Report from the Third Knowley Grail Minigolf Tournament

Results, report and photos from the third Knowley Grail Minigolf Competition.

The third edition of the Knowley Grail was contested between ten BMGA Tour Pro players and US Minigolfer Jon Drexler at the Hastings Crazy Golf course following the final of the 2012 'Castle Golf' World Crazy Golf Championship after the players had decided that two days of international competition just wasn't enough and that they enjoyed the freezing cold weather conditions too much to head to the warmth of indoors/their transport home.

David Donnelly plays the Waterwheel hole of the Hastings Crazy Golf course

The 'age-old' rules of the Knowley Grail state that all players in the competition must use the same Minigolf ball - a 'Pinky Diver' by Reisinger - renowned for its super bouncy qualities. Any player scoring a seven during the round of Minigolf is automatically eliminated from the rest of the one-round competition. If eliminated the unfortunate player must take up residence on the nearest chair/bench of shame.

With two Pinky Diver balls available the group of eleven split into two groups and commenced play on the 18-hole Seafront Crazy Golf course in Hastings. Defending champion James 'The Rocket' Rutherford was in group two.

In a first for the Knowley Grail not one player was eliminated from the round. Adam 'Ak47' Kelly came remarkably close to being sent to a seat of shame with a score of six, but apart from that score most players were grinding out the twos, getting 'robbed' off of the metal cups, and scoring a smattering of threes and not enough aces.

Play the 'Tony Kelly Spot The Ball Contest'...

A remarkable shot was played by Jon Drexler on hole four when he was able to miss an ace and end up in the left hand bunker having travelled through one of the other bunkers on the course. This 'Drexed' shot was repeated moments later by AK47!

The Perplexing Drexler Shot

Two players were standouts in the Knowley Grail in Hastings, with Hastings' own John 'Big Top Ted' McIver setting the clubhouse lead with a score of 38(+2). John 'Johnny Waffles' Moore was also looking to record a good score and also came in with a 38 to force a play-off. The sudden-death play-off was the second in a row in the Knowley Grail tournament, following Rutherford's win in Margate in September.

On hole two of the Hastings Crazy Golf course Ted beat John to lift the title and take the £11 prize money.

Big Al messes up the 18 hole





Ted wins



Bexhill-on-Sea's number one Minigolfer Alex 'Perfect Par' Pragnell awards Hastings' number two Crazy Golfer 'Big Top Ted' John McIver the Knowley Grail trophy

Results of the third Knowley Grail competition:
1. John/Ted McIver 38
2. John/Al Moore - 38
3. Richard Gottfried - 41
3. Brad Shepherd - 41
5. Will Donnelly - 43
6. Adam Kelly - 44
6. Tony Kelly - 44
6. Jon Drexler (USA) - 44
6. James Rutherford - 44
10. David Hartley - 46
11. David Donnelly - 49

 

The Knowley Grail minigolf competition was created by members of the London Minigolf Club following the Midlands Open tournament held at the 12-hole Minigolf course at the Four Ashes Golf Centre in Dorridge, Solihull. The LMGC members had spent the Friday perusing the charity shops of nearby Knowle and found a silver chalice on sale for £2.50. This became the trophy for the Knowley Grail tournaments.

Related Blog Posts:
- Report from the Second Knowley Grail Minigolf Tournament
- The Knowley Grail of Minigolf

Report from the 2012 Crazy £2 Tat Challenge Open in Hastings

James Rutherford rockets to victory in the first £2 Tat Challenge of the year!

James 'The Man' Rutherford with the magnificent haul of treasures from the contest

On Friday 12th of October a group of Crazy Minigolfers headed to the Old Town Amusement Arcade for a £2 Tat Challenge Contest.

The players were in town to practice ahead of that weekend’s 12th annual Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open tournament, but due to the adverse weather conditions an executive decision was made to head to The Buttons for a Tat Challenge.

'Action' from the Crazy £2 Tat Challenge Open

Arriving just in Hastings just in time James ‘Mr James’ Rutherford joined the gang to play in the first Tat Challenge of the 2012 season. The competition would act as a warm-up for the 2012 World £2 Tat Challenge that is now a part an unofficial part of the Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships weekend.

John 'Thighs' Moore with his winnings

Heading into the Crazy £2 Tat Challenge Open James ‘Mr Rutherford’ Rutherford declared that he would win the contest. His opponents scoffed at this remark, little knowing that he had spent the previous weekend in Hastings ‘mapping the buttons’!

