Showing posts with label Margate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Margate. Show all posts

Monday, March 18, 2024

The Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in Cliftonville, Margate

A look at the remains of the Little Oasis Crazy Golf in Margate.


Many thanks to our fellow minigolf adventurer Matt Dodd for sending over these photos of what's left of the former Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate, Kent.

Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024
Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024

The location was once home to two 18-hole Arnold Palmer miniature golf layouts. It closed for good in 2014.

Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024
Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024

Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024
Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024

Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024
Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024

Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024
Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024

Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024
Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024

Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024
Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024

Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024
Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024

Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024
Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024

Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024
Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate. Photo by Matt Dodd, 15th March 2024

We first visited the Little Oasis Crazy Golf course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in September 2007.

Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cliftonville, Margate - September 2007

We first played the 'North' course in September 2007, and played the 'South' course in April 2011.

Check out this blog post about Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in the UK.

Sunday, March 05, 2023

Crazy Golf at Dreamland Margate

The Dreamland Margate theme park is re-opening for the 2023 season on Saturday 1st April.


Brand new for 2023 is a Crazy Golf course.

A new Crazy Golf course is opening at Dreamland Margate

Visit the Dreamland Margate website for more information.

Thursday, June 18, 2020

Social distancing at Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate

Strokes Adventure Golf in Margate, Kent has reopened with social distancing measures in place.


Find out more about the 18-hole outdoor adventure golf course on the Strokes Adventure Golf website and Facebook Page.

I enjoy seeing the Strokes Adventure Golf daily weather updates on social media.


We've got many happy memories of playing the tricky and well designed course at Strokes over the years and look forward to playing there again in the future.

Strokes Adventure Golf in Margate was the 34th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
Strokes Adventure Golf in Margate was the 34th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Friday, May 15, 2020

Strokes Adventure Golf in Margate

A look at the Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate, Kent.


Strokes Adventure Golf in Margate was the 34th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Strokes Adventure Golf in Margate

It's a fine course indeed. Very tricky in places, but rewarding to play when you score an ace.

Check out the Strokes Adventure Golf website for more information.

Check out the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Newsletter archive and sign-up to receive future editions.

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Some new old minigolf postcards

A look at minigolf postcards from Woolacombe, Droitwich and Margate.


I recently bought some excellent old postcards from one of my favourite dealers and the batch included many we'd never seen before.

One was from the Once Upon a Time theme park in Woolacombe, Devon and features the attraction's mascot Pippa Pig enjoying the activities that were on offer - including an interesting looking Crazy Golf. Checking online, the Once Upon a Time theme park is long gone, having closed at the end of the 2005 season. The park had opened in the early 1990's and was based in the old Mortehoe and Woolacombe railway station.

Pippa Pig at Once Upon a Time Children's Theme Park, Woolacombe, N. Devon. Postally unused postcard published by Dowland Press Ltd,. Frome, Somerset. No date
Pippa Pig at Once Upon a Time Children's Theme Park, Woolacombe, N. Devon. Postally unused postcard published by Dowland Press Ltd,. Frome, Somerset. No date

Another of the brilliant cards shows the Putting Greens at the Raven Hotel in Droitwich, Worcestershire. It's the first minigolf card I've seen from Droitwich. Unfortunately I can't find any information on the exact location of the hotel but I'm fairly certain it's not there now. There are a number of other hotels in the area that are, or were, called the Raven. The closest looking one is the St Andrews Town Hotel.

The Putting Greens, Raven Hotel, Droitwich, Worcs. Postally unused 'Gravure' postcard by Lucas Engraving Co. Ltd., Birmingham. No date
The Putting Greens, Raven Hotel, Droitwich, Worcs. Postally unused 'Gravure' postcard by Lucas Engraving Co. Ltd., Birmingham. No date

The card showing The Oval in Cliftonville is the first I've seen that contains a full view of all 36-holes which used to form the Little Oasis Crazy Golf course. Luckily we managed to play both of the classic Arnold Palmer Putting Courses before they were removed in 2014.

