Playing a Minigolf course 'sculpture' set-up for one-day only!
.jpg "The M!MS Empire Sunset Nine Hole Mini Golf course on the corner of Midland Road and Alexandra Road in Bedford")
With nothing planned for Saturday 27th July I was looking forward to sitting down and not doing much at all. However, a couple of early morning tweets from Northamptonshire-based Cider & Perry Maker Mark Shirley alerted me to a Minigolf course that he'd spotted being set-up in Bedford! What’s more, it was only going to be in the town for one-day!!!
.JPG "Richard Gottfried after shooting a round on the temporary Mini Golf course") |
| After shooting a round on the temporary course |
.JPG) |
| A view of the M!MS Mini Golf course from hole 7 |
.JPG "The M!MS team hard at work on hole 4 - one of the great hole-in-one opportunities on the course") |
| The M!MS team hard at work on hole 4 |
The M!MS art collective is based in Bedfordshire, with M!MS standing for “Maximum Irony! Maximum Sincerity".
I arrived in Bedford at around 1.30pm which gave me a chance to see the final preparations and site-clearing being done before the course opened for play.
The course looked brilliant and was a great use of a long vacant plot of land in the town’s Midland Road.
I arrived in Bedford at around 1.30pm which gave me a chance to see the final preparations and site-clearing being done before the course opened for play.
The course looked brilliant and was a great use of a long vacant plot of land in the town’s Midland Road.
.JPG "A view from over the road - the Mini Golf was a great use of the vacant space") |
| A view from over the road |
The idea came from artist Andy Holden who designed (and with the help of the M!MS team) built the ‘playable sculpture’ using simple and cheap materials to create the innovative and very playable course.
Photos of the course.
.JPG) |
| M!MS Mini Golf - in Bedford for one day only! |
.JPG "Hole 1 of the M!MS Mini Golf course") |
| Hole 1 of the M!MS Mini Golf course |
.JPG "Hole 2 - from the tee") |
| Hole 2 - from the tee |
.JPG "Hole 2 - this one worked really well and the ace shot was very satisfying") |
| Hole 2 - this one worked really well and the ace shot was very satisfying |
.JPG) |
| Hole 3 - up and over |
.JPG "Hole 5 - a tough loop-di-loop - I had a mixed bag of scores here") |
| Hole 5 - a tough loop-di-loop - I had a mixed bag of scores here |
.JPG "Hole 7 - a 3 here was a good result") |
| Hole 7 - a 3 here was a good result |
.JPG "Hole 8 - a tricky pipe hole") |
| Hole 8 - a tricky pipe hole |
I played two rounds, shooting a 19 followed by an 18 in a match against Andy (who scored a 30). After the course had closed forever I was told that my round of 18 was the best of the day – a course record that will stand for the ages!
.JPG "Playing hole 9 - the rotating sun") |
| Playing hole 9 - the rotating sun |
The course not only looked interesting, but it played incredibly well – even more impressive considering it was mostly made out of old pallets! The mix of easy, hard and fun hole designs meant there were some great hole-in-one opportunities, as well as some testing obstacles and second putts.
.JPG) |
| A view of the course, an art deco building and some old advertising on a building - you could almost be in the 1930's... |
The course harked back to 1920’s depression era USA when vacant lots were often turned into improvised Miniature Golf courses.
The M!MS Mini Golf layout, aka Mini Sculpture Golf, was the 533rd course visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 320th played since September 2006.
.JPG "The M!MS Empire Sunset Mini Golf course scorecard") |
| The M!MS Empire Sunset Mini Golf course scorecard |
.JPG "The scorecard - very well designed and quite large too") |
| The scorecard - very well designed and quite large too |
Andy Holden and the M!MS team will be showcasing their work – Towards a Complete History of M!MS – at the Zabludowicz Collection in London from the 26th of September to the 15th of December 2013. I’m looking forward to seeing the final collection and film. All of the M!MS events are filmed and by attending them you become part of the work!
Links:
Related Blog Posts:
- Putting Green / Mini Golf in Bedford - Crazy World of Minigolf course played #184
- Types and Variants of Miniature Golf visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Types and Variants of Miniature Golf visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
Art & Minigolf Related Blog Posts:
- Arts & Crafts Blog Posts
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Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Facebook, check out our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter.