Owen Johnson didn't quite hit the jackpot with his two bits o' tat

Michael ‘The Champ’ Smith and John Moore ‘John’ made their debuts in a £2 Tat Challenge and after a quick briefing on the rules were let loose with their pots of two penny pence pieces.

'The Man They Call Johnson' Paul Johnson with his three bits of tat

The contest was an all-England clash with the field also including the inaugural Worlds £2 Tat Challenge Champion Mr Paul ‘Johnson Paul Johnson’ Johnson, Emily ‘Lemony’ Gottfried, Owen ‘Don’t call me Irwin’ Johnson and the Tat Challenge Order of Merit Number One ‘Squire’ Richard Gottfried.

'Squire' Richard Gottfried seems pleased with his 13 pieces of tat, including the Chappers Action Figure

With a new array of prizes on offer in the 2p pushers the avid tatters were in their element trying to win as big a haul as possible and take the prize of ‘all the tat’. However a clear lead was built up early on by ‘The Rocket’ James Rutherford who managed to somehow keep his pot of 2ps constantly full and his pockets filling up with Thumb Wrestling characters as his prize.

Michael 'Zero' Smith leaves the £2 Tat Challenge empty handed

Prior to the Crazy £2 Tat Challenge Open the largest winning score had been 11 pieces of tat by Polly at the 2012 Worlds £2 Tat Challenge, with other victories totalling 10, 9 and 7 pieces of tat won. In fact in the first three Tat Challenges the total tat won by all competitors was 36, 31 and 39 pieces. These figures were blown out of the water as James ‘Ruth’ Rutherford won 40 pieces all by himself!!!

The nearest challenger and still a way off Ruthers’ lead was Richard ‘Second Best’ Gottfried with 13 pieces. John ‘YI’ Moore and Emily ‘Lemons’ Gottfried tied for third-place with five pieces apiece and had no money left for a play-off. Paul ‘The Johnson’ Johnson managed to win 3 bits, while Owen ‘Irwin’ Johnson didn’t hit the jackpot with only a couple of pieces. In last spot was Michael ‘No Tat’ Smith with zero pieces of tat. Rather reminiscent of his minigolf team-mate, rival and fellow tatter Marc ‘Chappers’ Chapman’s debut at the 2010 Worlds when he also came away with nothing for his £2 stake. On a related Marc ‘The Force’ Note, one of the prizes won appeared to be a life-like action figure of the renowned Minigolfer and Tat Challenger!



The Marc 'The Force' Chapman Action Figure alongside what appears to be the San Marino Goalkeeper



2012 Crazy £2 Tat Challenge Open - 12/10/12

Rank Player Country Tat Won
1 James Rutherford ENG 40
2 Richard Gottfried ENG 13
3 John Moore ENG 5
3 Emily Gottfried  ENG 5
5 Paul Johnson ENG 3
6 Owen Johnson ENG 2
7 Michael Smith ENG 0

With his massive haul of tat the pressure will surely be on all of the other competitors to up their game at the next £2 Tat Challenge! 40 pieces with £2 of 2ps is an extraordinary amount to win, whether this record will be beaten remains to be seen.

James '40' Rutherford with his bag o' tat

Following the Crazy £2 Tat Challenge Open James ‘Ruthers’ Rutherford has moved up to the top spot, with ‘Squire’ dropping down to number two. Emily moves up from 8th place to join Alan ‘Stormin’ Norman in tied third place.

The £2 Tat Challenge Order of Merit as at 12/10/12

£2 Tat Challenge Hall of Fame:

#1 - Paul Johnson - 9 pieces of Tat

#2 - Richard Gottfried - 10 pieces of Tat

#3 - Alan Norman - 6 pieces of Tat +1

#4 - Polly - 11 pieces of Tat

#5 - James Rutherford - 40 pieces of Tat

Related Blog Posts:
- 2011 Worlds £2 Tat Challenge at the Old Town Amusements in Hastings
- £2 Tat Challenges at 'The Buttons' in Hastings - May 2011
- 'The £2 Tat Challenge' at 'The Buttons' in Hastings - October 2010

Report from the Second Knowley Grail Minigolf Tournament

Results and report from the second Knowley Grail Minigolf Competition.

 

The second edition of the Knowley Grail was contested between thirteen BMGA Tour Pro players following the first day's play of the BMGA British Open at Strokes Adventure Golf in Margate, Kent.

