Caption the Photo...

...a long time ago in Minigolf.

Me and Christopher Gottfried at TopGolf Watford's Adventure Golf course in April 2007!

The 18-hole Adventure Golf course at TopGolf Watford was the eighth (of the 523 courses) we've visited to-date and we first played there in December 2006!

Related Blog Posts:
- Watford
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Jigfest 2012!

Action from the 2012 Jigsaw Puzzle Extravaganza in Abbots Langley.

On Saturday Emily and I headed to Abbots Langley in Hertfordshire to attend Jigfest 2012!

Emily outside Jigfest 2012 at Abbots Langley Community Centre

We had spotted the event in a news story in the Watford Observer and decided to check it out. The admission was £1 and included a cup of tea – I required very little persuading with an offer of free tea!

Even though Emily is a card carrying member (Bronze level) of The Official UK Puzzle Club we had never been to a ‘Jigfest’ before. Handily the organisers had information on each of the tables with details of what to do.

The 'rules' of Jigfest!

Emily peruses the puzzles

I enjoyed my free cup of tea and the chance to ‘play’ a Where’s Wally? jigsaw puzzle. I managed to find Wally, who had been very sneakily hidden. I couldn’t find Wizard Whitebeard though.

I play the Where's Wally? jigsaw puzzle

We didn't miss looking in this corner!!

Me and my cup of tea

The annual Jigfest extravaganza is held to raise funds for the upkeep of the Abbots Langley Community Centre. Jigfest is sponsored by M.K. Ginder & Sons Funeral Directors.

A Where's Wally? jigsaw puzzle

It was also nice to have a wander around Abbots Langley in the lovely sunny weather. Even though we live just down the road in Luton we've never been there before.

Links:

- The Official UK Puzzle Club

- Abbots Langley Community Centre - Jigfest Host Venue

- M.K. Ginder & Sons Funeral Directors - Jigfest Sponsors

Related News Stories:

- “Jigsaw event in aid of Abbot Langley Community Centre”

- “Puzzles for sale at Abbots Langley's Jigfest”

Related Blog Posts:

- A Nice Cup of Tea in Weymouth

Bar Billiards in Baldock & Knebworth

Playing Bar Billiards at two pubs in Hertfordshire.

On Saturday 11th February 2012 me and two friends visited a couple of pubs in Hertfordshire for a few games of Bar Billiards.

Having rung round the pubs in Herts & Beds that are listed on the AEBBA map of Bar Billiards tables earlier in the day I had found out that The Red Lion in Studham, Beds no longer has a table. Nor does the Bedford Arms in Hitchin, having changed to a standard Pool table. We'd also found The Bucks Head pub in Little Wymondley has also removed their Bar Billiards table, but does offer free Dominoes, Cards and Cribbage to customers.

I did find that The Chequers Inn at Knebworth still had a table and I'd heard via twitter that The Orange Tree in Baldock also had one, so off we headed.



The Bar Billiards table at The Orange Tree in Baldock

First up was a visit to The Orange Tree, where we spotted the table positioned in the 'public bar', quite nicely near to a real log fire to keep punters and players warm. After a quick run through of the rules I took on Simon in a game.



The Orange Tree Bar Billiards Rules

To decide who would break we played a hand of Rock Paper Scissors. I lost.



Simon 'Practice' Hall takes a shot

Simon may have won the break, but when the match came to the closing stages the score was 800 to nil, with Simon having wiped out his score by knocking down the dreaded black peg! He did however manage to score 200 points by sinking the last white ball to make the result 800-200.


Lining up a shot

As the table at The Orange Tree was positioned against a wall/under a window it was only possible to play shots at the 200 & 100 holes from the left hand side of the table. Not a major obstacle really. I did like the fact that there were three sizes of cue available to use. As the pub was busy and there was a door behind the baulk line end I opted to use the 'baby' cue which was only about two and a half foot long.

Having had two games at The Orange Tree we decided to head over to Knebworth and The Chequers Inn for a game or two.

When I had phoned ahead earlier in the day the man at the pub had confirmed they still had a table and said that the baize on it had been relaid. The table did look and play nicely indeed, with the balls rolling very smoothly indeed. But unfortunately in the second game a lot of the balls kept getting 'stuck' in the pockets after being potted!? This meant for much of our second 'three-way-dance' match we were not playing with a full deck!

Simon picked up wins at The Chequers Inn. Both games once again went to a shootout on the 200 hole.

Interestingly the table at The Chequers Inn had a different layout to the table in The Orange Tree and was also different to the only other table I'd actually played, at The Strathmore Arms in St Paul's Walden. Both of those tables had three obstacles (one with 'mushrooms' the other with 'pegs'), but the table at The Chequers Inn had four mushrooms, with one guarding the 200 hole, one at the 100 hole (which was not marked as a scoring hole) and the other two were in front of each of the 50 holes. It certainly made the table a lot harder to score points on. The positioning of the table at The Chequers Inn also meant that shots at the 200 hole in the last ball shootout could only be made from the right hand side of the table.



