Mini Golf Sharks

Catching sight of some Crazy Golf Sharks on our minigolfing travels.

An animatronic shark on the Pirate Mini Golf course in Hatfield

The first 'actual' shark obstacle we found on a minigolf course was at Pendine Bay in Wales on a mammoth road trip in 2009.

The shark hole at the Crazy Golf course in Pendine Sands

Preceding our trip to Pendine Bay we'd visited and played the excellent Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate. The 16th hole there is called 'Shark's Teeth'.

Playing the Shark's Teeth hole during the 2007 Kent Open tournament at Strokes Adventure Golf course

Playing the 16th hole at Strokes in 2014

The kiosk of the Pirate Mini Golf at the Galleria in Hatfield has a big bitey shark above the counter!

Kiosk shark

The Great White shark is basking on the minigolf course in Hatfield

We often visit Felixstowe in Suffolk and a recent addition to the indoor Adventure Golf course at Manning's Amusement Arcade is a shark!

Emily and a minigolf shark in Felixstowe

I've been to Littlehampton twice. On the second occasion I managed to play the Sharksville Adventure Golf course.

At Sharksville

The shark on the advertising board was a different type of character

The one that didn't get away was a different species of shark too

Look closely at the shark at Sharksville and you'll see he's wearing a bow tie!

The 231st course we played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour was the 'Sea Dwellers Crazy Golf' at the Golden Palm Resort in Chapel St Leonards, Lincolnshire. However, none of the holes had a shark on it.

We spotted this shark bin at a seafood shop in Whitstable in 2014

Shelley at Putterfingers also spotted a shark obstacle on a miniature golf course - it was on a Disney TV show called Shake It Up!

On our travels we've seen a lot of crocodiles and alligators lurking on courses too.

If you see any sharks on a minigolf course do let me know!

Related blog posts:
- Sharks
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Strokes Adventure Golf in Margate
- Crazy Golf at Pendine Sands
- Sharksville Adventure Golf at Harbour Park in Littlehampton
- Pirate Mini Golf at the Galleria Shopping Centre in Hatfield

Pit-Pat Crazy Snooker in Littlehampton

Playing the game of Pit-Pat at Western Putting Miniature Golf in Littlehampton.

Back in March 2010 I visited the Askoe Wien Wasserpark in Vienna, Austria and while there I saw an intriguing game that was a hybrid of Miniature Golf and Billiards! That game was Pit-Pat.

The Hindernis Billard layout at the Askoe Wien Wasserpark in Vienna, Austria (March 2010)

In April 2012 I managed to visit the UK's only known table*, at the Western Putting Minigolf in Littlehampton, West Sussex. Unfortunately my visit was a little late in the day, and out-of-season, so I didn't manage to play.

Western Putting (and Pit-Pat) in Littlehampton (April 2012)

That wasn't the case on our recent visit to the south coast as on Thursday 10th of April Emily and I made it to Western Putting on Banjo Road just before 4pm and were able to have a game of Pit-Pat, aka Crazy Snooker.

And it was brilliant!

Cue and carry-case in hand and ready to play Pit-Pat

A view of the Pit-Pat course in Littlehampton

The game is a version of the 'Eternit' style of Miniature Golf, most often found in continental Europe, but played on tables and with cues rather than putters.

My favourite table on the layout sees you having to play down table from a tee-off point right next to the hole!

The obstacles are very similar to those found on Mini and Crazy Golf courses and the balls used are like specialist Minigolf-sport balls, rather than standard Golf, or low-bounce, balls.

Emily sets up the skittles on table 1!

And I knock them all down in one go

Emily lines-up a shot on hole 2

Hole / Table 2

Emily plays up a ramp obstacle

Western Putting on Banjo Road in Littlehampton is also home to a Swedish Felt type of Minigolf course and a grass Putting Green

Emily shoots the green ball over a little ramp and onto a bigger one

The Pipe hole - often my nemesis on Eternit Miniature Golf...

...and no different on Pit-Pat as it was my worst hole!

It's a real novelty to be able to play on a course/set-of tables like the Pit-Pat in Littlehampton. You are provided with a little carry case containing four different coloured Pit-Pat balls, with the table legs painted to correspond with the ball you should use for that particular table/hole/lane.

The specialist Pit-Pat balls in their little red carry-case

This is very handy to know as each of the balls has different properties, meaning that some are more bouncy, while others are harder and deader.

The green Pit-Pat ball is a bit of a dead ball

The bouncy yellow Pit-Pat ball

The slightly squidgy purple Pit-Pat ball

The Red one

With our experience of playing tournament Minigolf in the British Minigolf Association (BMGA) and World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF) since 2007 we were already thinking about how different shots could be played on different lanes by mixing the balls up a bit.

In our match-up on the crazy tables Emily and I drew on a score of 55 each. We can't wait for the rematch!

Videos from our visit:

Many of the Miniature Golf courses in Littlehampton are operated by Inspire Leisure. They also operate facilities in nearby Bognor Regis and all of those we've visited have been in great condition and had very friendly and helpful staff on duty.

There is an International Pit-Pat Association that consists of the Baden-Württembergischer Pit-Pat Association (in Germany), the Austrian Pit-Pat Sports Association and the Swiss Pit-Pat Association. The European Pit-Pat Championships taking place Fehring, Austria on the 31st of May and 1st of June this year. Check out the Pit-Pat TV YouTube Channel for videos of the sport.

Links:

- Inspire Leisure

- The International Pit-Pat Association

Related blog posts:

- Minigolf Course Visit #210(a!?) - Vienna, Austria (Askoe Wien Wasserpark) - pit-pat "Hindernis Billards"!