 

The rules of the Knowley Grail dictate that all players use the same Minigolf ball - a 'Pinky Diver' - and any player scoring a seven is automatically eliminated from the rest of the one-round competition.

 

With two balls available the group of thirteen split into two groups and commenced play. Defending champion Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd was in group one and along with players including Seth Thomas and Will Donnelly set an early pace rattling in the holes-in-one.



'Squire' Richard Gottfried plays hole three at Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate, Kent during the second The Knowley Grail minigolf tournament



The first player to be eliminated was 'Oh' Chris Jones who was unable to get the super bouncy ball to stay at the top of the ramp at hole three and so was relegated to a 'plastic garden chair of shame' for the rest of the round.

 

'Oh' Chris Jones has a rest after being eliminated from the Knowley Grail at hole 3

 

No other players were eliminated from the tournament until Paul 'Johnson Paul Johnson Don't Call Me Sue Thompson' Johnson scored a seven at the 11th hole - the aptly named "Heartbreak Ridge". The hole would also claim Scott 'Donkey Gringo' Lancley as another victim and both would join 'Oh' Chris Jones on the lawnchairs of shame.

 

A less than happy Paul 'Johnson etc.' Johnson having been eliminated from the Knowley Grail at hole 11

 

Scott 'Donkey Gringo' Lancley takes a seat after being knocked out of the Knowley Grail tourney at hole 11

 

At the end of the 18-hole round there was a tie for first place, with James 'The Rocket' Rutherford and Adam 'AK47' Kelly both scoring rounds of 38(+2). A sudden-death play-off commenced and The Rocket scored a hole-in-one, while AK47 was unable to respond with an Ace, meaning that the new Knowley Grail champion was James Rutherford.

 

James 'The Rocket' Rutherford looks for an Ace at hole 11 to take the outright win

 

A reluctant and defeated Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd hands over the Knowley Grail trophy to James 'The Rocket' Rutherford

 

Results of the second Knowley Grail competition:

1. James Rutherford - 38 - won play-off

2. Adam Kelly - 38

3. Ted McIver - 41

4. Michael Smith - 42

5. Brad Shepherd - 43

5. Will Donnelly - 43

7. Richard Gottfried - 47

8. Seth Thomas - 48

8. Alan Norman - 48

10. Gareth Holmes - 51

DNF Scott Lancley - scored a 7 at hole 11

DNF Paul Johnson - scored a 7 at hole 11

DNF Chris Jones - scored a 7 at hole 3

 

The Knowley Grail minigolf competition was created by members of the London Minigolf Club following the Midlands Open tournament held at the 12-hole Minigolf course at the Four Ashes Golf Centre in Dorridge, Solihull. The LMGC members had spent the Friday perusing the charity shops of nearby Knowle and found a silver chalice on sale for £2.50. This became the trophy for the Knowley Grail tournaments.

 

Related Blog Post:

- The Knowley Grail of Minigolf

Arcade Games at Star City – Air Hockey, Pool & Ping Pong

Following the first minigolf event of the BMGA Tour season at the Star City Open in Birmingham on Sunday 22nd January, a group of players headed to the amusement arcade attached to the Bowling Alley in the Star City Complex for an Air Hockey Tourney.

Among the competitors in action at the Las Vegas of the West Midlands were reigning Worlds Air Hockey Champion Peter ‘The Puckmaster’ Jones, James ‘Ruthers’ Rutherford, Seth ‘Wandsworth’ Thomas, 'Squire' Richard Gottfried & Oliver ‘The Machine’ Florence.

The first game to be played was on the closest table to the door and after a draw of sorts was organised by Emily ‘Lemony’ Gottfried play commenced with a match-up between perennial Air Hockey loser, ‘Squire’ Richard Gottfried, and the Welsh Worlds Air Hockey champ and side-tournament specialist Peter ‘The Dragon’ Jones.

Peter Jones (far side) faces-off against Richard Gottfried in the longest match ever!

Unbeknownst to the players the match would create something of a record result, as the machine was a bit broken! The final result saw 31 goals scored as the match seemed to be never ending. Normally the first player who scores 7 goals is the winner and the machine keeps the puck from being returned. However in the battle between Gottfried & Jones, Richard managed to get the upset win, with a slim victory of 16-15.

