Scrapyard Golf at Banbury Bowl

A visit to the Scrapyard Golf course at the Banbury Bowl Discobowl venue in Banbury, Oxfordshire.

Check out the Banbury Bowl website for more information.

Mini Golf at The Light in Banbury

There's a mini golf course at The Light cinema in Banbury, Oxfordshire.

Visit The Light Banbury's website for more information.

Farmyard Golf at Millets Farm in Frilford

A visit to the Farmyard Golf course at Millets Farm in Frilford, Oxfordshire.

Check out the Millets Farm website for more information.

Crazy Golf at Coxs at Spencers Farm Shop in Wickham St Paul, Halstead

There's a Crazy Golf course at Coxs at Spencers Farm Shop in Wickham St Paul, Halstead in Essex.

Find out more on the Spencers Farm Shop website.

Lost minigolf courses - Abingdon-on-Thames Crazy Golf

A look back at the old Crazy Golf course at the Abbey Meadows in Abingdon-on-Thames.

One of the courses we've visited and played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour travels but has since become a 'lost' course was the 10-hole Crazy Golf layout at the Abbey Meadows in my home town of Abingdon.

The course was the first one I ever played way back in the early 1980's.

The course had been in the park since the 1950's but was removed at the end of the 2016 season as part of renovations to the area.

It's always sad to see an old miniature golf course removed. Especially so when it's not replaced by a new one.

The last hole of the first course I ever played

In August 2007 the course became the 31st played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Playing hole 5 in 2007

Playing hole 5 in 2012

Playing hole 5 for the very last time in 2016

We also revisited in June 2012 and December 2014.

The course was very mossy on our visit in 2014

Blogiversary of the Ham and Egger Files

I've been blogging for 18 years today.

I'm often asked how is it that a blog about minigolf has the name the 'Ham and Egger Files'? The answer is that it didn't initially start out life as a minigolf blog.

The first post

I published my first post about how I planned to participate in as many obscure and minority sports as I could and see what would happen with the (limited amount of) sporting ability I had!

What is a Ham & Egger?

The term 'ham and egger' has connotations ranging from that of 'ordinary person' to that of 'loser'. The origin of the term comes from prize fighters whose modest skills wouldn’t let them win large purses. Therefore, the fighter or their manager - who received a percentage of any purses won - were never able to afford to eat better than ham and eggs.

Lots of blogs

Since that first post 18 years ago I have published more than 5,900 posts and received more than 3.5 million pageviews!

Admittedly, a large number of the blog posts have been about minigolf.

The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Our interest in minigolf and what would soon become our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour had actually begun on the 30th September 2006, but I didn't publish a post about the sport until the 29th January 2007 when I announced that I had joined the British Minigolf Association - a competition circuit I made my actual debut on in Southend-on-Sea on the 28th April 2007.

We've now been to over 1,000 miniature golf courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. Our travels have been recognised by the Guinness World Records, and I'm a record holder for "Most miniature golf courses visited" (902 at the time of going to press).

When we began our travels there were around 600 courses in the UK. There are now more than 1,370, with new courses opening all the time.

Other sports & games are available

If you're wondering what happened to the quest to play lots of different sports, that has continued and I've participated in some very interesting events over the years!

A massive thank you goes out to everyone who has ever read one of my posts, commented, shared, or guest blogged on the site, it really is very much appreciated.

How many minigolf courses are there in the UK? (Update: December 2024)

There are lots of new minigolf courses being built, in development or planned to open in the UK.

Minigolf is an incredibly popular activity for all ages and there are new courses opening up all the time in a wide-range of outdoor and indoor locations.

Whereas the game in the UK has traditionally been a seaside pastime, over the last decade it has grown to be a game enjoyed by people in more and more towns and cities - with many catering to a late night audience.

How many minigolf courses are there in the UK?

As at December 2024 there are approximately 1,370 minigolf courses around the UK and British Isles (including Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, and other islands). This includes public courses, as well as those at pay to enter attractions, holiday parks, hotels and other 'non-standard' locations.