- A Stack of Minigolf Courses Visited in Littlehampton, but None Played!

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

- Crazy Golf and Minigolf Putting at Hotham Park, Bognor Regis - Courses played #273 & 274

- Putting Course in Felpham, near Bognor Regis - Minigolf course played #276

- An unplayed Miniature Golf course in Bognor Regis - Marine Park Gardens

Videos:

- Playing Pit-Pat (Crazy Snooker) in Littlehampton 1 of 5 (intro)
- Playing Pit-Pat (Crazy Snooker) in Littlehampton 2 of 5 (hole-in-one)
- Playing Pit-Pat (Crazy Snooker) in Littlehampton 3 of 5 (hole-in-two)
- Playing Pit-Pat (Crazy Snooker) in Littlehampton 4 of 5 (two)
- Playing Pit-Pat (Crazy Snooker) in Littlehampton 5 of 5 (hoop)

* While in Skegness, Lincolnshire in May 2011 we saw a sign for 'Crazy Pool', however the 'tables' were long gone when we reached the (derelict) course.

Bar Billiards in Newcastle, Littlehampton and Worthing

Update from our increasingly erratic Barmy Bar Billiards Trail.

Last summer we had a grand day out in London visiting a number of pubs to play some Bar Billiards, but since then we've not found so many tables to play on our travels. However that's changed in the last month, with visits to Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Littlehampton, and a re-visit to Worthing.

A Bar Billiards table in Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Unfortunately when our friend and fellow minigolfer John 'The Legionnaire' Moore took us to the Hustler Pool & Snooker Club in Newcastle-upon-Tyne we found the table to be out of order. John has previously played the table and hoepfully it'll be back in working order soon.

No Bar Billiards played in Newcastle

The Hustler Pool & Snooker Club was a nice spot for an evening of cue-sports, with plenty of pool and snooker tables on offer at reasonable rates, as well as a number of dartboards. It's well worth a visit.

Quite unexpectedly we fared better on our mini-break to Littlehampton, as on our arrival at the Seaview Hotel (in East Preston) we found there was a Bar Billiards table in the pub!

Playing the very well maintained Bar Billiards table in the pub of the Seaview Hotel in East Preston, near Littlehampton

In our games I won 950 to Emily's 610, followed by a 580 to 300 win.

While in Littlehampton we also spotted that The White Hart pub in the town centre has a table.

The White Hart pub in Littlehampton, West Sussex has plenty on offer to customers, including Bar Billiards

On the eve of the 2014 BMGA British Masters minigolf tournament at Worthing's Splash Point Mini Golf course we'd booked into the Marine View Hotel on the seafront. This was on the back of us visiting the hotel's bar last year for an evening of Bar Billiards on the very tricky table.

John 'Big Al' Moore scores while Richard shoots

Alongside John 'Johnny Waffles' Moore, Emily and I had a number of games, with the results as follows:

- John beat Emily 960 to 50

- Richard beat John 1,570 to 670

- Richard beat Emily and John 1,090 to 780 to 360

John has also developed a very handy Bar Billiards Scorecard Mobile App which added another dimension to our games!

On our recent trip to Nottingham we ran out of time to find and play the Bar Billiards tables that our friend and Minigolf rival Jam Trubridge had told us about, but we're sure to be back at some point for a game or two.

Links:
- Bar Billiards-related blog posts on The Ham & Egger Files
- The All England Bar Billiards Association (AEBBA)
- AEBBA map of Bar Billiards tables in the UK
- Bar Billiards Forum

Sharksville Adventure Golf at Harbour Park Littlehampton

Playing the Sharksville Fantasy Golf course in Littlehampton's Harbour Park.

A view of the Sharksville Adventure Golf at Littlehampton's Harbour Park

On Friday 11th of April 2014 Emily and I visited Harbour Park in Littlehampton, West Sussex to play the 9-hole Sharksville Adventure Golf course.

At Sharkville Adventure Golf in Littlehampton

I visited Littlehampton in April 2012 and I managed to NOT play any of the courses in the town as it was out of season and the evening! Luckily on this occasion our visit co-incided with the Easter break which meant the courses along the seafront were open.

Last time I'd managed to get as close as the bottom of the steps to the course and managed to see the sign with the big shark's head (which is wearing a bowtie!) so I was pleased to actually land on the course on this occasion.

Sharksville Adventure Golf is open

The course became the 334th course played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since 2006. As I'd previously visited the course, the number we've been to remains at 554.

Emily holes out on hole one

Playing hole one of the Sharksville Adventure Golf

Emily on hole two

The tricky uphill hole three

Emily on hole four

Emily on hole five

Putting on hole six

Emily on hole seven

Emily on the ninth hole at Sharksville Adventure Golf

The final hole at Sharksville Adventure Golf in Littlehampton

The course is a tricky adventure golf layout and has some nice theming - my favourite bit was the BIG caught shark near to hole 7 that you have to pass on your way out.

The one that didn't get away

In our Minigolf Match Emily beat me by four-shots with a 25 to 29 scoreline.

The course costs 5 tokens to play (with each token 50p on our visit). A reasonable price to pay for a 9-hole course. Check out the Harbour Park website for details of prices, tickets and tokens.

The course was the first miniature golf called 'Fantasy Golf' on our travels - another name to add to our blog post on Types and Variants of Miniature Golf visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour!

The 129th course we played on our tour was at Pendine Sands in Wales, that course had a big shark's head as an obstacle!

Links:

- Harbour Park, Littlehampton

- A Stack of Minigolf Courses Visited in Littlehampton, but None Played!

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour