The Ham and Egger Files: Arnold Palmer

Showing posts with label Arnold Palmer. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Arnold Palmer Mini Golf course in Southend

Here's a look at the Arnold Palmer Mini Golf course in Southend-on-Sea, Essex.

We revisited the 18-hole Arnold Palmer Mini Golf course on the Esplanade in Southend-on-Sea on our trip to the seaside town in April 2023.

The course was originally the 16th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in March 2007 and we've returned a number of times since then.

The layout at the site is the 'East course' and is one of what were two courses there. When we first visited the remains of the 'West course' could still be seen.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Since 2006 Emily and I have visited 1,064 miniature golf courses around the UK and overseas on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. As well as playing minigolf in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Jersey and the Isle of Man we’ve travelled to minigolf courses in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain (Lanzarote and Majorca), Sweden and the USA.

When added to the courses my brother Christopher and his family have visited around the British Isles and Türkiye, Spain (Majorca), Italy, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Indonesia, Croatia and the USA, the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour stands at a combined 1,111 courses visited!

Monday, September 02, 2024

CenterCup - an Arnold Palmer-themed golf and dining concept

A new Arnold Palmer-themed golf and dining concept is launching in the USA.

CenterCup will feature a 27-hole mini-golf course at the venue in the Butler Shopping Center District of Gainesville, Florida, USA.

The CenterCup concept is a new partnership between 23 Restaurant Services and Arnold Palmer Enterprises.

Check out the CenterCup website for more information.

Hopefully we'll get to visit CenterCup on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the future.

Arnold Palmer Putting Courses

Arnold Palmer Putting Courses are a design classic and include all the elements that make a Crazy Golf course great – the Windmill, the Waterwheel, an Obelisk, ledges, bunkers, traps, flat loops, hills and plateaus – everything laid out to make a course interesting, testing and most of all fun!

They're my favourite type of minigolf course and I've visited most of those that still remain in the UK.

The Arnold Palmer branded miniature golf courses were part of the Arnold Palmer Enterprises empire set-up in 1961 that saw the legendary golfer's name licensed and franchised to a wide-range of activities and products including Dry Cleaning centres and an Arnold Palmer brand foot detergent.

A sign at the Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, UK

By 1966 there were 130 Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in the USA, with ten in Japan and some in South Africa.

The first Arnold Palmer Putting Course in the UK opened in Coventry in 1965 and was part of an Arnold Palmer Driving Range. A course was also located at a Driving Range in Sheffield.

Take a look at my blog post about Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in the UK for further information.

Monday, March 18, 2024

The Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in Cliftonville, Margate

A look at the remains of the Little Oasis Crazy Golf in Margate.

Many thanks to our fellow minigolf adventurer Matt Dodd for sending over these photos of what's left of the former Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate, Kent.

Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024

The location was once home to two 18-hole Arnold Palmer miniature golf layouts. It closed for good in 2014.

Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024

We first visited the Little Oasis Crazy Golf course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in September 2007.

Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate - September 2007

We first played the 'North' course in September 2007, and played the 'South' course in April 2011.

Check out this blog post about Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in the UK.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

The Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire

A look at the Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire.

We had a brilliant break in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire in May 2018. The seaside resort has a number of minigolf courses, one of which is the classic Arnold Palmer Putting Course near the pier.