Developments over the last two decades

When our travels began in 2006 there were around 600 courses in the British Isles. Only two of those original courses were indoor venues. Both of these were on the East Anglian coast (in Felixstowe and Great Yarmouth). The indoor course at Manning's Amusements in Felixstowe has recently been removed and is being replaced by a brand new layout that is set to open in the same location at Easter 2025.

Now the indoor game is booming and you can find minigolf courses indoors at shopping centres, retail parks, and in town and city centres around the country.

The game was traditionally played on days out, short breaks and holidays, either at the seaside or on holiday camps. While the game has always been enjoyed by people old enough to pick up a putter, it has become a game played as much by groups of adults as it is by families.

The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

We've now been to a total of 1,072 miniature golf courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, with 1,014 of them in the British Isles. Our travels have been recognised by the Guinness World Records, and I'm a record holder for "Most miniature golf courses visited" (902 at the time of going to press). Check out the Guinness World Records 2024 book to see a lot more minigolf records too!

Of the original list of 600 we've still got to visit 39 of the public courses. In addition there are a further 150 courses at pay to enter attractions, hotels and holiday parks that we've not yet been to.

On top of these 189 courses from the original list there are hundreds more courses that have opened over the last 18 years! We tracked 320 courses that opened between May 2020 and July 2023. Between August 2023 and September 2024 a further 150 courses have opened, or are in development. And between September 2024 and December 2024 another 27 new courses have been announced.

More new courses to come

There are 100+ new courses being created each year - some are on old sites/locations, some are completely new venues, while others are in planning/development, or under construction.

There are quite a few other minigolf, crazy golf and adventure golf courses that are short-term 'pop-ups', some of which have been used as proof of concept businesses and developed into permanent courses. 

A few things to note

Please note that minigolf in the UK is not an exact science and courses are opening, in planning/development, and being 'lost' quite often. Others are being refurbished, and some are completely renovated to the point where they could be considered entirely new courses.

Find new courses

For information about new minigolf, crazy golf, and adventure golf courses opening in the UK take a look at the posts with the New course tag here on the Ham & Egger Files minigolf blog where I regularly post updates about new places to play the game.

Let's talk minigolf

If you know of a new course opening in the UK please do get in touch and let me know.

Mini Golf at Worthing Winter Fest

There will be a pop-up mini golf course at Worthing Winter Fest this Sunday.

Globetrotters Golf will have a pop-up mini golf course at the Worthing Winter Fest event at Montague Place this Sunday, 22nd December.

Find out more on the Worthing Town Centre Initiative website.

King Pins Mini Golf at Trafford Palazzo in Manchester

A look at the new King Pins Mini Golf course at the Trafford Palazzo shopping and entertainment centre in Manchester.

King Pins Mini Golf at Trafford Palazzo in Manchester

An indoor mini golf course is part of the set-up at the King Pins tenpin bowling and entertainment venue at the Trafford Palazzo in Manchester.

The 9-hole King Pins Mini Golf course opened at the Trafford Palazzo in July this year.

Hole 1

Hole 2

Hole 3

Hole 3

Hole 4

Hole 5

Hole 6

Hole 7

Hole 7

Hole 8

Hole 9

Hole 9

Find out more about King Pins locations on the King Pins website.

The King Pins Mini Golf course at Trafford Palazzo became the 1,072nd visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Earlier this year we played Mini Golf at King Pins at the Manchester Arndale.

Merry Puttsmas

'Tis the season - for festive Putting!

Have you played or seen any festive minigolf courses this holiday season?

We've heard about a few Christmas-themed minigolf courses either popping-up, or permanent courses being festively decorated in the run-up to the big day.

We also managed to have a game on the Christmas-themed minigolf course from Lancashire Crazy Golf at the 2024 Northwich Christmas Extravaganza in Northwich, Cheshire.

The Christmas-themed Crazy Golf course in Northwich, Cheshire