Putt18 - Battle of the Brits

A new tournament for Putt18 players in the UK.

Minigolfers, golfers and other players from around the world have been playing the Putt18 golf game mat for fun and in competitions during the pandemic.

As well as official events players with the Putt18 game mat have been having friendly matches with the games shown online.

The next tournament is a Battle of the Brits taking place across the UK later this month.

Check out the Putt18 website for more information.

Putting at Home

Emily and I competed in the first Putt18 Four Nations Cup in May last year and I played in the inaugural Putt18 World Pro League that was completed in October 2020.

The Putt18 World Pro League was a fun and interesting way to keep on putting and compete during the pandemic. It was also a first in terms of getting players from around the world to compete on the same playing surface in a regular league format.

With no end in sight to the coronavirus pandemic and with Stockport in the highest level of restrictions it looks like we'll be doing a lot more putting at home and socialising via competitive isolation activities for some time to come.

Related blog posts:

- Putt18

- Putting at Home

- Competitive Isolation

Putt18 World Pro League 2020

Final results of the first ever Putt18 World Pro League.

The inaugural Putt18 World Pro League season has concluded with Matt Ansley of New Zealand taking the title.

Matt was the wire-to-wire winner of the league with a tremendous display on the Putt18 Golf Putting Game Mat.

Putt18

The Putt18 game mat consists of six tee-off boxes and three target score zones. Players must hit their balls from each of the tee boxes in turn aiming at the Par-4, Par-5 and Par-3 targets while avoiding fairways, bunkers and water hazards that carry penalty points. After the 18 shots have been played you tot up your score to see what you've shot for your round.

Putt18 World Pro League

Players from Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain and the USA competed in the seven event series.

Each player had a 20-minute time limit to play four 18-hole rounds for a 72-hole total score in each of the seven events. There were additional points on offer for low scores and the round total.

Results of the 2020 Putt18 World Pro League

20 players competed in the league. Matt Ansley took first place with a score of 866 points. Dave Gomm (GB) was runner-up with 693 points, with John Ansley (NZ) in third place with 655 points.

Also in the prize money were Cameron Couper (NZ) with 578 points and Josh Mars (AUS) with 455 points.

The leading US player was Pat Sheridan in 8th place on 352 points.

During the tournament Matt shot an average score of 63 per round.

As well as being runner-up Dave Gomm shot a world record low round score of 57.

In the team event New Zealand won, with Australia runners-up and Great Britain in third place.

I finished the league in 18th of 20 players with 107 points.

In the strokeplay rankings I finished in 17th place of 20 players with 2,189 shots and an average of 78.18 per round of 18 holes.

2020 Putt18 World Pro League - Points Table

2020 Putt18 World Pro League - Strokeplay Table

Find out more about Putt18

Check out the Putt18 World Pro League Facebook Group and Putt18 website for more information.

Competitive isolation and Putting at Home

The Putt18 World Pro League has been a fun and interesting way to keep on putting and compete during the pandemic. It's also been a first in terms of getting players from around the world to compete on the same putting surface in a league format.

Read more in my blog post about Keeping social and competitive in the new world of physical distancing.

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Putt18 World Pro League - Week 7 of 7

Results from the final week of the Putt18 World Pro League.

I played my final four rounds in the inaugural Putt18 World Pro League shooting scores of 79, 84, 72 and 74 for a total of 309. My third best weekly score.

Times of the rounds:

Round 1 = 02:44.74

Round 2 = 02:44.71

Round 3 = 03:03.04

Round 4 = 03:13.77

Total = 11:47.72

Scores of the rounds:

Round 1 = 79

Round 2 = 84

Round 3 = 72

Round 4 = 74

Total = 309

 

Putt18 World Pro League

I've been competing against fellow minigolf players from Australia, New Zealand and the USA in the seven event series.

Each player has a 20-minute time limit to play four 18-hole rounds for a 72-hole total score in each of the seven events. There are a variety of points on offer for low scores and total rounds.

Putt18

We first played the Putt18 game format in the Putt18 Home Putting Challenge 4 Nations Cup international event against Australia, New Zealand and the USA back in May.

The Putt18 game mat consists of six tee-off boxes and three target score zones. Players must hit their balls from each of the tee boxes in turn aiming at the Par-4, Par-5 and Par-3 targets while avoiding fairways, bunkers and water hazards that carry penalty points. After the 18 shots have been played you tot up your score to see what you've shot for your round.

Check out the Putt18 World Pro League Facebook Group and Putt18 website for more information.

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Final week of the first Putt18 World Pro League

The inaugural season of the Putt18 World Pro League concludes tomorrow.

