Crazy Golf in Prestatyn

A revisit to the Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course in Prestatyn, Wales.

At the Crazy Golf course in Prestatyn

In August 2009 we visited and played the excellent 18-hole (19 if you count the 'Top Hole') Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course on Bastion Road in Prestatyn. The course was the 147th we played and the second to last played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour visit to Wales.

Emily lining up a Putt on the 6th at Prestatyn's Crazy Golf course

While on our Holiday on the Buses weekender in Prestatyn in September 2014 we visited the course a few times and on our first walk passed we saw our friend and fellow minigolfer Peter Jones practicing!

Spotting Peter Jones at the Prestatyn Crazy Golf course

The course is in great condition and has some classic and tricky obstacles and putts. It's well worth a visit and has some of the friendliest course owners we've encountered on our travels.

On hole 9 of the Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course in Prestatyn

Check out the photos of the marvellous miniature golf course below.

Part of the Holiday on the Buses weekender organised by the On The Buses Fan Club included a Crazy Golf competition - The Butler Cup. As there were semi-pro players on the holiday this year there were two categories in the competition and Emily won the Pro Event!

Emily Gottfried - Holiday on the Buses Crazy Golf Competition Pro Champion 2014

Before playing the tournament we had a bit of a warm-up and after my round I rang the bell on the Lucky Last Hole to win a FREE GAME.

A rare thing to see - me with a FREE GAME voucher!

Check out MiniatureGolfer.com's page for the course where you can see photos taken by our friends and fellow minigolf tourists Paul & Owen Johnson, and Jam Trubridge.

Related blog posts:
- Minigolf Course Visit No. 147 - Arnold Palmer Putting at Prestatyn
- 'The Butler Cup' On the Buses Crazy Golf Tournament
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Wales
- Prestatyn

Conker Championships at the World Alternative Games

Conker Championships to be held at the World Alternative Games in Llanwrtyd Wells on Friday 15th August.

The upcoming World Alternative Games will feature a Conkers competition!

Taking place in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales in the AM session on Friday 15th August the Conker Championships ('Pencampwriaethau Concyrs' in Welsh) will see competitors split into three groups - men, women and children.

At the start of each game, the competitors will be given a new lace and conker and each player then takes three alternate strikes on the opponent’s conker. The game's outcome is decided when one of the conkers is smashed.

To register to take part in the Conker Championships, and other contests, please visit the World Alternative Games website.

My friend Chris 'Stretch' Jones was the official World Conker Champion in 2006! At the 2007 Midlands Minigolf Open tournament in Warwick I got to see some world class conker action as the then World Conker Champion was challenged by preliminary competitor Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd!

Chris 'Stretch' Jones - 2006 World Conkers Champion - holding out his conker for enhancement talent Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd to take a shot

The World Alternative Games are taking place place between Friday 8th and Monday 25th of August 2014 with over 60 sport and recreation events held during the festival of fun and games in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales.

The official WFJF Finger Jousting World Championships will also be taking place at the 2014 Games, with male and female competitions taking place on Sunday 10th August.

Check out the events listing and games brochure on the World Alternative Games website for more information.

Links:
- World Alternative Games website
- World Alternative Games on Twitter
- World Alternative Games on Facebook
- World Finger Jousting Federation website

Related blog posts:
- Update from the World Alternative Games 2014 in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales
- World Alternative Games

Not playing Crazy Golf at Clerkenwell Design Week 2014

Having heard that one of the showrooms at Clerkenwell Design Week 2014 was going to set-up a Crazy Golf course themed with its office furniture and chair designs as obstacles I was intrigued and interested in giving the course a play. Especially as it was a temporary course available to be played between 9am and 7pm at the GGI showroom during the three days of #CDW2014.

A group of us had registered to attend and were really excited to be heading to play the course.

The first of our party arrived at the GGI showroom at 5.25pm on the 20th of May (the first day of CDW) to find the course closed - as Emily and I have found a number of courses closed when we arrive to play on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour I assumed it was a rib from them.

But it wasn't! We arrived at 5.35pm to find the showroom (one of over 60 taking part in Clerkenwell Design Week) to be closed.

Outside the closed GGI showroom at Clerkenwell Design Week. A disappointed Richard Gottfried (centre) with from l-r Chris Jones, Brad Shepherd and Paul O'Connor. Not pictured is a distraught Emily Gottfried

The closest we got to playing the course was peering through the high windows from street level and spotting a bucket of putters.

The bucket of putters and some chairs. Yesterday

Annoyingly when we checked our emails later in the evening we'd received an email from Clerkenwell Design Week which had details of the GGI Crazy Golf course and a reminder of the opening times!?

