National Miniature Golf Day on Saturday 13th May

Not long until National Miniature Golf Day 2017.

Each year National Miniature Golf Day falls on the second Saturday in May. In 2017 this will be on Saturday 13th May.

Where will you be playing the game?

Playing at the Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Skegness on a previous National Miniature Golf Day

For us most days seem like they are Minigolf Days!

However, there are two quasi-official annual awareness 'days' to celebrate the game. After National Miniature Golf Day is Miniature Golf Day. This is always on the 21st of September, this year it'll be on a Thursday.

For last year's National Miniature Golf Day we were in Woking and Guildford to compete in the Surrey Invitational Minigolf Tournament

If you're looking for a place to play in the UK you could take a look at the list of courses we've visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. Our friends over at The Putting Penguin and A Couple of Putts have some great lists of courses in the USA.

Emily and I appear in the 2017 Dull Men's Club Calendar in the month of July. We've also got National Miniature Golf Day listed. The 13th is going to be quite the day considering it's Train AND Windmill Day too!

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the world's first Miniature Golf course, while the month of May is also National Golf Month.

Related blog posts:
- National Miniature Golf Day
- Miniature Golf Day
- Minigolf info for the year

Happy Miniature Golf Day 2016!

Celebrating Miniature Golf Day with a round of Pitch and Putt at Bruntwood Park in Cheadle, Cheshire.

Having a putt around on Miniature Golf Day

The 21st of September is ALWAYS Miniature Golf Day. It's set in stone and a rule, so who are we to argue? To mark the great occasion we nipped along to our new local mini golf course at Bruntwood Park for a round of Pitch & Putt.

The GIANT Footgolf hole. The cups on the Pitch and Putt course were quite large too

Luckily we were in time to sneak in three holes as the man had already collected in the flags and the last group of Footgolfers were halfway through their round. When he heard about the importance of Miniature Golf Day he grabbed some flags and put them out on the 1st, 2nd and 7th holes so we could get in a mini round of minigolf. That was absolutely brilliant of him.

Emily's golf ball takes flight

Last month we visited Bruntwood Park and had a look at the course, but unfortunately didn't have time for a round. Having had a taste of the layout this evening we'll definitely be heading back for a game. The holes are just long enough to be a challenge, but short enough that you won't spend a lot of time pitching, lobbing and hacking your way round. Perfect for putters like us.

A little chip and run to the hole

The result of our quick minigolf match-up was Richard 3-4-3, Emily 5-7-4. We can't wait for the rematch.

The 7th hole had a lot of leaf fall from the silver birch tree - Emily's balls got quite well camouflaged in it!

September is a BIG month in the mini game and our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. In addition to Miniature Golf Day, next Friday we celebrate 10 years since our travels began, and last weekend we reached the MASSIVE milestone of the 700th minigolf course visit.

Bruntwood Park's minigolf course became the 695th visited when we had a gander at it on the 14th August. It's now the 414th that we've managed to play.

Related blog posts:
- Mini Golf Dates for your diary
- Pitch and Putt at Bruntwood Park, Cheadle
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Links:
- Bruntwood Park on Cheadle Golf Club's website
- Bruntwood Park on Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council's website

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.

You can also sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

Mini Golf dates for your 2016 diary

Details of minigolf events and competitions for the year ahead.

Minigolf is 149 years old in 2016, while the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour turns ten

2016 is going to be a BIG year in minigolf. Check out the details below for the landmarks and milestones, anniversaries, days, and other key dates.


Anniversaries in 2016
There are some very interesting key dates being celebrated in 2016:

• The first minigolf course in the USA opened in 1916. It was called 'Thistle Dhu' and located in Pinehurst, NC.
• Putting will return to the Olympic Games at Rio 2016 after a break of 112 years, albeit as part of the big Golf tournament. A Miniature Golf contest was held as part the 1904 St Louis Games!
• Crazy Golf is 90 years old in 2016! The very first course opened on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire, England. There's still a course on the same spot - we managed to play it in 2015.

A visit to England's first-ever Crazy Golf course on National Miniature Golf Day 2015

• 1926 also saw the first artificial miniature golf course open in the USA, with the 'Tom Thumb' miniature golf course opening near Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, TN.
• Friday 30th September 2016 will mark the tenth anniversary of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. To date we've visited 672 mini, crazy, putting and adventure golf courses.
• Minigolf course reviewers at The Putting Penguin celebrate their 15th year in 2016, while fellow minigolf bloggers A Couple of Putts reach their fourth year.
• Miniature Golf will be 149 years old! The world's first Grass Putting course was set-up at St Andrews, Scotland in 1867. The Himalayas is still there now and is a real pleasure to play.