The Bar Billiards table at The Chequers Inn at Knebworth - this one had four spots and four 'mushrooms'! Shooting for the 50s was very difficult

There was a nice old rules sheet/poster on display next to the table at The Chequers Inn. it was originally revised in 1973 and reprinted in 1976 and described "The Game of Bar Billiards - sometimes called Russian Bagatelle, Skittle Billiards or Snookerette etc."

This rule sheet had the rules laid out for playing the game using the 'first arrangement' and 'second arrangement' and it was this second type of rules the table had been set up for, with the previously mentioned four peg/skittle marks. There was also a good section on the sheet on 'How to Promote Interest' in the game.

The nice old Bar Billiards rule sheet at The Chequers Inn

An enjoyable day out at two different pubs, playing a fun and very tricky game. On an incredibly cold day it was nice to be in two very warm pubs.

Related Blog Posts:
- Another new game played – Bar Billiards
- Snow causes blog post in Guildford

Link:
- The All England Bar Billiards Association
- The AEBBA Rules of Bar Billiards

Gottfried vs. Hinton - Healthy Minigolf Competition at Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf

July 29th 2011 saw the beginning of a new minigolf competition series, with players from JML competing against each other for inter-office glory.

Emily “Coach” Gottfried is well-known within the walls of JML’s London HQ for her exploits and achievements in both the Irregular Minigolf Tour with “Squire” Richard Gottfried, and the BMGA Tour where she has competed in a number of Professional Miniature Golf events all over the UK. And a few brave, daring souls have often laid down the gauntlet and challenged Emily to a game of minigolf or two...

So on July 29th, the talking was over and Luton’s Emily Gottfried headed to the new Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf at the A1 Golf Driving Range in Arkley with Stevenage’s Simon Hinton to put the grand-standing to an end.

Whilst being a “big golf” player, Simon regularly talked up his short-game, however on arrival at the course, nerves seemed to take hold, and even a quick cigarette couldn’t dampen the nerves as both players approached the first hole.

This first match-up took place post-work on a beautiful July summers evening, and it proved to be the perfect setting for Emily to prove her minigolfing ability, when she bested Simon 42 to 45 on stroke play, and 2-up on matchplay.

Simon said after his defeat “It was a true pleasure to be able to demonstrate to Emily the finer details of my grip, the precision involved in the setting of the hips in my stance, and the pendulum effect of my in-out-in putting path.”

Hinton added “I know that Emily was extremely pleased as she now knows how not to putt like a complete t**t, and this will hold her in excellent stead in future competitions and the inevitable world rankings. And frankly, it’s all thanks to me.”

Emily said “I enjoyed the game immensely, and as I always knew I would win, it wasn’t much of a surprise, but it was very welcome all the same. Simon does have a certain finesse with a putter, and could definitely be a contender, if he honed his skills in certain areas. He suffered a five out there today, but he can work on that and take me on again in the future. However, having seen Simon’s recent comments, I can see that it will take another few defeats at my hand before he can accept defeat gracefully”.

Following on from these self-aggrandising comments Emily “Coach” Gottfried agreed to a re-match, which took place on August 9th.

In this second match Emily again beat Simon, 40 to 41. The victory was by a smaller margin, but improvements were made by both players, including aces by Emily on the 1st and by Simon on the 14th. The match ended all-square on matchplay. At this point, Simon grudgingly acknowledged that some of Emily’s guidance had helped his game and a second-round was played.

This round showed much improvement again, and with Simon following Emily’s coaching tips he managed to win 38 to Emily’s 41. This included another ace on the 14th for Simon - making it his favourite hole. Simon also won matchplay 2-up.

After the two-rounds were over Simon said “An under par round (course par is 40) equalling the course record came as absolutely no surprise to me. This is testament to my determination, focus, skill and on-course imagination. Oh – and Coach helped a bit too”.

Coach said: “I won the first round and lost the second, but I feel that I can take some credit in Simon’s victory. I saw his potential and some handy advice helped him to his win”.

The JML Irregular tour will hopefully continue later in the year with at least three more colleagues lined up to compete.

Link - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour visit to the Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf Course

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

Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf Course Played at the A1 Driving Range in Arkley, Hertfordshire

Another new Miniature Golf course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour!

Last month while on an On The Buses Event around Elstree & Borehamwood me, Emily and Brad Shepherd spotted the building of a new Adventure Golf course in Arkley, Hertfordshire. Today, a group of us headed there to have a game. It became the 262nd course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The course is an 18-hole 'Dinosaur Safari' Adventure Golf and features a variety of holes, with hills, ramps, plateaus, rocks and water hazards.

There are also a number of Dinosaurs around the course. None of them gave us any problems though.

To enter the course and meet the 'Live Dinosaurs' you have to enter through a Time Travel 'Device'!

A sound piece of advice on this sign!

To mark our visit we held a Minigolf Competition to crown the Arkley Dinosaur Safari Golf Classic Champion.

Four players teed-off in the event with me and Emily teaming up to take on my Minigolf (and BIG Golf) rival Jon 'El Pato' Angel and his partner Cheryl 'Shuffler' Joseph.