I'll be playing my final four rounds in week 7 of the first Putt18 World Pro League at 11am (BST) tomorrow, Sunday 4th October.

You can watch my rounds live on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Facebook Page.

I've been competing against fellow minigolf players from Australia, New Zealand and the USA in the seven event series.

Check out the Putt18 World Pro League Facebook Group and Putt18 website for more information.

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Week 6 of 7 in the Putt18 World Pro League

Results from week 6 of the Putt18 World Pro League.

I've been competing in the inaugural Putt18 World Pro League during the pandemic and six of the seven events in the first season have now been completed.

Players from the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand have been pitting their Putt18 putting skills against each other in the fortnightly challenges. The final week gets underway next Wednesday, 30th September with the champion crowned on Sunday 4th October.

After six weeks a total of 480 rounds of Putt18 have been recorded.

At the top of the leader-board is Matt Ansley of New Zealand with 742 points scored in the six events.

GB's Dave Gomm in second spot with 602 points. Dave has also set a new world record for an individual round with a score of 57 recorded last week.

John Ansley of New Zealand is in third place with 548 points.

I'm currently in 18th place of the 20 players left competing in the marathon of putting with 91 points.

It'll be an interesting final week of games to see if there is any movement at the top and bottom of the leader-board!

Many thanks to my fellow players for keeping track of all the action.

Putt18 World Pro League

Each player has a 20-minute time limit to play four 18-hole rounds for a 72-hole total score in each of the seven events. There are a variety of points on offer for low scores and total rounds.

Check out the Putt18 World Pro League Facebook Group for more info.

Putt18

We first played the Putt18 game format in the Putt18 Home Putting Challenge 4 Nations Cup international event against Australia, New Zealand and the USA back in May.

The Putt18 game mat consists of six tee-off boxes and three target score zones. Players must hit their balls from each of the tee boxes in turn aiming at the Par-4, Par-5 and Par-3 targets while avoiding fairways, bunkers and water hazards that carry penalty points. After the 18 shots have been played you tot up your score to see what you've shot for your round.

Further details of the Putt18 golf game mat can be found on the Putt18 website.

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Read my blog post about keeping social and competitive in the new world of physical and social distancing

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Putt18 World Pro League - Week 6 Results

Scores for Week 6 of the Putt18 World Pro League.

I shot rounds of 79, 76, 83 and 78 for a total of 316 in Week 6 of 7 in the inaugural Putt18 World Pro League.

Video of my four rounds in Week 6.

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More information on the Putt18 golf game mat can be found on the Putt18 website.

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Putt18 World Pro League - Week 6

I'll be teeing-off in week 6 of the Putt18 World Pro League at 4.45pm this Friday, 18th September.

You can watch my four rounds in the penultimate event in the inaugural league live on Facebook.

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More information on the Putt18 golf game mat can be found on the Putt18 website.

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Putt18 World Pro League - Week 5 Results

Results from week 5 of the Putt18 World Pro League.

Provisional scores for my four rounds in week 5 of the Putt18 World Pro League are:

- Round 1 = 76

- Round 2 = 83

- Round 3 = 83

- Round 5 = 85

Total = 327

My scores to date:

- Week 1 = 328

- Week 2 = 290

- Week 3 = 321

- Week 4 = 299

- Week 5 = 327

About the Putt18 World Pro League

During the coronavirus pandemic players from Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand and the USA are competing in individual and team events on the Putt18 golf game putting mat.

There are two more weeks remaining of the inaugural seven event series.

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More information on the Putt18 golf game mat can be found on the Putt18 website.

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Putt18 World Pro League - Week 5

I'll be teeing-off in week 5 of the Putt18 World Pro League at 11am this Sunday, 6th September.

You can watch my four rounds live on Facebook.

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More information on the Putt18 golf game mat can be found on the Putt18 website.

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Crazy Golf at the Social Muscle Club

The Social Muscle Club's Summer Camp is taking place tomorrow night.

We're very excited to be a part of the Social Muscle Club's Bristol event tomorrow evening. It'll have a summer holiday camp theme!

We'll be attending alongside the Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf Club's manager Megan who will be sharing designs from the club's project to create a real-life course as well as hosting a quick fire Mini Golf challenge.

We can't wait to discuss the crazy world of miniature golf, our travels to 955 courses and judge the crazy golf creations made by the attendees.

If you fancy a night in with a summer holiday camp theme you can get your free ticket from Trinity Bristol.