Recurring minigolf 'days'
Each year there are two quasi-official days to celebrate the game:

• National Miniature Golf Day takes place on the second Saturday in May and in 2016 will be on Saturday 14th May.
• Miniature Golf Day is always on the 21st of September, which falls on a Wednesday in 2016.

Emily playing a round at Putt in the Park in Battersea Park, London on Miniature Golf Day 2015

Minigolf Tag (day) has been celebrated in Austria since 2010. Keep an eye on the Minigolf Tag website for details of the 2016 event.

Every Monday is #MinigolfMonday on Twitter.


Competitions
Hundreds of competitions take place around the world, below are some of the highlights of the 2016 calendar.

UK tournaments
The British Minigolf Association Tour calendar for 2016 has been announced.

• Sunday 28th February – English Open at the Lost City Adventure Golf course in Nottingham.
• Sunday 6th March – Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open at the three seafront courses in Hastings.
• Sunday 10th April – British Masters at Splash Point Mini Golf in Worthing.

Emily playing in the 2015 Splash Point Open tournament at the Splash Point Mini Golf course in Worthing

• Sunday 24th April – British Club Championships at Strokes Adventure Golf Course in Margate.
• Friday 6th May – British Championships Pro-Am at Wroxham Barns in Hoveton.
• Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th May – British Championships at Wroxham Barns in Hoveton.
• Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th June – World Crazy Golf Championship at the Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf Course in Hastings.
• Saturday 16th July – Cambridgeshire & Essex Open at the Dunton Hills Family Golf Centre in West Horndon.
• Sunday 17th July - British Doubles Championship at the Dunton Hills Family Golf Centre in West Horndon.
• Friday 16th September – Players Championship.
• Friday 16th September – International Players Championship.
• Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th September – British Open at the Pirate Course in Hastings.
• Sunday 16th October – Welsh Open is at the Treetop Adventure Golf Course in Cardiff.
• Sunday 13th November – Kent Open at the Lost Island Encounter Adventure Golf course in Sidcup.
• Sunday 4th December – Star City Open at Adventure Island Mini Golf in Birmingham.
• Season-long – British Matchplay Championship.

There will also be club Open events throughout the year.

International events
World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF):

• 25th and 26th June – World Adventure Golf Masters in Prishtina, Kosovo.
• 14th and 15th May – Youth Nations Cup in Bischofshofen, Austria.
• 10th to 13th August – Youth World Championships in Bischofshofen, Austria.

The Great Britain 3 team that finished 5th in the 2013 WMF World Adventure Golf Masters tournament

European Minigolf Sport Federation (EMF):

• 14th and 15th May – Nations Cup in Vizela, Portugal
• 10th to 13th August – Seniors European Championships in Lahti, Finland.
• 24th to 27th August – General Class European Championships in Vizela, Portugal.
• 29th September to 1st October - European Cup for club teams in Neutraubling, Germany.

Asian Minigolf Sport Federation (AMF):

• 8th to 10th October - Open Asian Championships in Yokohama, Japan.

Contests in North America
USPMGA:
In the USA the USPMGA organises two major events – US Masters and US Open – and a number of local and regional events.

• October 13-15 – USPMGA Master’s National Championship in North Myrtle Beach, SC.
• May 14th and 15th – US Open at Putt U Miniature Golf in Center Valley, PA.

PPA:
There are also miniature golf competitions organised in the USA by the PPA. You can find out more about Putt-Putt, the Professional Putters Association, the Amateur Putters Association and the competitions hosted on Putt-Putt miniature golf courses on the PPA website.

Mini-Putt:
In Canada the Mini-Putt tour holds a number of tournaments. Find out more on the Mini-Putt website.

If you know of any other miniature golf contests taking place do let us know via the comments below or via email.

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. You can also sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

Putt In The Park Mini Golf at Battersea Park in London

Playing Minigolf at London's latest course.

On Monday 21st September* we made the 671st visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and played the 389th course since we began our Tour in September 2006. The location was London's newest course - Putt In The Park at Battersea Park.

We'll play minigolf whatever the weather

The 12-hole venue opened earlier this summer and is the second course from the team behind the Wandsworth Park Minigolf course.

Quite autumnal

In our match-up Emily defeated me by one shot - 36 to 37. I was incredibly fortunate that Emily was unlucky on the last hole or the margin of my defeat would've been much much worse!