With the match going on for so long Richard retired from the rest of the contest due to exhaustion and went to have a nice sit down. This meant that Peter ‘The Crazy Aced Assassin’ Jones was back in the contest and would face Seth ‘Tooting’ Thomas in the ‘first’ round.

Before that contest could take place a new table needed to be found for the match between Ruthers and The Machine. Play then commenced after Ollie had put a deposit down for half an hour’s play on the Ping Pong table. In the Air Hockey match Ollie took control and defeated Ruthers 7-5 meaning The Machine would head to the final to face either Thomas or Jones. The defeated Ruthers consoled himself by heading to the Table Tennis table to take on and beat all-comers (except Seth, who was just too good). One notable result was the ‘Squire’ (ranked 50th alongside Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd in the 2010 World Series of Pong) coming out of retirement for one more match. He was swiftly beaten 11-6 by Ruthers.

Ping Ponger Ruthers awaiting new challengers

In the highly anticipated match-up between Worlds Champ Peter ‘Toy Truck’ Jones and the sporting polymath that is Seth ‘Clockwork Orange’ Thomas the result was an unexpected win to Thomas, who managed to take down the champ and win 7-3 to line up a contest against The Machine in the Grand Final.

The Machine warms-up for the Air Hockey final with a bit of Table Tennis

Having seen the photos of the Air Hockey matches online, and on being told he had wrongly assumed that Peter 'Indoor League' Jones had been dishing out lessons, Finnish player Pasi ‘Bruiser’ Aho commented “He's just giving you that false feeling of confidence and will strike back when it matters.”

With the first Air Hockey table used in the competition set to ‘Long Play’ the players couldn’t imagine that the event would befall some other controversy, but that is exactly what happened in the big final match-up. With Seth Thomas easing to a 6-2 lead against Oliver Florence what happened next could of been taken straight from a round of ‘What happened next?’ on TV game show A Question of Sport. As Ollie hit a goal to bring his score up to 3 goals, the puck got stuck in the goal mouth and couldn’t be retrieved, nor did it register on the scoreboard!

Seth Thomas and Oliver Florence face-off in the Air Hockey Final

Luckily Emily ‘I’ll get #TheMan’ Gottfried was on hand and went and got the man to come and have a look at the machine (the table, not Ollie). With much wrenching and fiddling the technician was unable to get the puck out, so instead turned off the table and gave the players their pound back.

Pucking Hell! The Air Hockey Puck gets stuck in the goal

This caused a dilemma as the result of the match was still undecided. To decide the ultimate winner of the Star City Air Hockey Contest, Seth and Ollie decided to play one game of Ping Pong as a decider!

The result of the Air Hockey Tournament is decided on a Ping Pong Table

In the end there seemed to be only one possible result as Seth took an early and commanding lead, as he had done on the Air Hockey, and finished the match by smashing in a result of 11-2 and leaving The Machine with the runner-up spot.

Following the final of the Air Pong competition Seth declared that “the fun isn’t over if I’ve still got money left” and proceeded to challenge players to games of Pool. First up was Richard who, apart from the break and potting one ball, spent the game speaking with Peter 'PJ#2' Jones on the sidelines.

Richard Gottfried enjoys a nice sit down on his way to a Pool defeat at the hands of Seth Thomas

With the Hurricane Simulator ‘Out of Order’ a doubles Pool match was proposed, with the line-up of England (Ollie & Seth) to take on the ‘Wales’ team of Peter and Richard. England won.

And that wrapped up the fun and games at The Buttons of Star City. For a change no Laser Tag was played. The next big arcade event will no doubt be a £2 Tat Challenge at the amusement arcades of Worthing, West Sussex in April.

Links:
- 2011 Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships in Hastings
- Crazy Minigolfers Play Air Hockey Tournament in Hastings
- The Undisputed International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Championships

Minigolf Doubles Match - Oxfordshire Mini Golf Club vs. Cambridgeshire Mini Golf Club

Minigolf Doubles Match - Oxfordshire Mini Golf Club vs. Cambridgeshire Mini Golf Club

Battleground - Neutral Territory (All Three of the Minigolf Courses at Hastings Sea Front Adventure Golf)

Teams

Oxfordshire Mini Golf Club

- 'Squire' Richard Gottfried

- Michael 'Hole in One Kenobi' Smith

Cambridgeshire Mini Golf Club

- James 'The Rocket' Rutherford

- Emily 'Lemony' Gottfried



Format - Three-Round Doubles Strokeplay Competition with Combined Cumulative Scores

On Saturday 15th October 2011 a new Minigolf alliance was formed for one-match only as 'Squire' Richard Gottfried of the Midlands Minigolf Club (MMGC) and Michael 'HIOK' Smith of the Kent Minigolf Club (KMGC) joined up as the Oxfordshire Mini Golf Club (OMGC) to take on James 'The Rocket' Rutherford  and Emily 'Lemony' Gottfried of the recently-formed Cambridgeshire Mini Golf Club (CMGC).