The Oval, Cliftonville, PT4419. Postally used postcard postmarked from Thanet, Kent on the 24 September 1975. By Photo Precision Limited, St. Ives, Huntingdon
The Oval, Cliftonville, PT4419. Postally used postcard postmarked from Thanet, Kent on the 24 September 1975. By Photo Precision Limited, St. Ives, Huntingdon

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

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems. Please do sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter too.

Monday, May 25, 2015

Mini Golf Sharks

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

Pirate Mini Golf at the Galleria Shopping Centre in Hatfield
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'.

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

Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate
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!

Pirate Mini Golf at the Galleria Shopping Centre in Hatfield
Kiosk shark

Pirate Mini Golf at the Galleria Shopping Centre in Hatfield
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 at the indoor Magical Golf FX Adventure Golf course at Manning's Amusements in Felixstowe, Suffolk
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.

Sharksville Adventure Golf at Harbour Park in Littlehampton
At Sharksville

Sharksville Adventure Golf at Harbour Park in Littlehampton
The shark on the advertising board was a different type of character

Sharksville Adventure Golf at Harbour Park in Littlehampton
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!
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 in a seafood shop in Whitstable!
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

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Margate Funpark Crazy Golf

Hearing about a Crazy Golf course at a mobile Funpark in Margate.


During the BMGA British Minigolf Championships in Margate our fellow competitors and minigolf explorers Matt and Helen Dodd let me know they'd spotted that the there was a Crazy Golf course in town as part of the Funpark set-up in Dreamland's car park.

Unfortunately we didn't have time to go into the park to explore and make good use of the entry fee (which give you access to 'unlimited riding' inside). We'll have to keep an eye out for the Funpark in the future as we're intrigued as to what the Crazy Golf course is like.

Links:

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Little Oasis Crazy Golf in Cliftonville, Margate - an update

We revisited the Little Oasis Crazy Golf in Cliftonville, Margate on Friday 9th of May 2014 as we'd heard it'd recently closed down, after being temporarily used as a skate park.

It's in a really sorry state and its terrible to see it now, as it was a 36-hole classic Arnold Palmer Putting Complex.









Related blog posts:
- Course Played #37 Margate (Little Oasis Crazy Golf) Cliftonville - Minigolf (Arnold Palmer) 1 of the 2 18-hole courses - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Still not played - Cliftonville Crazy Golf!
- Minigolf course played #215 - Arnold Palmer 'South' Course at the Little Oasis Crazy Golf in Cliftonville, Margate
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Minigolfing gluten free in Margate

I’m an avid blogger and tweeter on all things Minigolf and Gluten Free so with May being Celiac Awareness Month in the USA and Canada and Coeliac UK running its annual Awareness Week from the 12th to the 18th May what better time for me to be exploring the gluten free options available while on a roadtrip to the British Minigolf Association’s National Championships in Margate, Kent.

Minigolfer, and Coeliac, 'Squire' Richard Gottfried at Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate

Arriving in Margate in the early afternoon on practice-day-Friday Emily and I headed straight for Strokes Adventure Golf course on Westbrook Promenade. We’d spent the previous day in nearby Whitstable – via Gillingham and the Isle of Sheppey – and had a great meal at the Pearson’s Arms on the seafront there.

Richard Gottfried playing the 14th hole at Strokes Adventure Golf course

After the first practice round – Emily winning by 39(+3) to my 41(+5) – we had a bit of a sit-down with team-mate/rival John ‘Thighs’ Moore. While we were relaxing a bit of post arrived for me at the course, in the form of a Coeliac UK t-shirt!

Special delivery

A second practice round followed, with me, Emily and John having a round with BMGA Tour rookie Derek ‘Needs a nickname’ Bentall. The scores in this round saw me hit a 38(+2), with John shooting a 39(+3), Emily a 44(+8) and Derek a 46(+10).

Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate, Kent
Playing the 16th hole - Shark's Teeth - at Strokes Adventure Golf course

After some more practice on the course’s more testing holes Emily and I headed off to check in to our hotel and explore Margate. We hadn’t been to the town since the BMGA British Open tournament in 2012 so we wanted to see what had changed. The Old Town in Margate is always worth a look and we popped into a few of the new vintage shops searching out old postcards.

Unfortunately one of the things that had changed for the worse in the town is the closure of the classic Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course in Cliftonville. We played there in 2007 and 2011.

On the plus-side The Ambrette restaurant is still going strong in Margate and after our last visit – a recommendation by Matt Wood at Strokes Adventure Golf – we were really looking forward to our meal.


What a gluten free feast

I can’t recommend The Ambrette enough, it really is great. The staff are very knowledgeable about the gluten free needs of Coeliac diners and when you eat there you don’t feel like you’re missing out on anything. For example, with the main course you are served a dosa pancake, rather than a naan bread – whereas in many other places you’d just have to ‘go without’. My dessert of Chocolate Silk was amazing. 

Time for pudding at The Ambrette

The first day’s play of the 2014 BMGA British Minigolf Championships teed-off on National Miniature Golf Day and the minigolfing gods were somewhat on our side as the rain which had been forecast never arrived. However, the field of 30-players had to contend with some very windy weather indeed, making the difficult Strokes course even harder in places. With nine-rounds(!) in total a lot of minigolf was to be played over the weekend.

A view of the 18-hole Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate, Kent
A rather overcast day in Margate

During the rules briefing and announcement of the groups and playing order I tweeted "This year's @bmga_minigolf championships @strokesgolf features a Portuguese and a Canadian. And a bunch of Brits. #minigolf #Margate" to which @Strokesgolf replied "and a coeliac." Brilliant :-)

Despite the wind cutting through the players there were still some opportunities to play some great shots and Emily and I hit ten and eight holes-in-one during the day respectively.

Prior to visiting places on the BMGA Tour and during our roadtrips I will put out a tweet or two to see if anyone can recommend anywhere to safely eat gluten free.

A great reply came from Annie’s Supperclub and Larder who let me know she was able to arrange delivery of a variety of picnic and lunch orders to any of the beaches, or stations (and Minigolf courses!) in Thanet. This sounded great, as I always struggle to eat anything substantial during the day while playing in a competition. 

While I did keep myself going on the Pom Bears Strokes Adventure Golf course sells, it was great to know I’d be having a proper lunch too.

The lunch of a Chicken & Bacon Sub (freshly baked bread), a bag of Prawn Cocktail crisps and a Chocolate Cupcake was great and I’d certainly use the service again and recommend it to others. It made such a big difference in being able to eat some well made, fresh and tasty food – all in the knowledge it was 100% gluten free and made by someone with extensive knowledge of coeliac disease and gluten free food.

Lunchtime - a proper meal after a busy morning of tournament minigolf

Having had two large and delicious meals out on Thursday and Friday, plus a filling lunch, I opted for a ‘hotel room picnic’, while Emily had a meal at the hotel restaurant while we watched the Eurovision Song Contest with some of our fellow minigolfers – living the high-life!

Having visited the local Morrisons it was an opportunity to complete one of the Coeliac UK Awareness Week postcards detailing what was available in the store’s free from section. I duly noted what was there, and what was missing, and sent this off. I’d encourage all my fellow coeliacs to have a look in their local (or not so local) supermarkets to help inform the work of Coeliac UK.

Day two began much like day one, with windy weather, but a little less sun – that’s not to say we didn’t catch the sun after three days exposure – getting a nice tan on my face and hands!

During the break between rounds the Hole-In-One Charity Challenge took place, with 28-players stepping up to tackle the 17th hole – the Ski Jump – with a standard low-bounce course ball, rather than with a Minigolf sport ball that we’d used during the main-event.

Playing the 17th hole at Strokes Adventure Golf during the BMGA Hole-in-One Challenge contest

I was third to play the hole, with neither of the first two players managing to score an Ace I lined-up the shot, hit it for a jump over the ramp, a rebound off the bricks at the back of the green and in it went! I greeted the shot with my Ace-shout of “Yee-ha” and a round of applause from my fellow competitors. It was a nervy ten or so minutes of waiting for the rest of the field to give it a shot. Luckily for me no-one else managed to score a hole-in-one, though some came very very close, so I won the shootout – my first win in a BMGA Hole-in-One Challenge!

Just as I was being declared the winner of the challenge contest I noticed my lunch from Annie’s Larder was arriving – a great victory meal of Falafel Sub with a salad, Prawn Cocktail crisps and a Lemon Polenta Cake.


Playing the 11th - Heartbreak Ridge - a real killer hole in Minigolf

It was a brilliant weekend of minigolf, food & drink, good company and nice seasides.

Thank you to Matt, Brian and Frankie at Strokes Adventure Golf for allowing me to use the course as my weekend’s residence and 'mail-drop' and to the team at Coeliac UK for putting the t-shirt and Awareness Week information in the post to me.

Strokes Adventure Golf course - an 18-hole Minigolf course on Westbrook Promenade in Margate Kent
Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate - well worth a visit 

For more information about Coeliac UK, Coeliac Disease and the Gluten-free Guarantee Awareness Week check out the Coeliac UK website.

As a Coeliac I’m always keen to highlight the condition and spread the word in order to get more places offering uncontaminated gluten-free choices. I’m also a Gfree Athlete with the Glutenlibre team based in the USA. Check out my interview with them here.

Coeliac Disease is a lifelong autoimmune disease caused by intolerance to gluten and while there is no cure (yet!) the only treatment is to adhere (endure) a strict lifelong gluten free diet – which can be harder than you think when you factor in the risks and hazards of cross-contamination!

Links:

Food and restaurant links:

Related blog posts:

Monday, May 12, 2014

Minigolf Report – BMGA British Championships in Margate

Richard Gottfried 13th and Emily Gottfried 24th in national Miniature Golf tournament. 

Luton Minigolfers Richard and Emily Gottfried competed in the BMGA British Minigolf Championships tournament that took place at the 18-hole Strokes Adventure Golf course on Westbrook Promenade in Margate, Kent on the 10th and 11th May.

In the nine-round, 162-hole tournament Richard finished in 13th place overall in the 30-player field, and was 6th of 14 players in the men's general class. Emily finished in 24th place and was third in the BMGA British Women’s Minigolf Championships contested by five players.


Minigolf at Strokes Adventure Golf in Margate, Kent
Richard Gottfried playing the 17th hole at Strokes Adventure Golf during the BMGA Hole-In-One Charity Challenge shootout

In the tournament's Hole-In-One Charity Challenge Richard was the only player of 28 that managed to score an Ace on the 17th hole to win the shootout.


Minigolf at Strokes Adventure Golf in Margate, Kent
Emily Gottfried playing hole 1 at Strokes Adventure Golf in Margate during the BMGA British Minigolf Championships

Richard said “My two rounds of 34 were really good, but I’m pretty disappointed with the other rounds. Strokes Adventure Golf has some real killer holes and I tripped up on a few of them this year. On the bright side I’m really pleased to be the first winner of a BMGA Hole-In-One Challenge shootout this season.”

Emily said “I am really pleased to have won the Bronze Medal at the British Championships during a really windy weekend on the seafront at Margate. The weather did make a few of the holes more challenging than usual so I didn’t score as well as I’d hoped, but I am happy with third place. I’m also pleased that I scored one sub-40 round at the Strokes course, which is renowned for a few really tricky holes and difficult greens.” 

The winner of the 2014 BMGA British Championship was Adam Kelly from Linton, Cambridgeshire.