I hope other visitors are luckier than our group was and get to play the course.

Check out my blog post on the Adventure Golf, Crazy Golf, Minigolf and Golf Putting Green courses we've played in and around London since July 2008.

We have been lucky in London before and played some interesting temporary courses and installations over the years, including at Devonshire Square, the roof of Selfridges, Alexandra Palace, Golf Apocalypse, the Tintype Gallery, Wooly Golf, Carnaby Street, the London Golf Show, Regent's Place and at the 2012 Brewmaster's Open at the Camden Town Brewery.

London will soon be getting a brand new minigolf course, as Moby Adventure Golf opens in Chadwell Heath, Romford later this month!

Ghost Signs U.K.

Old and intriguing 'ghost signs' advertising long-gone shops, businesses, products and services.  

My friend and fellow Minigolfer Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd (retired) has been telling me to have a look at the Ghost Signs U.K. Facebook page and the intriguing and interesting collection of advertising signs from long-gone shops.

As the Ghost Signs U.K. Twitter page says the aim of the project is "nothing to do with the paranormal but everything to do with social history."

After attending the Celia Time event back in February 2013 we spotted a great ghost sign of a very old and long out-of-business Dispensing Chemist shop on Cloudesley Road in north London.

Toilet Requisites! Photo by Emily of me and Brad next to the old Ghost Sign advertising on a wall on Cloudesley Road in London

Ghost signs are another thing for me to keep an eye out for in addition to Minigolf & Crazy Golf courses, brown signs, milestones, Bar Billiards tables, plaques, abandoned shoes, funny signs and whatnot!

Links:

- Ghost Signs U.K. on Facebook

- Ghost Signs U.K. on Twitter

A London Bar Billiards Pub Crawl

Report from a journey to five London pubs to play the classic game of Bar Billiards.

On Saturday 18th of May Kevin ‘Booze N Cues’ Moseley led an increasingly merry band of semi-pro Minigolfers on a tour of five pubs to play the fine pub sport of Bar Billiards.

Travelling in from Bath, Newcastle, Luton, Manchester and other parts of London the intrepid group of amateur Bar Billiarders met at Cutty Sark DLR and headed for the first port of call – the Pelton Arms.

Kevin 'Booze N Cues' Moseley outside the first stop of the day

The original plan for the day was going to see a pair’s tournament held across the five pubs, but on the day itself it was decided to aim to play three games in each venue with teams drawn at random. This was a great approach as some players had played before, while others hadn't.

The barmy Bar Billiardists

Lining up at the ‘do’ were:

• Brad "Flying Fists" Shepherd

• John "Wipe-out" Moore

• Kevin "Booze N Cues" Moseley

• Oliver "Late Starter" Florence

• Seth "Das Nugget" Thomas*

• Emily "Trick Shot" Gottfried

• Richard "The Black Peg" Gottfried

* nickname later changed to "Trafalgar"

Unable to attend this time around, but with nicknames decided were:

• Trevor "Le Champignon Noir" Robertson

• Martin "Middlesex Fats" Robertson

Ahead of the day out Booze N Cues had emailed, tweeted and called each of the pubs to ensure the Bar Billiards tables were in working order. The fine chaps at the Bar Billiards Online Forum and the All England Bar Billiards' Association have put together some great lists of where you can find a table (there are about 600 in total in the UK and Channel Islands).

The thoroughly mapped out and timetabled route around London saw us travel around 20 miles by DLR, Train, Tube, Bus and foot. Perhaps next time we’ll schedule in a trip on a ferry too.

The table at the Pelton Arms had recently been serviced and was good to go.

The Pelton Arms was a great pub, was doing a brisk trade and served some large portions of pub grub by the looks of it! But we weren’t interested in eating; our appetite was for Bar Billiards!

Things got off to a shaky start as one of the balls was lodged in the machine. But after getting the man he opened the table up and the ball was released ready for us to play.

The most striking thing about the table was that instead of just having one red ball and seven white balls, the table had seven reds and a lone white! This was very confusing to begin with as it’s normally the red ball that counts double, but at the Pelton Arms it was the white that was the doubler!

An odd coloured combination of Bar Billiards balls!?

Richard 'The Black Peg' Gottfried is confused by the number of red balls at the Pelton Arms

In matches from the Pelton Arms:

• Richard & Kevin defeated John & Seth 770 to 680 after scoring 200 with the final (white double) ball

• Brad & Emily bested Kevin & Seth 720 to 300

From the Pelton Arms we caught a bus to Deptford and the Dog & Bell pub. Located in a housing estate the Dog & Bell was a brilliant boozer, had excellent customer service (some of the best I’ve ever received in a pub) and a great Bar Billiards table.

