New Adventure Golf course at Riverside Golf Centre in Nottingham

There's a new Adventure Golf course being built at Riverside Golf Centre in Nottingham.

My mate and minigolf rival Jam 'Jamdre the Giant' Trubridge has sent me more proof of the East Midlands miniglf revolution as ANOTHER course is opening in Nottinghamshire!

Jam's friend Nick Donovan was recently at Riverside Golf Centre in Nottingham and posted a photo showing work underway to build a new miniature golf course at the venue.

The building work by Mini Golf Poland is underway at Riverside Golf Centre in Nottingham. Photo by Nick Donovan

Emily and I are looking forward to another inland road-trip to visit all the courses in Nottinghamshire. It's crazy how many new minigolf centres are opening up in the area. Jam is in his element living on the doorstep of all these new arrivals!

As well as the new course at Riverside Golf Centre we've got to visit:
- Highfields Park Adventure Golf in Nottingham
- Mr Mulligan's Pirate Golf at Ramsdale Park Golf Centre in Nottingham
- Caddyshack Golf Centre in Mansfield

Our friend Darren Howe and his family recently played the Robin Hood themed Adventure Golf course at Center Parcs Sherwood Forest.

On previous Crazy World of Minigolf Tour adventures in Nottingham we've played at The Lost City Adventure Golf in Nottingham, Doug Fishbone's Leisure Land Golf in Nottingham and Pirate's Landing Adventure Golf at Trent Lock Golf Centre in Long Eaton.

We've also played at minigolf courses in the surrounding area at Coalville, Loughborough and Leicester. As well as in Sheffield and Skellingthorpe on either side of Nottinghamshire. Other courses on our 'to play' list include Paradise Island Adventure Golf in Derby and the Golden Putter Mini Golf course in Rotherham. There are a couple of Crazy Golf courses in parks in Doncaster that we need to check out too.

If you see or hear of any other new minigolf courses in Nottingham, the wider East Midlands region, or indeed anywhere else in the UK do drop us a line or leave a comment on the blog.

Links:
- Riverside Golf Centre
- Mini Golf Poland

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Nottingham

Doug Fishbone's Leisure Land Golf in Nottingham

Playing Doug Fishbone's Leisure Land Golf at the New Art Exchange.

Last summer our friends and minigolf rivals Gareth and Lhurlyn Holmes were lucky enough to visit Doug Fishbone's Leisure Land Golf course at the Venice Biennale. This year the course came to England.

Playing Pleasure Seekers by Candice Jacobs

Last week the art-installation Crazy Golf course became the 401st played and 682nd visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

One of two holes I scored an ace on - The Turkey Shoot Galactico by John Akomfrah

It was brilliant fun to play and very well built. It was also pleasing to defeat another minigolf rival and friend Jam Trubridge in our match-up. At just £2 per player it was a bargain to play too.

Jam playing the first hole on the street in Nottingham

Doug Fishbone's Leisure Land Golf is at the New Art Exchange in Nottingham until the 19th June. It then moves on to the Derby QUAD.

Hole 1 was unique to the New Art Exchange's layout of Doug Fishbone's Leisure Land Golf

Definitely an Alligator

Jam on the hand cranking 9th - Coloured Processor by Hetain Patel

Playing the 9th

Putting through a hole in the wall

The Bridge of Konigsberg by Eyal and Ines Weizman - very interesting as you automatically score a zero!

A view of Putting a Hole in the Wall by Yara El-Sherbini and three other holes

Doug Fishbone's Costa Concordia hole

 

We both scored a 20

We found there is a knack to playing the 'Life Raft' hole by Ellie Harrison. It's quite different to how the hole was last year in Venice

There was some great minigolf merch on sale at the New Art Exchange too

The beermat scorecards and branded balls & pencils look excellent

On our travels around the world we've played some interesting courses, including some designed for art shows, exhibitions and as playable sculptures.

We've played art-based minigolf at the one-day only M!MS Mini Golf course in Bedford, Crazee Golf at the TinType Gallery in London, the Bompas & Parr food architecture course on the roof of Selfridges and Putt Putt #2 by TURF Projects in Croydon. We've also not played art courses in Clerkenwell and Folkestone - where the remnants of the old Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course were used to create a series of beach huts!

We were also recently involved in the London Design Festival's Kickstarter campaign to build a Crazy Golf course in Trafalgar Square.

