The Minigolf-Atlas

Check out the Minigolf-Atlas - a map listing miniature golf courses in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg.

I recently found out about the Minigolf-Atlas, a project to map all of the minigolf courses in Germany and surrounding countries!

The project is run by the team at Miniatur-Golf-Club Wetzlar eV. They are based in central Germany and created the project to record all the minigolf facilities throughout Germany. This includes locations where clubs are based and tournaments take place, as well as the many course locations where no competitions are held.

It's brilliant to see the efforts put into the project, and it'll be an excellent resource for people to get out and play for leisure, fun, and for competition and club play.

The Minigolf-Atlas team are putting together lists of courses in other countries, and it'll be interesting to see the website develop over time.

Take a look at the Minigolf-Atlas website for more information.

It'll be a handy resource if we can find the time to visit Germany again in the future! There are still some minigolf systems, including Cobi Golf and Star Golf that we haven't yet played, and these are localised in Germany (Cobi Golf) and Germany & Austria (Star Golf).

I've played Felt Golf in Vienna, Austria at the Askoe Wien Wasserpark. That was an incredibly tough course, and the longest Swedish Felt course in Europe!

The Askoe Wien Swedish Felt Minigolf course in Vienna, Austria

I didn't get a chance to play the 'Eternit' aka Miniature Golf course there as it was out of season.

The Askoe Wien Eternit Miniature Golf course in Vienna, Austria

It was also the first place I saw the minigolf/snooker hybrid game of Pit-Pat.

Pit-Pat in Vienna, Austria

My brother Christopher, a charter member of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, and his family have visited a few courses in Germany and one in Luxembourg on their branch of the tour:

• Nittel, Germany - Minigolf
• Zeltingen-Rachtig, Germany - Beton Minigolf

Minigolf in Zeltingen-Rachtig, Germany. Photo by Christopher Gottfried

• Traben-Trarbach, Germany - Eternit Miniature Golf
• Kobern-Gondorf, Germany - Abenteuergolf
• Kobern-Gondorf, Germany - Eternit Miniature Golf

Miniature Golf in Kobern-Gondorf, Germany. Photo by Christopher Gottfried

• Bernkastel-Kues, Germany - Minigolf

Minigolf in Bernkastel-Kues, Germany. Photo by Christopher Gottfried

• Gutach, Germany (Adventuregolf Gutach) - Adventure Golf
• Sasbachwalden, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany (Höfner Stübl Minigolf) - Eternit Miniature Golf

Höfner Stübl Miniature Golf in Sasbachwalden, Germany. Photo by Christopher Gottfried

• Remich, Luxembourg - Eternit Miniature Golf

Miniature Golf in Remich, Luxembourg. Photo by Christopher Gottfried 

To date, we've visited 1,044 miniature golf courses. 997 of those have been in the British Isles, while 47 have been in overseas countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain (& Lanzarote, Canary Islands), Sweden and the USA. When we began our travels there were around 600 courses in the UK. There are now more than 1,000, with new courses opening all the time.

Minigolf Taivallahti in Helsinki, Finland

A look at Minigolf Taivallahti in Helsinki, Finland.

Many thanks to my friend, minigolf rival and team-mate Kevin Moseley for sending over some snaps of these two miniature golf courses he spotted on his recent trip to Helsinki, Finland.

Minigolf Taivallahti in Helsinki, Finland

Minigolf Taivallahti in Helsinki, Finland

The two courses can be found at Minigolf Taivallahti.

Visit the Minigolf Taivallahti website for more information.

Swedish Felt Mini Golf courses in Essex

A look at four Swedish Felt Mini Golf courses we've visited in Essex.

Playing Mini Golf on the pier in Southend-on-Sea

There are a wide-range of minigolf courses in the world. Some of the designs are formal and standardised, while others are more outlandish and fantasy courses. Some sit in-between the two extremes.

Feltgolf and the WMF

World Minigolf Sport Federation tournaments are held on four types of minigolf courses and the WMF has its own definitions for the sport.

These are Concrete, Miniaturegolf, Minigolf Open Standard (MOs) and Feltgolf.

Feltgolf courses (also known as Swedish Felt) are a type of course made of a felt covered wooden base consisting of 18-holes (often described as lanes) from a selection of 32 standardised designs.

How to play mini golf

Feltgolf in the UK

There are no standard full-size Feltgolf courses in the UK. There was at one time a version at The Green in Hither Green, London. However this has long since closed.

It was a brilliant venue and we enjoyed competing in a number of league, club and national tournaments there.

The Green indoor mini golf course in Hither Green, London

Feltgolf in Finland and Austria

We have played official Feltgolf courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. The first was at the Manse Ratagolf Club in Tampere, Finland in 2008. I also played the course at the Askoe Wien Wasserpark in Vienna, Austria in 2010. That layout was the longest Swedish Felt course in Europe.

Playing an incredibly long Feltgolf hole in Finland as my team-mate Steve 'F1' Gow looks on

Playing Feltgolf at the Askoe Wien Wasserpark in Vienna, Austria

Feltgolf versions in the UK

There are quite a few smaller versions of Feltgolf in the UK and they do offer a different putting challenge to other crazy, mini and adventure golf courses. I'd say they tend to be trickier and more technical courses to play, where you need to be very accurate with the line of your tee-shot and any subsequent shots you have to take.

Feltgolf in Essex, England

Looking back on our travels we've been to four Swedish Felt courses in the county of Essex. These were in Dovercourt and Blake End in May 2009, Walton on the Naze in August 2013 and on the end of Southend Pier in June 2016.

Dovercourt - May 2009

Playing the Crazy Golf course at Low Road in Dovercourt

Blake End Craft Centre near Braintree - May 2009

Playing on the Minigolf course at Blake End Craft Centre near Braintree

Walton on the Naze - August 2013

The Crazy Golf course at Coronation Gardens in Walton on the Naze

Southend Pier - June 2016

Putting on the Southend Pier Crazy Golf course

The game in Sweden

The first minigolf courses created in Sweden were introduced in 1930 and the popularity of the game saw the formation of the Swedish Minigolf Association in 1936.

The game is still incredibly popular in Sweden and the country is a powerhouse in international tournaments.

We played for the Great Britain team in the 2011 WMF Nations Cup held in Stockholm. We also returned to Sweden in February 2018. While we've visited Swedish Felt courses in the country, we've never played a round of Swedish Felt Mini Golf there.

The closest I've got to playing Swedish Felt Mini Golf in Sweden

Another course to play

There is another version of Swedish Felt Mini Golf in Essex, it's at Caddies in Southend-on-Sea. The competitive socialising venue opened up in the seaside town shortly after our last visit. Some of my cousins who live in the area have played it and gave it the thumbs up. We're looking forward to playing it in the future.

Have you played Swedish Felt Mini Golf before? What did you think of it? If you know of any Swedish Felt style courses in the UK do let us know.

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