The 54-hole Doubles Match-up saw play begin on the Crazy Golf Course with Michael scoring a 33 and Richard a 34 for a combined score of 67. Emily and James could only manage scores of 42 and 35 for a combined 77.

Play then moved onto the Pirate Adventure Golf course, the newest of the three Sea Front courses in Hastings, and saw Michael hit a 31 and Richard a 37 for a 68 total. Emily scored a 40 and James a 34 for a team score of 74.

With the CMGC trailing the OMGC by 16 shots the deciding round was played on the Adventure Golf course, a course where 16 shots could be made up.

That wasn't to be the case though as Michael scored a great 37, with Richard scoring 42 for a combined 79. Emily also scored 42 but with James scoring 48 for a combined round of 90 the overall victory was to go Oxfordshire's way with a total of 214 to the CMGC's 241.

Photos: Emily and James of the CMGC see their chances of a win against the OMGC go up in smoke as they play into the mist on the Hastings Adventure Golf course

Link - The Cambridgeshire Mini Golf Club's website

Minigolf News - "Emily 'Lemony' Gottfried signs for the Cambridgeshire Mini Golf Club!"

In the latest Minigolf Transfer News Emily 'Coach' Gottfried has signed for the newest Minigolf Club in the UK - the Cambridgeshire Mini Golf Club.

Emily, a former member of the Midlands Minigolf Club and the reigning WMF Women's World Adventure Golf Masters Champion, sealed the deal through a series of texts with CMGC Captain James 'Ruthers' Rutherford while seated at the 'Sheen Sisters Table' during a meal out at PJ's Restaurant in Covent Garden, London.

The CMGC was formed in August 2011 by former Green Mini Golf Club member James 'TheRocket' Rutherford. Surrey-based players Oliver 'The Machine' Florence and Richard 'Gentle Touch' Skeggs are the other two current club members.

Details of how to join the Cambridgeshire Mini Golf Club can be found on the CMGC website.

The Dorridge Invitational Minigolf Competition 2011

As a warm-up to the Midlands Open the Dorridge Invitational Competition was contested on the 12-hole Minigolf course at the Four Ashes Golf Centre in Dorridge, Solihull on the evening of Friday 29th July 2011, with the eight players making up the field drawn from those still practicing.

Lewisham/Tooting/Hither Green/London/Wandsworth’s Seth ‘Clockwork Orange’ Thomas picked up the win in the 12-hole one-round event with a three shot margin over runner-up James ‘The Rocket’ Rutherford. Nick Sandqvist was third on 25.

The Dorridge Invitational Competition 2011
Rank Player Score
1 Seth Thomas 20
2 James Rutherford 23
3 Nick Sandqvist 25
4 Richard Gottfried 27
4 Richard Skeggs 27
6 Marina Breedon 28
7 Emily Gottfried 29
7 Adam Breedon 29

Irregular Mini Golf Tour - T&G Classic 2011 - James 'The Rocket' Rutherford Propels himself to Victory

Minigolf Results and Report Irregular Mini Golf Tour - T&G Classic 2011 - James 'The Rocket' Rutherford Propels himself to Victory

On Friday 19th March 2011 two new players joined the Irregular Mini Golf Tour, with Lewisham's James 'The Rocket' Rutherford and Oxford's Chris 'WMD' Smith competing in the 'IMGT T&G Classic' at the Jungle Rumble Indoor Adventure Golf Course in Liverpool.

The 18-hole competition took place on the Swamp Course at Jungle Rumble and was won by 'The Rocket' with a score of 34(-2), 'Squire' Richard Gottfried was runner-up with a 35(-1), with 'WMD' third with a score of 38(+2).

Rutherford scored a great four Aces in a row between holes 12 and 15 and narrowly missed out on recording a run of six Hole-in-Ones.

Photo: From l-r Richard Gottfried, James Rutherford, Chris Smith