Links:
- New Art Exchange (NAE)
- Doug Fishbone

Related blog posts:
- Doug Fishbone's Leisure Land Golf
- Art
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Nottingham

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Crazy Golf at Mundy Play Centre in Markeaton Park, Derby

The landmark 550th miniature golf course visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

While on our trip to the East Midlands on the 27th of March 2014 we visited Derby's Markeaton Park.

At Derby's Markeaton Park

Unfortunately the 17-hole (!) Crazy Golf course at the park's Mundy Play Centre wasn't open - it was an 'out of season' Thursday - so while it became the landmark 550th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, it wasn't added to our played course tally.

Looking at the satellite image of the course on Google you can see it used to be an 18-hole course - but old hole 8 has been removed!

Photos of the remaining seventeen holes of the course are below.

I've been looking forward to visiting the Crazy Golf course for ages as I first saw David Cameron MP playing it on a visit to the town (back when he was the leader of the opposition) and I have some correspondence from him about Minigolf following his visit!

Unfortunately I didn't get started on playing the course. This time.

Markeaton Park is currently part way through a restoration project and there was a lot of upgrade work going on while we visited. Many of the facilities are still open at weekends - my local source Jam Trubridge told me that the Crazy Golf was open today, as was the bouncy castle. You can find out more details about the restoration project on the Derby City Council website.

Interestlingly the park is also home to a Miniature / Light Railway!

Mundy Halt on the Markeaton Park Light Railway line in Derby

Links:

- Mundy Play Centre on Derby City Council's website

- Markeaton Park on Derby City Council's website

Related blog posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Crazy Golfing at Shobnall Leisure Complex in Burton upon Trent

Visiting and playing the 541st Miniature Golf course on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour!

The 9-hole Crazy Golf course in Burton upon Trent

While in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire I made a visit to Shobnall Leisure Centre in the town as my friend, Minigolf rival and Midlands Minigolf Club member Jam Trubridge had told me there was a Crazy Golf course there.

Arriving at 6pm on a cold November evening I was warmly greeted by the staff and asked them what time the Minigolf course was normally open – luckily for me the reply was “It’s never closed”.

Playing hole 9 on Shobnall Leisure Complex's Crazy Golf course

I was expecting the Miniature Golf course visit to be the 541^st overall, but yet another closed course visit (having previously been to 215 courses that I couldn’t play for one reason or another). However, as it was open and available to play it become the 326^th course played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006.

A view of the course from hole 4

The course was of the fibreglass and felt variety, with a number of obstacle on the course in addition to dog leg hole layouts, unfortunately there wasn’t a ‘Humpty’ on the course – an obstacle I’ve found on many courses of this type.

Hole 8 - a roll of the dice - I came close to acing the hole

The courses, manufactured by DK Fibreglass, play the best when they are laid out on a solid foundation. Thankfully the 9-hole course at Shobnall Leisure Complex was built on concrete foundations which meant the ball rolled well and the course stayed in place (unlike a course of this type Emily and I once played in Lytham St Anne’s).

The 9-hole Crazy Golf course is reasonably priced at £1.80 a round and it was good fun. Unfortunately my round went for a Burton* as I didn’t score a single hole-in-one. In the chilly and shivery conditions I shot a round of 24(+6).

The 9-hole Crazy Golf course at Shobnall Leisure Complex in Burton upon Trent

Mark and the team at the leisure centre were really nice and friendly and asked lots of questions about the world of Minigolf – they were also knowledgeable about the game and had heard about tournaments. It was really nice to visit a new place and receive such a great welcome, I’ll definitely be heading back to Burton and the leisure centre, and Emily and I are looking forward to a tour of all the other Mini, Crazy and Adventure Golf courses we’re yet to play in the East Midlands!

The course and leisure centre get the thumbs up from me

Shobnall Leisure Complex also has a Pitch & Putt Miniature Golf course on the site, as well as football, table tennis, bowls, rounders, tennis and badminton and more. Check out the leisure centre's website for opening times and price details.

A very dark view of the Pitch & Putt Mini-Golf course at Shobnall Leisure Centre

You can also find Shobnall Leisure Complex on Facebook.

Related blog posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Links:

- Shobnall Leisure Complex

* Is it possible to visit, talk, or write about Burton upon Trent without using the phrases “gone for a Burton”, or “went for a Burton”? I think not...