Lost minigolf courses - The Golfing Hole Adventure Golf course in Swindon, Wiltshire

A look back at The Golfing Hole indoor adventure golf course in Swindon, Wiltshire.

At The Golfing Hole indoor Adventure Golf course in Swindon

We visited Swindon, Wiltshire in January 2015 to play our first miniature golf course of the New Year. The location was The Golfing Hole Indoor Adventure Golf course at the Spectrum on Mead Way.

Emily playing hole 2 - a big ramp that led to a spiral

The course was the 589th visited and 355th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since 2006. In 2014 we visited 46 courses and played 28 of them.

Putting into a machine

During our match we played through each of the obstacles, rather than taking the easier line and putting around the lumps and bumps of the greens. Some of the holes in the pipes were easier to get the ball into than others, with a few of them causing a lot of frustration. The result of our contest was a draw, with a score of 54 each.

Emily putts into one of the factory's machines. This one was really tough

Putting from the back of the green

There was a BIG minigolf loop-di-loop on one of the holes

   

My favourite hole at The Golfing Hole. Though quite what a green 'grass' minigolf layout with sandy bunkers was doing inside a 'factory' I don't know. Very crazy golf! 

Emily putts out after playing through a cabin/site office in The Golfing Hole factory

Hole 13 led into the blacklight area, while the tee-off point for hole 14 was inside

This hole was really difficult as the gap at the top of the ramp wasn't much bigger than the golf ball

Playing out the UV hole

Emily tees-off inside the blacklight room

And putts out in the light of the factory

Related blog posts:

• Swindon
• Wiltshire
• Adventure Golf
• Lost course

The Original Crazy Golf course on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire (May 2011)

The site of England's first-ever Crazy Golf course is now home to a hotel.

A new Travelodge hotel and Starbucks drive-thru are now open on the location of England's first Crazy Golf course.

The Original Crazy Golf course on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire had been derelict since 2018.

England's first 'Crazy Golf' course opened on South Parade in Skegness in 1926 and the game is widely known by that name in the UK. Crazy Golf is seldom, if ever, used overseas except in tourist spots popular with UK holidaymakers.

In May 2015 The Original Crazy Golf course became the 363rd played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We'd first visited the course in 2011.

We've also got some nice old postcards of the course in our collection.

Related blog posts:

• Crazy Golf history: from a minigolf course to a hotel
• Skegness
• Postcards
• Lincolnshire
• Crazy Golf

Gold Mine Adventure Golf in Skegness (May 2011 & May 2015)

A look back at the Gold Mine Adventure Golf course and Cactus Canyon River Ride at Bottons Pleasure Beach in Skegness, Lincolnshire.

We played the Gold Mine Adventure Golf course in Skegness back in May 2011, and returned in May 2015.

The course had a fun river ride running through it too! That was the first - and to date only - time we've seen that on a minigolf course.

Adventure Putting at Bottons Pleasure Beach in Skegness (May 2011).

Gold Mine Adventure Golf at the Pleasure Beach in Skegness (May 2015).

The Pleasure Beach in Skegness.

Check out the Bottons Pleasure Beach Skegness website for more information at what's at the Pleasure Beach and Pleasure Grounds now.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

We need to revisit Skegness on our Crazy World of Minigolf as there have been several changes and additions to the minigolf courses in the seaside resort since the last time we were there.

Related blog posts:

• Skegness
• Lincolnshire

Videos:

• Minigolf and gold mine river ride in Skegness
• Minigolfing to gold mining music in Skegness

Crazy Golf and Pitch & Putt in Mawgan Porth, Cornwall

A look at the Crazy Golf and Pitch & Putt courses in Mawgan Porth, Cornwall.

During our road trip around the South West of England in 2015 we spotted the Crazy Golf and Pitch & Putt courses in Mawgan Porth, Cornwall. The next planned stop after visiting Newquay was Padstow, but we found these bonus minigolf courses en route!

The Crazy Golf looked vintage and must've been there for many years.

The Crazy Golf course in Mawgan Porth, Cornwall. The Pitch and Putt course is on the hill

Unfortunately the parking in Mawgan Porth wasn't ideal so we were unable to give the courses a play on that trip.

Some interesting looking holes on the old concrete Crazy Golf course

The courses were the 48th and 49th visited on our trip around the South West of England and the 647th and 648th visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

It did look like a nice spot for a few rounds of miniature golf

'Completing' our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour ten years ago today

We visited our 600th miniature golf course in the UK on this day in 2015.

We played the Mini Golf course in Goodrington Sands on the 4th June 2015 during our mammoth road trip around the South West coast of England.

In two weeks we visited 62 minigolf courses.

The Beton-style Concrete 18-hole Goodrington Park Mini Golf course in Goodrington Sands, Paignton was the 600th course visited in the UK and the 621st overall.

 

When our travels began in September 2006 we had a target to visit all of the 600 courses there were in the UK. Between then and now hundreds more course have opened, while others have closed, been demolished, abandoned or refurbished.

Of the original list of 600 we've still got to visit 39 of the public courses.

We've now been to 1,083 courses around on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - 61 of those have been overseas.

Hopefully we'll get to return to Devon and the South West again in the future as we had a marvellous time in 2015.

The minigolf course at Youngs Park in Goodrington Sands, Paignton, Devon has been refurbished and is now Shipwreck Island Adventure Golf.

During the same road trip in the South West of England, the Jurassic Golf course at Santa-Fe Adventure Park in Swanage, Dorset became the 600th course visited overall on our tour when we swung by on Sunday 31st May 2015.

10 years of Plonk Crazy Golf!

Plonk Crazy Golf is celebrating ten years in business.

You can currently find Plonk Crazy Golf courses in London in Hackney and Borough Market.

Check out the Plonk website for more information.

We've visited several Plonk minigolf courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour over the years, including the very first Plonk Crazy Golf course when it was a pop-up at Efes Snooker Hall in Dalston back in 2015.

Plonk Golf at Efes Snooker Hall in Dalston, London - this volcano obstacle had real smoke effects!

Other Plonk locations we've been to include the Duke of Edinburgh pub beer garden in Brixton, Shoreditch, and Camden Market.

Plonk Golf at the Duke of Edinburgh pub in Brixton in 2016

Plonk Golf in Shoreditch in 2019

Plonk Golf in Shoreditch in 2019

Plonk Golf at Camden Market in 2019

Over the last ten years Plonk have created a few other pop-up and temporary courses.

Plonk Golf at Camden Market in 2020

It'll be interesting to see what the next ten years has in store for the brand...

Plonk Golf in Shoreditch in 2019