In the Individual Event I defeated Jon by one shot, scoring a 41(+5). Emily and Cheryl tied for third place with scores of 49(+13).

In the Doubles Event Emily and I defeated Jon and Cheryl by one-shot - 90 vs. 91.

In the Doubles Matchplay Emily and I won 1-up.

In the Boys Against Girls Match Jon and I won 83-98.

After the Adventure Golf we also had a go on the Driving Range, a warm-up of sorts for our yet to be completed 'Best of 5 Pro Spirit Challenge Tour' Competition!

Video introduction of the course visit with a 'special' guest appearance by Jon 'El Pato' Angel.


Previous Blog Post About The Course - New Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf opening at the A1 Driving Range in Arkley, Herts (near Elstree & Borehamwood)

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

Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf at the A1 Driving Range in Arkley

A new Minigolf course spotted in Hertfordshire!

A photo of the Dinosaur Adventure Golf course at the A1 Driving Range in Arkley and one of the 'inhabitants' on our visit in July 2011 

Me, Emily and Brad spotted the building work on a new Adventure Golf course while we were on the On The Buses Event around Elstree & Borehamwood on Saturday 18th June!

The course is not open yet (obviously), but digging around online I found the promotion for it (and the surrounding golf range etc.) has started, and it looks like it is planned to open in early-July 2011.

Fingers crossed all goes well with the rest of the build, we look forward to giving it a go when it opens.

I managed to take one quick photo of the construction site as we were passing, as it's visible from the road.

Dinosaur Safari website (under construction as at 20th June 2011)

A1 Golf Driving Range website (new website 'coming soon')

The address is:
Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf
A1 Golf Driving Range, Rowley Lane
Arkley, Hertfordshire, EN5 3HW

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London

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

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Course Played #17 St Albans, Hertfordshire (Verulamium Park) - Crazy Golf

Back on the 11th of April 2007 I visited and played the 12-hole Crazy Golf course in Verulamium Park, St Albans, Hertfordshire. At the time it was just the 17th course played on what would become the epic Crazy World of Minigolf Tour!

On my first visit I scored rounds of 25, 27 and 35!

I also re-visited it with my former Dodgeball Associates 'Rowdy' Russell Fenner and Paul 'Barer' Harvey for a three-round event on the 10th May 2007.

In the Irregular Mini Golf Tour's Triple-O Thursday 36 Competition, Me and Paul tied having scored a total of 87(+11), Russell scored a 103(+31).



Richard & Humpty.



On the 20th November 2010 I was in St Albans so decided to visit the course to see what the course was like now.

Humpty was still there.



A blue Dolphin now 'Guards' the course from the corner!







I also noticed that the following two holes have changed slightly:
Hole 1 - May 2007

Hole 1 - November 2010


Hole 7 - May 2007


Hole 7 - November 2010


We have also played this type/design of course on a number of occasions on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, including:

• 18 Luton (Wardown Park) - Crazy Golf - Review at Miniaturegolfer.com here


• 48 Lytham St Anne’s - Crazy Golf


• 61 Southsea - Crazy Golf


• 79 Gravesend (Woodlands Park) - Derelict Crazy Golf


• Visit 97 to Maidenhead's Riverside Gardens saw us meet another 'Humpty' and the course did use some similar Fibreglass obstacles, but it was an 18-hole Eternit course (we also revisited it on 10/10/10 at 9pm!)


• 130 Saundersfoot - Crazy Golf


• 132 Eglwyswrw (Dyfed Shires & Leisure Farm) - Crazy Golf


• 134 Llanrhystud (Penrhos Golf & Country Club) - Crazy Golf


• 138 Tywyn (Leisure Park) - Crazy Golf


• 144 Towyn (Knightly's on Sandbank Road) - Crazy Golf


• 156 Melbourn (Kingsway Golf Centre) - Crazy Golf - now replace by The Himalayas Putting Course


• 202 Knaresborough (Conyngham Hall Gardens) - Crazy Golf

And we've also visited these types of courses in the following places (but for one reason or another haven't been able to play them):

• Lytham St Anne’s - Crazy Golf #2


• Newcastle (Exhibition Park) - Derelict 9-hole Crazy Golf


• Porthmadog - Crazy Golf (arrived at 5.30pm, course closed at 6pm but would not let us play)


• Smeeth (The Woolpack Inn) - Crazy Golf - had similar obstacles


• Riviera Hotel, Bowleaze Cove, Weymouth - Crazy Golf

There is also a 9-hole Putting Green at the Abbey View Golf Course at Verulamium Park, it was getting dark and very cold so I didn't play it on this visit.




Links to related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- St Albans
- Humpty

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

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Course Played #42 Broxbourne (Paradise Wildlife Park) - Adventure Golf

The 18-hole 'On Safari' Adventure Golf at Paradise Wildlife Park, Broxbourne, Hertfordshire was the 42nd Minigolf course visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Its a great course with some testing holes, plenty of good theming and some very large animal obstacles on a few of the holes!

Photos from the visit on the 7th March 2008.














Related blog post:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - List and links for all Miniature Golf courses visited to date

Link:
- Paradise Wildlife Park