Heading to the Dog & Bell pub in Deptford

Plenty of space was given to the Bar Billiards area (and the eighty year old table) and the spacious public house was a nice spot to spend some time in. Definitely a pub to revisit.

Booze N Cues in action at the Dog & Bell

In results from the Dog & Bell:

• John & Kevin lost to Emily & Seth 0 to 170 after Kevin wiped-out a score of 900 on a very unnecessary shot at the 200-hole!

• Richard & John lost to Seth & Kevin 370 to 1,680 with Seth sinking the last white in the 100-hole

• Emily & Brad lost to Richard & Seth 0 to 480 after wiping out their score of 150 points

Brad 'The Flying Fist' Shepherd entertains the crowd

The Flying Fist shows orf his new titfer while Trick Shot lines up some sort of trick shot

We then headed (by way of a charity shop where Brad got two VHS tapes for 10p in a BOGOF offer) back to Cutty Sark and on to Stratford to catch a bus to the King William the Fourth in Leyton; quite a journey.

Booze N Cues schools his rivals in potting at the King William the Fourth

At the King William the Fourth the table is free to play if a charity donation is made. We happily paid, grabbed the cues and got cracking on the matches.

The scores on the doors from the King William the Fourth were:

• Brad & Richard lost to Kevin & Seth 1,500 to 1,960 in one of the day’s best matches

• Emily & Seth lost to John & Kevin 1,140 to 1,290 in the other of the day’s better matches

The table at the King William the Fourth was the best example that we found during the day and played really well.

Next up was a trip to Hackney and the Pembury Tavern. This bustling pub was fairly packed and as soon as we walked in some other customers started playing the Bar Billiards table! This was a first for many of us and so while we waited to play we had a nice sit down and ordered some food and a few more drinks.

With only time for one match at the Pembury Tavern the result was a win for John against Richard in a ‘breakaway’ tournament.

The Black Peg plays Wipe-out as latecomer Oliver Florence looks on

By the time we reached the King Charles I near Kings Cross the scoring had gone a bit out of the window, so it was a good job we weren't playing a full tournament.

However, results for the first two games were scored and counted and saw Oliver ‘Late Starter’ Florence playing for the first time in the day, having met us at the Pembury Tavern.

Scores from the King Charles I:

• Ollie & Seth lost to Brad & John 210 to 570

• John & Seth lost to Ollie & Brad 560 to 850

• The results of the match between Brad & Richard and Seth & Kevin are lost in the ether...

Brad, Emily and I have played the King Charles I table a number of times, so were prepared for the adverse camber the table offers. It’s also the only table we’ve seen with red baize.

The merry bunch at the King Charles I

The King Charles I was the end of the line for Bar Billiards but the adventure continued for Brad and Seth as they headed to a Eurovision Song Contest Karaoke House Party on the Caledonian Road. Everyone else headed home. That is except for Kevin who stayed on at the pub to teach some locals the rules of the game, and where he also witnessed a couple getting engaged in a very peculiar fashion!

• The best total team score of the day was 1,960 by Kevin & John at the King William IV

• The worst total team score of the day (not including zeros from wipe-outs) was shot by Emily& Seth at the Dog & Bell

• The highest break of the day was 1,360 set by Kevin at the King William IV

• The player with the most wins across the day was Kevin with four victories

• The player with the most losses across the day was Seth with five defeats

• Seth played in eight games, the highest number of appearances of the group (John also played eight games, including the rebellious breakaway match at the Pembury Tavern)

• Ollie only played two full matches

At each of the pubs we visited and played at it was great to see our fellow patrons taking an interest in us playing the game. While we were playing/scoring/reffing a fair few people were asking us about the game, its history and how you play it. I’m not sure we showed them the highest quality play, but I hope we inspired some other people to pop a pound in a table and give it a go.

We’re now looking ahead to another London area Bar Billiards Pub Crawl. If anyone has suggestions for places to go do let me know via the comments below.

Links:

• All England Bar Billiards' Association

• Bar Billiards Online Forum

• Bar Billiards-related Blog Posts on The Ham & Egger Files

Pub Links:

• The Pelton Arms

• The Dog & Bell

• The King William the Fourth

• The Pembury Tavern

• The King Charles I - no website or twitter, but here's a blog post about a previous visit

Kelsey Park Minigolf in Beckenham

A visit to the Minigolf course in Kelsey Park, Beckenham.

On Saturday 30th March Emily and I headed to Kelsey Park in Beckenham, Kent for the first-ever Will Donnelly Invitational Minigolf Tournament organised by the player himself - Will Donnelly!