Emily on the first

Richard tees-off

Emily shot a great 2 on the 2nd hole

The tricky 4th

Putting on hole 5

Emily on the 3rd - the wheels truly came off Richard's game at this hole!

Hole 11

Emily making easy work of the 4th

The Battersea Park course is three miles from its sister course at Wandsworth Park. That Putt In The Park venue was the 323rd played on our Tour.

For more information on the Putt In The Park courses, opening times and prices visit the Putt In The Park website.

When we began traveling around and playing minigolf there were an estimated 600 courses in the UK. This year we visited our 600th overall and 600th in the UK - at Swanage and Goodrington Sands respectively. On our road-trip around the South West of England we also visited the 650th course in the UK - in Padstow.

Having visited 21 miniature golf courses overseas means that the Putt In The Park course in Battersea became the landmark 650th we've visited in the UK.

Link:
- Putt In The Park website

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Mini, Crazy and Adventure Golf courses in and around London
- Putt in the Park Minigolf at Wandsworth Park, London
- Minigolf with The Putting Penguin at Putt in the Park

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

* It was apt that such a BIG minigolf course visit would take place on the 21st September as the date is always Miniature Golf Day!

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Happy Miniature Golf Day 2015!

Today is a BIG day in minigolf!

According to various sources 'Miniature Golf Day' is always celebrated on the 21st of September - a date that is always highlighted on our calendar. So head out and have a putt, there are hundreds of courses in the UK (indoors and out) and tens of thousands of layouts around the world.

Playing in the World Crazy Golf Championship in Hastings - home to some fine minigolf courses

We've visited 670 miniature golf courses since September 2006, cracking our initial target of 600 earlier this summer.

Check out the post 'Mini Golf Days in 2015' for more info on days to celebrate the great game.

On Saturday 9th May it was 'National Miniature Golf Day' and for the occasion we headed to the English seaside resort of Skegness - a hotbed of minigolf!

Playing some Arnold Palmer Mini Golf in Skegness on National Miniature Golf Day 2015

Each Monday is #MinigolfMonday on Twitter, so hashtag your Crazy, Mini and Adventure Golf posts.

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

National Miniature Golf Day Tournament 2015

Report from the 2015 National Miniature Golf Day Championship in Skegness.

Playing a classic Crazy Golf Windmill hole at the Arnold Palmer Putting Course on North Parade

The Saturday of our Skegness Seaside Weekender happened to be the same day as National Miniature Golf Day - so what better way to celebrate it than by playing five minigolf courses in the UK's top spot for the game.

Seth Thomas at the Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Skegness

Skegness currently has 110 miniature golf holes spread over ten Crazy, Mini, Adventure, Putting and Pitch & Putt courses! The most of any town in the UK.

Having a round on the country's first-ever Crazy Golf course

Our competition to celebrate the day for minigolf saw us play the two Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf courses on North Parade, Pebble Beach Adventure Golf at the Pleasure Beach, England's first-ever Crazy Golf course on South Parade and the Gold Mine Adventure Golf course at the Pleasure Beach.

Chris Jones teeing-off at the Gold Mine Adventure Golf at the Pleasure Beach

Results of the 2015 National Miniature Golf Day Championship:
1. Brad Shepherd = 102
2. Alan Norman = 103
3. Seth Thomas = 104
4. Richard Gottfried = 106
5. Emily Gottfried = 112
6. Chris Jones = 116
7. John Moore = DNS & DNF, but played 18-holes
8. Peter Jones = DNS & DNF, but played 12-holes

National Miniature Golf Day Champion Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd playing the Pebble Beach Adventure Golf course in Skegness

The National Miniature Golf Day Championship made-up four of the five rounds of the two-day Skegness Minigolf Championship that saw ten players take part.

National Miniature Golf Day is a quasi-official holiday that began in the USA. It takes place on the second Saturday in May each year.

If you missed National Miniature Golf Day this year don't worry. There's another 'Mini Golf Day' coming up - Miniature Golf Day is always on the 21st of September, which this year falls on a Monday!

Related blog posts:
- Minigolf, Crazy Golf and Adventure Golf Courses on the Lincolnshire Coast

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

- Skegness

- Mini Golf Days
- Skegness Minigolf Championship 2015
- Holiday on the Buses Reunion Mini Golf Competition

Happy Minigolf Tag (Minigolf Day) 2015

National Day of Minigolf celebrated in Austria.