About Social Muscle Clubs and Shambala

At Social Muscle Clubs you’re invited to grab a drink, a socially-distanced friendly buddy, join a Zoom call, and take part in a simple sharing game where everyone offers something they are willing to give, and makes a request for something they’d like to receive. These things can be concrete and practical but also abstract, or relationship-focused. Fresh bread, tax return support, a tattoo, a holiday apartment in Costa Rica, a sofa, cash, a shoulder to cry on. The giving and receiving games in small groups are punctuated by performance, music, and surprises. The atmosphere is celebratory!

The Social Muscle Club is part of the ‘Taste of Shambala’ digital weekender. The physical, real-world Shambala Festival has been postponed until August 2021. Find out more on the Shambala website.

The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Our travels to play at every minigolf course in the UK began in September 2006 when we set out to visit as many British seasides as possible. Once we'd won a free game on the first Adventure Golf course we played in Southsea we were hooked.

At the Southend Pier Crazy Golf course

Since then we've been to 955 courses. 916 of them have been in the British Isles, with 39 in eleven overseas countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and the USA.

Playing Crazy Golf at Pontins Camber Sanda Holiday Park

When our adventures began there were 600 courses in the UK. There are now well over a thousand and counting! We've got 40 of the original 600 we set out to visit left and a lot of new courses to play at too.

Playing Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour stats:

• 955 courses visited since September 2006
• 916 courses visited in the British Isles
• 543 courses played overall
• 14 new courses visited in 2020
• 7 new courses visited in the time of coronavirus
• 36 courses visited in 2020, including revisits

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With over twenty years of marketing and sales experience each we offer consultancy services to people and businesses looking to set-up miniature golf courses, review their operations, hole designs, contests, tournaments and more. Do get in touch for a chat to see how we can help and work together.

Putt18 World Pro League - Week 3 & 4 Results

Results from weeks 3 and 4 of the Putt18 World Pro League.

Play has been completed in the third and fourth weeks of the Putt18 World Pro League.

During the pandemic players from Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand and the USA are competing in individual and team events over seven events on the Putt18 golf game putting mat.

Week 3 - top 3

1. Matt Ansley (NZL) - 251
2. John Ansley (NZL) - 261
3. Dave Gomm (GBR) - 265

Week 4 - top 4

1. Matt Ansley (NZL) - 245
2. John Ansley (NZL) - 256
3. Dave Gomm (GBR) - 262

I finished week 3 at the bottom of the pile of players who completed their rounds with rounds of 69, 87, 79 and 86 for a total of 321 and 12 points.

I fared better in week 4 with scores of 79, 70, 74 and 76 for a total of 299 and 25 points to finish 17th of 20 players.

Putt18 World Pro League Table after 4 events:

1. Matt Ansley, NZL
2. Dave Gomm, GBR
3. John Ansley, NZL
4. Cameron Couper, NZL
5. Nathan Lamplough, AUS
6. Faye Ansley, NZL
7. Steve Lovell, GBR
8. Josh Mars, AUS
9. Pat Sheridan, USA
10. Allan Cox, AUS
11. Luke Lord, AUS
12. Cameron Fincher, GBR
13. Tom Loftus, USA
14. Aaron Kaminski, USA
15. Matt Roadhouse, USA
16. Richard Gottfried, GBR
17. Shelley Cooper, GBR
18. Gary P Shiff, USA
19. Randy Rice, USA
20. Karl R Barth, USA

Week 5 of the 7 event Putt18 World Pro League series tees-off on Wednesday 2nd September.

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More information on the Putt18 golf game mat can be found on the Putt18 website.

Week 4 of the Putt18 World Pro League

My results in week 4 of the Putt18 World Pro League.

I've just completed my rounds in Week 4 of the Putt18 World Pro League.

Provisional scores for Week 4:
- Round 1 = 79
- Round 2 = 70
- Round 3 = 74
- Round 4 = 76

Total = 299

Timings of the rounds:
- Round 1 = 3:37.92
- Round 2 = 4:06.46
- Round 3 = 4:21.90
- Round 4 = 4:45.40

Total = 16:50.70

For more information on the Putt18 golf game mat check out the Putt18 website.

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Putt18 World Pro League - Week 4

I'll be teeing-off in week 4 of the Putt18 World Pro League at 4.45pm this Friday, 21st August.

You can watch my four rounds live on Facebook.

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More information on the Putt18 golf game mat can be found on the Putt18 website.

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Competitive socialising

A look at the world of competitive socialising.

Before the coronavirus pandemic the phrase 'competitive socialising' had become a popular way to describe going out and having fun, with a number of new businesses catering to the demand of a public who wanted to compete at something while eating and drinking in a nice setting.

