniature Golf course on the site. A course I won two tournaments on in 2009 - the Mini Masters and Mini Open! The previous minigolf course there was the 84th we played. Dino Falls Adventure Golf became the 792nd visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Visit the Trafford Golf Centre and Dino Falls Adventure Golf websites for more information, opening times and prices.

Related blog posts:
- Dinosaur
- Manchester
- Adventure Golf
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Link:
- Trafford Golf Centre
- Dino Falls Adventure Golf

Christmas Crazy Golf at Lakeside Village Shopping Centre in Doncaster

The Lakeside Village Shopping Centre has a free-to-play Christmas Crazy Golf course set up for shoppers to play during the festive season!

We visited Lakeside Village Shopping Centre to play the summer Crazy Golf course last year. The unique layout was good fun and became the 397th played and 678th visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The Crazy Golf Adventure Golf course in summer 2016

Visit the Lakeside Village Shopping Centre website for more info.

Hastings Adventure Golf survey finds technology losing ground on Christmas lists

Results of a Christmas list survey by Hastings Adventure Golf.

The team at Hastings Adventure Golf has conducted a survey which reveals that technology is slipping down the Christmas wish list of adults in Sussex.

What's on your Christmas wish list?

The survey revealed that technology, including mobile devices, PC and games, was not in the most desired category of gifts this year.

The unexpected revelation showed that the most wanted category of Christmas gifts was ‘clothes or accessories’. In close second place, was ‘an experience’ to include tickets to events, days out and mini-breaks. Technology took third place.

When asked specifically about ‘gift vouchers’ for days out or experiences, 50 percent of the adults surveyed agreed that the gift of an experience or day out was a great present.

With many people already owning more tech devices than ever before, active, fun and memorable experiences are becoming more popular as a gift choices.

Hastings Adventure Golf is always keen to get more people active and they run a number of events, competitions and promotions throughout the year. They have three outdoor minigolf courses on the seafront site - a classic Crazy Golf, an Adventure Golf layout and a Pirate Golf course. We've visited and played them a LOT on our Crazy Golf adventures since 2007!

While new technology might not be top of Christmas wish lists the Hastings Adventure Golf App has proved to be a popular free download to help people make the most of the experience.

Players visiting Hastings Adventure Golf can download the scorecard and loyalty app to keep a record of their visits and results, use the on-course selfie spot feature, and receive offers.

Visit the Hastings Adventure Golf website for more info.

Related blog posts:
- Hastings Adventure Golf
- Hastings
- Survey

The survey was commissioned by Hastings Adventure Golf and conducted by One Poll, with a sample of 400 adults (50:50 Male:Female) in Sussex.

Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

Finding out about the Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf courses in Sudbury, Canada.

We recently heard about the Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf courses at Josephines Vegetables in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. The venue has SEVEN courses and 63-holes!

There's a LOT of minigolf at Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf

In 2010 we played a minigolf course in a Pub Beer Garden in Sudbury, Suffolk, England! Hopefully one day we'll get to visit Sudbury in Canada too.

Opened in 1997, Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf has been a member of the US ProMiniGolf Association since 2000. Next year the course will host the 21st Annual Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf USPMGA event.

The gates/gaps in the obstacles remind me of the frame on the Labyrinth obstacle on the Eternit style of miniature golf courses

We've seen quite a few dinosaur, Jurassic and dragon themed courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour travels, but none have looked like the unique layouts at Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf. The dinosaur skeletons give the course a museum-like feel.

One of the steel dragons on the course

The seven course layouts were designed by Josee and Marcel Rainville, who have operated Josephine's Vegetables on the property since 1982. The courses are dedicated to their son Steven and his friend Tyler, and all families who have been impacted by cancer.

The layouts were designed to be unpredictable and fun to offer something different each time a game is played. Josee tells me that it is possible to score a hole-in-one on each of the 63-holes - however, attempting the feat took FIVE YEARS of playing! I bet 'The Putter King' Allan Cox would like to take on that challenge.

In 2003 Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf was the Tourism Federation Of Ontario’s Inaugural Innovation Award Winner, after it was nominated by Attractions Ontario.

Can you name this Pokemon? The hole has only seen one hole in one since 1997!!!

Interestingly five of the courses are what would be termed 'traditional' minigolf, in that you play the holes using a golf putter and ball. But two of the layouts are called Pool Putt and require you to use a pool cue! We always like to see variations of the game and have played Pit-Pat and Crazy Golf Pool on our travels. Emily also found some Snookergolf Billiards tables in Blankenberge, Belgium earlier this year.

The Dinosaur Valley Adventure Golf scorecard

The Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf courses re-open for another season of fun on the 1st of May 2018. Check out the Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf website and Facebook Page for more information.

Links:
- Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf website
- Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf & Josephine's Vegetables on Facebook

Related blog posts:
- Canada
- Dinosaur

All photos courtesy of Josee Rainville at Dinosaur Valley Mini Golf.

Crazy Golf in Stourport on Severn

The last stop on our mini road-trip around the midlands was in Stourport on Severn. Ahead of our visit we'd seen there were two miniature golf courses there - an interesting looking jungle-themed crazy golf and a grass putting layout - but when we arrived at Playland in Riverside Park we found another crazy golf course! A nice bonus.

This was the course we'd seen online ahead of our visit to Stourport on Severn

The 9-hole Crazy Golf course at Playland became the 469th played and 789th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Playing the bonus course

In our match-up on the course I won with a score of 25 to Emily's 29.

Having trouble with some numbers

We hadn't seen this obstacle on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour travels before 

A look at the 9-hole Crazy Golf course

Hole 2

Emily playing a Cannon

Playing hole 2

The grass Putting course wasn't open on our visit and so became the 790th visited on our tour.

The grass Putting Green in Stourport on Severn

The 18-hole jungle-themed Crazy Golf course in Stourport on Severn became the 470th played and 791st visited on our travels.

The Crazy Golf & Putting Green are in Riverside Park

In our match-up on the course we tied with a score of 36, with Emily scoring three holes-in-one to my two aces.

A nice ace

Shooting another hole in one

The hut 

One of the many signs for the Crazy Golf course 

The Great Flood in 1947 must've been quite a sight!

The whole area would've been underwater!

A look at the layout

A sly snake in the jungle-themed Crazy Golf course

Emily holing out

One of the most colourful settings we've playing minigolf in

The tricky first hole

The course is a really nice layout

Well worth a play 

Stourport on Severn is an interesting town and well worth a visit. It has a seaside resort feel to it - dating back to its role as a day-trip destination for workers from Birmingham in times gone by. The colourful minigolf courses, variety of amusements, pubs and other facilities in the town make it a nice destination.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Stourport on Severn

Links:
- Playland in Stourport on Severn
- Riverside Park and Meadows in Stourport on Severn

Videos:
- Crazy Golf at Playland in Stourport on Severn
- Crazy Golf at Riverside Park in Stourport on Severn 1
- Crazy Golf at Riverside Park in Stourport on Severn 2
- Crazy Golf at Riverside Park in Stourport on Severn 3