Happy 'Minigolf Tag' to my fellow minigolfers in Austria!

Playing the Swedish Felt Minigolf course at the Askoe Wien Wasserpark in Vienna, Austria

The event is organised by the Austrian Minigolf Federation (Österreichischer Bahnengolf-Verband - OBGV) and the 2015 event is the sixth edition.

Each year around 550,000 Austrians (15% of the country's population) play Miniature Golf and today is a celebration of the great game.

The Eternit Miniature Golf course at the Askoe Wien Wasserpark in Vienna, Austria

In March 2010 I visited the Askoe Wien Wasserpark in Vienna, Austria and got to play one of the toughest (and longest) Swedish Felt Minigolf courses in Europe. The layout was the 163rd course played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. It was also the first place I spotted a Pit-Pat course (a cross between Billiards/Pool/Snooker and Minigolf!).

The Pit-Pat Hindernis Billard course at the Askoe Wien Wasserpark in Vienna, Austria

There are two more 'Mini Golf Days' coming up in 2015 - National Miniature Golf Day is on Saturday 9 May and Miniature Golf Day is on Monday 21 September.

And of course every Monday there's #MinigolfMonday on Twitter!

Links:
- Askoe Wien website
- Askoe Wien on Facebook
- Austrian Minigolf Federation (Österreichischer Bahnengolf-Verband)
- Minigolf Tag (Minigolf Day)
- World Minigolf Federation

Related blog posts:
- Austria
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Pit-Pat
- Minigolf Tag
- Minigolf Course Played #163 - Vienna, Austria (Askoe Wien Wasserpark) - Swedish Felt
- Minigolf Course Visit #210 - Vienna, Austria (Askoe Wien Wasserpark) - Eternit Miniature Golf
- Minigolf Course Visit #210(a!?) - Vienna, Austria (Askoe Wien Wasserpark) - pit-pat "Hindernis Billards"!
- Mini Golf Days in 2015

Mini Golf Days in 2015

Important dates for your minigolf diary.

Playing Crazy Golf in Hastings

2015 will see three 'Mini Golf Days' taking place around the world.

- National Miniature Golf Day (a quasi-official US holiday) takes place on the second Saturday in May and this year will be on Saturday 9th of May.

- Miniature Golf Day is always on the 21st of September, which this year falls on a Monday.

- In Austria 'Minigolf Tag' (Minigolf Day) has taken place for the last five years. This year's event will be on Sonntag 3 Mai. Visit the Minigolf Tag website and Facebook page for details of the 2015 edition.

There are tens of thousands of miniature golf courses of all shapes and sizes around the world and millions of people play a round each year.

Emily playing at the Splash Point Mini Golf course at Denton Gardens in Worthing

On the serious competition side of things there are over 38,000 Minigolf players in 46 nations that are members of the World Minigolf Sport Federation. They play on the 1,000 courses approved for over 1,500 Minigolf tournaments each year.

On Twitter each Monday is #MinigolfMonday, so hashtag your Crazy, Mini and Adventure Golf posts.

Of course, with so many courses to play (indoors and out), any and every day can be MINIGOLF DAY if you like.

Check out the links below for details of miniature golf courses around the world. Emily and I have visited almost 600 courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour to date.

Related blog posts:
- Mini Golf days in 2014
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Indoor Mini, Crazy and Adventure Golf courses
- National Golf Day 2015
- UK Mini Golf Competitions in 2015

Links:

- National Miniature Golf Day on Wikipedia (within ‘Miniature Golf’ article - the first edition was in 2007)

- Miniature Golf Day on the Holiday Insights website
- Minigolf Tag website

- Mini golf, crazy golf, miniature golf and adventure golf courses worldwide on MiniatureGolfer.com

- The Putting Penguin - Minigolf reviews from around the world

- A Couple of Putts - Minigolf blog from the USA

Miniature Golf Day 2014!

Sunday 21 September is a BIG day for minigolf.

Richard lining up a putt on the Pirate Adventure Golf course in Hastings

Miniature Golf Day 2014 is an 'unofficial' holiday and the third day of the year marked in the calendar to celebrate the great game.

The others are 'National Miniature Golf Day' (held annually on the second Saturday of May) and 'Minigolf Tag' (Minigolf Day in Austria).

Emily playing the 18th hole at the Pirate Adventure Golf in Hastings

This year the 18-hole Pirate Adventure Golf course in Hastings, East Sussex is the host venue for the BMGA British Open which concludes on Sunday 21 September - aka Miniature Golf Day.