Whether it was table tennis, darts, shuffleboard, bingo, tenpin bowling, arcade games, or my personal favourite crazy golf, people were finding new ways to quench their thirst, have fun and compete without signing-up to a full sports league or taking things too seriously.

But we all know you have to take competitive socialising seriously – right?

'Competitive socialising' may, for the time being at least, have been replaced on a lot of people's lips by 'social distancing'. But when we're able to safely and fully emerge from isolation and lockdown there will be an appetite for playing games, having fun and doing new things.

Some of those experiences may not actually be totally new though, as people will want to experience the things they enjoyed, or were good at before lockdown.

Similarly, competitive socialising taps into nostalgia, retro experiences and halcyon days. Things that could feel even more important to people in the next few years as the world gets to grips with the effects of social distancing and the impact of the pandemic.

Competitive socialising wasn't a new thing. Instead it was a new way to describe something humans have done for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. While many of the sports and games we enjoy were codified in the last 150 years or so, people have been competing against one another – for honour, pride, money and bragging rights – for centuries.

Read more about keeping social and competitive in the new world of physical distancing in my blog post Competitive socialising in isolation.

I've also collated a number of blog posts about the pandemic as well as topics including Retailtainment, Artainment and Minigolf in the Time of Coronavirus at The Coronavirus (Ham & Egger) Files.

Pitch & Plakks now available to pre-order online

The new Pitch & Plakks minigolf game is available to pre-order online.

Post contains affiliate links

We found out about Pitch & Plakks minigolf course toy back in May and backed the Kickstarter to get the game made.

Pitch & Plakks will be released in November and we're looking forward to receiving this early Christmas present.

You can pre-order the game - with a discount - online now.

We love playing minigolf, outdoors and indoors - whether it's a full size course, a video game or a board game we're super competitive! It'll be interesting to see who wins our games - and how many arguments we'll have while playing it...

Pitch & Plakks is the second game from the team at Plakks after they successfully launched the Plakks football game in 2019.

You can pre-order Pitch & Plakks through this link. Any purchases made through it will also support us to continue bringing you brilliant minigolf content.

Pitch & Plakks is going to be a nice addition to our collection of minigolf toys, games and board games.

Putt18 World Pro League - Week 3

I'll be teeing-off in week 3 of the Putt18 World Pro League at 4.45pm this Friday, 7th August.

You can watch my four rounds live on Facebook.

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More information on the Putt18 golf game mat can be found on the Putt18 website.

Related blog posts:
- Results from week 2 of the Putt18 World Pro League
- Results from week 1 of the Putt18 World Pro League
- Putt18

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Putt18 World Pro League - Week 2 Results

Results from week 2 of the Putt18 World Pro League.

Play has been completed in the second week of the Putt18 World Pro League.

New Zealand's Matt Ansley once again won the week, this time with a four-round total score of 253 after rounds of 65, 62, 62 and 64.

Great Britain's Dave Gomm was second with a total of 256 after rounds of 66, 67, 64 and 59. The round of 59 was, at the time made, the lowest competitive round scored, the lowest Putt18 World Pro League round and the British record.

However, New Zealand's John Ansley finished the week in third place scoring 263 with rounds of 70, 72, 58 and 63. The 58 setting the bar for the other competitors.

A total of 21 players from four countries are competing in the inaugural Putt18 World Pro League.

I finished this week's competition in 11th place having shot rounds of 69, 73, 76 and 72 for a total of 290 and 42 points. A nice improvement after my shaky start to the tournament with rounds of 81, 79, 84 and 84 for a 328 total last week.

Putt18 World Pro League Table after 2 events

1 - Matt Ansley (NZL) 215 (2)
2 - Dave Gomm (GBR) 178 (2)
3 - Cameron Couper (NZL) 150 (2)
4 - John Ansley (NZL) 149 (2)
5 - Nathan Lamplough (AUS) 125 (2)
6 - Faye Ansley (NZL) 120 (2)
7 - Steve Lovell (GBR) 117 (2)
8 - Luke Lord (AUS) 108.5 (2)
9 - Josh Mars (AUS) 105 (2)
10 - Pat Sheridan (USA) 99 (2)
11 - Allan Cox (AUS) 92.5 (2)
12 - Cameron Fincher (GBR) 70 (2)
13 - Tom Loftus (USA) 55 (2)
14 - Matt Roadhouse (USA) 46 (2)
15 - Aaron Kaminski (USA) 44 (2)
16 - Richard Gottfried (GBR) 43 (2)
17 - Shelley Cooper (GBR) 40 (2)
18 - Randy Rice (USA) 31 (2)
19 - Gary P Shiff (USA) 14 (2)
20 - Karl R Barth (USA) 7 (2)
21 - James Gilderdale (NZL) 5 (2)

Week 3 of the Putt18 World Pro League tees-off next Wednesday.

