Mini Golf at Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan

Visiting the two miniature golf courses at Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan.

We headed to Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan to contest the Great Northern Minigolf Open tournament on the two minigolf courses in the park five years ago this weekend.

It's crazy to think that half a decade has passed already. Although two of those five years don't really count as they were a covid write-off!

First up was the Adventure Golf course.

Adventure Golf at Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan

It was the 700th course we visited in the British Isles and 727th overall.

This was followed by the Crazy Golf layout.

Crazy Golf at Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan

At just £1 per game, the course was the lowest price we'd ever found for an 18-hole course on our travels. Amazing value for money. We still haven't anywhere charging less than a quid a go.

The Haigh Woodland Park Crazy Golf course was the 728th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 701st in the UK.

We've now been to 983 courses on our travels since September 2006.

Great Northern Minigolf Open tournament

Margate's Scott Lancley won the Great Northern Minigolf Open played in Wigan's Haigh Woodland Park on Saturday 8th April.

Played over two rounds on the park's two 18-hole courses, Lancley won with a 36 hole score of 87. I was runner-up on 93, with Ramsbottom's Russ Dent finishing in third place on 95. A total of nine players took part in the first - and to date, only - staging of the event.

Playing Crazy Golf at Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan

A visit to the Crazy Golf course at Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan.

On Saturday 8th April 2017 we headed to Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan to compete in the Great Northern Minigolf Open tournament played out on the two miniature golf courses in the park.

The second course played was the old Crazy Golf layout operated by the Friends of Haigh Country Park group.

At just £1 per game the course was the lowest price we'd ever found for an 18-hole course on our travels. Amazing value for money. We still haven't anywhere charging less than a quid.

Celebrating an ace on the labyrinth hole

The 18-holes are a real hotch potch as the courses has been added to and refurbished by different people and groups over the years. It certainly made for a fun and challenging round.

It was also nice to see a Humpty on the course.

The Haigh Woodland Park Crazy Golf course was the 728th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 701st in the UK. It became the 428th played on our travels since September 2006.

We've now been to 948 courses overall.

I'd first visited the Country Park back in December 2012 when the course was partially derelict.

Crazy Golf at Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan

Playing the Crazy Golf course at Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan.

On Saturday 8th April we headed to Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan to compete in the first-ever Great Northern Minigolf Open competition played out on the two miniature golf courses in the park.

The course was open and proving popular

The second course we played was the old Crazy Golf course operated by the Friends of Haigh Country Park group.

The view from hole one

At £1 per game the course is the lowest price we've ever found for an 18-hole course on our travels. Amazing value for money.

My first hole in one of the day - scored on the 'windmill with no blades labyrinth' hole!

The course was incredibly popular and had a good throughput of players all day. It's an interesting layout as the course has been added to over the years so has quite a hotch potch of obstacles. Not that that is a bad thing, it was certainly unique.

The course is quite crazy

The Haigh Woodland Park Crazy Golf course was the 728th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 701st in the UK. It became the 428th played on our travels since September 2006. 

Some holes have newer fibreglass obstacles

Others have older obstacles

While others have a mixture of traditional and modern elements

 

A bowler hatted spider!

Humpty!!!

The tank obstacle was particularly odd and quite out of place on the course. It was an interesting and very tough hole

What a steep ramp

Emily playing the tank

The 17th

The 'green' of the 18th hole

In the second and final round of the Great Northern Minigolf Open tournament the scores were:
1st - Scott Lancley - 38
2nd - Richard Gottfried - 44
3rd - Emily Gottfried - 49
4th - John Moore - 50
5th - Russ Dent - 51
6th - Cat Patterson - 59

The competitors in the Great Northern Minigolf Open competition

Visit the Friends of Haigh Country Park website for further information and course opening times. Back in 2012 the course was partly derelict, but the Friends group have done a brilliant job of getting it spruced up and fully open again.

Report from the Great Northern Minigolf Open in Wigan

Scott Lancley wins the inaugural Great Northern Minigolf Open in Wigan.

Margate's Scott Lancley won the Great Northern Minigolf Open played in Wigan's Haigh Woodland Park on Saturday 8th April.

Scott Lancley on his way to victory on Haigh Woodland Park's Crazy Golf course

Played over two rounds on the park's two 18-hole courses, Lancley won with a 36 hole score of 87. Stockport's Richard Gottfried was runner-up on 93, with Ramsbottom's Russ Dent finishing in third place on 95. A total of nine players took part in the first staging of the event.

The finishers in the Great Northern Minigolf Open

Russ Dent was making a return to competitive minigolf after a seven-year break and rolled back the years with an impressive round of 44 on the Adventure Golf course to lead by five shots after round one. Gottfried and Lancley were in a tie for second after round one.

Russ Dent hitting only his second shot in seven years

Richard Gottfried playing the Windmill and Plateau hole on the new Adventure Golf course as John Moore looks on

However, Lancley's visit to the north wasn't for nothing as he stormed to an amazing round of 38 on the Crazy Golf course to take the title and the trophy.

The top three from l-r Richard Gottfried, Scott Lancley, Russ Dent

Results of the 2017 Great Northern Minigolf Open:
1st - Scott Lancley - 49+38=87
2nd - Richard Gottfried - 49+44=93
3rd - Russ Dent - 44+51=95
4th - Emily Gottfried - 52+49=101
5th - John Moore - 54+50=104
6th - Cat Patterson - 65+59=124
7th - Ryan Lancley - 65 DNF
8th - Ethan Rottenbury - 67 DNF
9th - Zoe Lancley - 83 DNF

Speaking after his victory Scott said "I'm humbled to have won the first Great Northern Minigolf Open and put my win down to my vast experience of the second course we played today."

Scott on his way to victory on the Crazy Golf course

Players had travelled from Kent, other parts of Greater Manchester, Bedfordshire and Tyneside to compete in the tournament.

For once John Moore hadn't travelled the furthest to compete

The Aces championship for most holes-in-one was a very close contest. The first course had proven incredibly tough and no players had recorded an ace during the 18-holes. John Moore was the first to hit an ace, doing so on hole 1 of the Crazy Golf course. Richard followed this with a hole-in-one on the second. There was another drought until Russ hit a perfect shot on the 14th hole. Emily managed until the last minute to get an ace, doing so on the 18th. However, it was to be Scott taking the Aces title to go alongside the main event as he hit aces on the 16th and 18th to do the double.

Nuts! Richard playing the Adventure Golf course

Russ on his way to a clubhouse lead after round one

Scott in action during round one

Emily plays the Tank hole 16th on the Crazy Golf course