Hole 18 - the Labyrinth - sometimes it can be tough, other times a good ace opportunity 

With Will having recently found that the course was near to his house he visited and played there and decided to organise an 'open invite' competition there for him and his fellow 'pro' players. The format of the event saw us all play two rounds on the 18-hole Minigolf course in Kelsey park, followed by one 18-hole round at the Dragon Quest Adventure Golf at World of Golf in Croydon.

En route to the park we'd heard the midday tee-off time was being pushed back a little to accommodate for an Easter Egg Hunt that was taking place in the park and on the course! That's certainly a first that we've come across in the 200+ Miniature Golf events we've competed in over the years!

Emily playing hole 2 - the Volcano - as Brad and Seth look on

We had a wander through the park and found it to be a very pleasant venue for both a Minigolf course and the tournament. The staff at the course were very welcoming and have a very well maintained course and surroundings.

A lovely lot of Minigolf-related signs made for a very happy Squire

The Minigolf course itself was originally of the 'Eternit' Minigolf variety, most often found in Europe, and over the last ten years the course has had various modifications made to it. It was certainly unique!

There are plenty of hole-in-one opportunities on the 18-hole layout, but as with many Eternit courses there were some killer holes there too!

On the day Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd set the best score with an opening round of 34(-2). Brad would go on to win the tournament outright following the final 18-holes in Croydon. The all-time best score was set in August 2003 when a Swedish player called Michael George scored a 28(-8)!

Top Putting from Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd

Kelsey Park and the Minigolf course there are well worth a visit. We'll definitely be back.

A rare photo of the pair of us together! Thanks for taking the snap Sethers

The visit to the Kelsey Park Minigolf course was number 525 overall on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 315th course played since September 2006!

Related Blog Posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Courses Visited List

- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London

Links:

- Kelsey Park in Beckenham

- Friends of Kelsey Park

- Kelsey Park Championship Minigolf Course review on MiniatureGolfer.com (2003)

Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Facebook, check out our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter.

Bar Billiards at the King Charles I pub in London

Playing some Bar Billiards at the King Charles I pub.

Prior to attending the CELIA Time Gluten Free Craft Beer event at the Prince Regent Pub me, Emily and Brad Shepherd headed to the King Charles I pub for a game or three of Bar Billiards.

Finding the spot for the red, ready for a break

We haven't managed to play a game there since our first visit back in February last year. Every time we've been back since, the pub has been so busy that playing a game would be too difficult. Arriving soon after it opened on Monday night we were in luck and able to have a game and a drink.

When the barman uncovered the table we were surprised to see the green baize replaced with red material, it certainly looked different. The 'House Rules' however, remained the same.

Last year's green baized table

The red baized table this year

The pub is well worth a visit and can be found on Northdown Road (just off the Caledonian Road and near to King's Cross). While there we had the pleasure of having a chat with the barman about the pub game of Aunt Sally - it's big in Oxfordshire - and a pub character who was really pleased to see some 'young uns' playing Bar Billiards. He gave us some tips and also some suggestions of other pubs he'd played the game at (stretching back over the last 40 or so years!). One of which, that made me chuckle, was the brilliantly named Dog and Sausage in St Helier, Jersey. We also discussed the many variations of Dart Boards that exist.

It was thanks to Brad that we got into playing Bar Billiards after he pointed me in the direction of the old TV show Indoor League, which featured amongst the 'pub sports' a Bar Billiards contest. We played our first game soon after on the 27th of January 2012!

In the first game at the King Charles I on Monday I beat Emily 750 to 510 after Emily managed to make the 200-point shot on the sudden-death shoot-out, although this meant I couldn't wipe-out.

Emily playing against Richard while Brad is engaged in pub chat

In game two I won a close match-up against Brad after he wiped-out a score of 370 on a shot at the 200 hole with the red ball. The final score was 440 to nil.

Richard on his way to victory against Brad

A short break followed before Brad managed to defeat me 750 to 390 in the final game before we headed off to the CELIA Lager gluten free/craft beer event down the road near Angel.

Brad lining up a shot with the red onto a white for a crack at 100 points

None of us got near the 'Table Record' of 3,040 points, that included a break of 2,860, set by Julian Coles on the 13th of October 2009.

The King Charles I is a great little pub, with a cracking Bar Billiards table and a nice and friendly atmosphere. We're looking forward to our next visit.

Related Blog Posts:

- Bar Billiards and a little bit of Mini-Golf in London

- Bar Billiards
- Another new game played – Bar Billiards

Links:

- All England Bar Billiards' Association