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More information on the Putt18 golf game mat can be found on the Putt18 website.

Judging the Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf Club PUTT PARTY contest

We had a brilliant time judging all of the entries into the Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf Club's PUTT PARTY contest on Saturday morning.

Putting at home with the Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf Club

The PUTT PARTY was a Show & Tell of the Mini Golf holes created by residents of Knowle West in Bristol and the culmination of a lot of hard work and crazy golfing fun.

During lockdown and over summer the Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf Club has created a home-based minigolf club for local residents. Having received supplies of arts and crafts materials the club members were challenged to create their own crazy golf holes.

It was superb seeing the innovations, classic styles, wild, wacky and mega minigolf constructions and tricky to pick a winner.

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Yesterday was our finale Putt Party, where Knowle West-ers showcased our DIY Mini Golf Hole’s with one another over zoom, drawing the virtual ClubHouse meetings to a temporary pause. We can’t thank our in-house Mini Golf VIP’s @emslemsgottfried & @richard_gottfried all the way from Stockport enough. What a tricky judging time they had. They fed back beautiful comments on all the houses holes, really respected our community with words of encouragement and praise for our different skillsets and mini golf crafting skills. Comments included ‘wow, I wasn’t expecting that!’ & ‘you had it all!’ 949 Mini Golf Holes 🕳 visited. We cannot wait for you to visit us in Knowle West (when restrictions allow). #superstars #mr&mrs #minigolfchamps #thankyousomuch #diygolfcourse #communityfirst

A post shared by #FilwoodFantastic Mini Golf (@filwoodfantasticminigolf) on Jul 26, 2020 at 5:39am PDT

After everyone had demonstrated their crazy golf layout and talked through the ideas behind it we entered into deliberation before declaring the Alford family the winners of the Mini Golf Artists Award 2020 for their excellent Crocodile hole.

You can see the winning design in the Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf Club Facebook Group and Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

HUGE congratulations to @thegurtlife Dan, Lucy & Rowan for their Winning design at our Finale Putty Party on Saturday morning. Novers (g)Nasher came from no-where and stole first place with a cranking automated croc mouth, a slide for the ball and a direct swift hole in one action. Unbelievable!!! Dan’s family holds the title of The Mini Golf Artist 2020! He’ll be collecting his trophy and prize set from the Filwood Fantastic market next Saturday at @filwoodcentre #welldone #expecttheunexpected #communityforthewin #welldonedan #aloveofcrocs

A post shared by #FilwoodFantastic Mini Golf (@filwoodfantasticminigolf) on Jul 26, 2020 at 5:48am PDT

The multi-level layout had moving parts to open the croc's mouth, a ramp, tunnel, a playable tee-off point and a nice green.

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I may have got a little carried away with the build for today’s @filwoodfantasticminigolf inaugural diy hole building competition. Chuffed to take the win with our entry, The Novers Gnasher! A run down of the materials used: The shell of the croc was from our neighbours old To Let sign and covered with an old yoga mat. The hand crank is from some random screws, bottle tops and left over wood from a garden project. The ball goes through the crocs mouth Into a cardboard tube before travelling down a 2 metre slope, through an old drainage pipe (to slow the ball down), arriving on finishing green. The only cost was £1 for the hinges in the crocs mouth! #lockdownproject #minigolf #knowlewest #diygolfcourse

A post shared by The Gurt Life (@thegurtlife) on Jul 25, 2020 at 12:02pm PDT

We're looking forward to seeing the creation scaled-up and included in the full-size Crazy Golf course being built at the Filwood Community Centre later this year.

Visit the Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf Club's Facebook Group and the Filwood Community Centre website for more information.

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Putt18 World Pro League - Week 2

I'll be teeing-off in week 2 of the Putt18 World Pro League at 4.15pm this Friday, 24th July.

You can watch my round live on Facebook.

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More information on the Putt18 golf game mat can be found on the Putt18 website.

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Putting at Home with the Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf Club

We found out about the Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf Club in Knowle West, Bristol last month and have joined the club's Putt Party online events.

The Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf Club have created a home-based minigolf club and work is underway to build brand new minigolf course at the Filwood Community Centre.

Members of the club have been designing and making their own crazy golf holes using a wide-range of materials. The 16 households are putting the finishing touches to the layouts ahead of a competition to declare the best design this coming Saturday. Emily and I are really looking forward to being guest judges at the event. We've seen some superb designs so far.

Check out the Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf Club's Facebook Group and the Filwood Community Centre website for more information.