The Hastings Pirate Golf course was the 219th played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in 2011.

Richard on the 16th hole at the Pirate Adventure Golf course in Hastings

Read more about Miniature Golf Day on the Holiday Insights website where there is the reminder that the day is ALWAYS September 21st!

The quasi-official holiday day - National Miniature Golf Day 2014 - was on 10 May this year, the same day as Day 1 of the BMGA British Minigolf Championships held at Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate, Kent.

A view of the 18-hole Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate

For ideas and inspiration on where to play please check out the links below (and on the right hand side of the blog) for a range of Mini Golf websites from around the world.

Happy Putting!

Related blog posts:

- Mini Golf days in 2014
- Happy National Miniature Golf Day 2014!

- British Minigolf Association Tournament Calendar for 2014

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - List and links for Miniature Golf courses visited to date
- Hastings Seafront - 18-Hole Pirate Adventure Golf Course - Minigolf Played #219

Links:

- Miniature Golf Day on the Holiday Insights website

- Mini golf, crazy golf, miniature golf and adventure golf courses worldwide on MiniatureGolfer.com

- The Putting Penguin - Minigolf reviews from around the world

- A Couple of Putts - Minigolf blog from the USA

- British Minigolf Association

- World Minigolf Sport Federation
- Hastings Adventure Golf

Happy National Miniature Golf Day 2014!

Today is National Miniature Golf Day!

Where will you be playing Minigolf today? And on what type of course?

Playing 'Heartbreak Ridge' at Strokes Adventure Golf in 2012

Check out the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour page here on the Ham & Egger Files, the course lists pages on MiniatureGolfer.com and the Minigolf review sites The Putting Penguin and A Couple of Putts for some inspiration on where to play.

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

Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate, Kent is hosting the BMGA British Minigolf Championships this weekend! Check out the online results live on the British Minigolf Association website.

If you don't get a chance to play any Minigolf today then don't worry, as Miniature Golf Day is on Sunday 21st of September.

Happy Putting!

Links:

- Mini Golf Days in 2014

- #MinigolfMonday

Happy Minigolf Tag 2014!

Today is Austria's National Minigolf Day!

Today's Minigolf Tag (Minigolf Day) is the fifth edition of the event organised by the Austrian Minigolf Federation (Österreichischer Bahnengolf-Verband - OBGV).

Every year around 550,000 Austrians (some 15% of the country's population) play Minigolf and today is a celebration of the great game.

Back in March 2010 I visited the Askoe Wien Wasserpark in Vienna, Austria where I played one of the toughest (and longest) Swedish Felt Minigolf courses in Europe. It was the 163rd Miniature Golf course played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. It was also the first place I spotted a Pit-Pat course (a cross between Billiards and Minigolf!).

There are two more 'Minigolf Days' coming up in 2014, with National Miniature Golf Day on Saturday 10th of May, and Miniature Golf Day on Sunday 21st of September.

And don't forget - on Twitter every Monday there's #MinigolfMonday!

Links:

- Minigolf Tag website

- Austrian Minigolf Federation (Österreichischer Bahnengolf-Verband - OBGV)

- Minigolf Tag 2014 video

- Mini Golf Days in 2014

Mini Golf days in 2014

Miniature Golf dates for your diary.

This year National Miniature Golf Day (a quasi-official US holiday) will be on Saturday 10th of May.

This year the BMGA British Minigolf Championships will be held at the excellent 18-hole Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate, with the two-day event taking place on the 10th and 11th of May!

Playing hole 1 at Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate

Miniature Golf Day will be on Sunday 21st of September.

The 18-hole Pirate Adventure Golf course in Hastings, East Sussex is the host of the BMGA British Open this year which concludes on the 21st of September.

Playing some Minigolf in Hastings. In 2013.

Last year saw the fourth edition of Minigolf Tag (Minigolf Day) in Austria. Keep an eye out on the Minigolf Tag website for details and the date of the 2014 event.

If you're looking for inspiration on where to play then do check out the links below (and on the right hand side of the blog) for a range of Minigolf websites from around the world.

Related blog posts:

- Miniature Golf Days in 2013

- Happy Minigolf Tag 2013 (Minigolf Day)

- British Minigolf Association Tournament Calendar for 2014

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

Links:

- National Miniature Golf Day on Wikipedia (within ‘Miniature Golf’ article - the first edition was in 2007)

- Miniature Golf Day on the Holiday Insights website

- Mini golf, crazy golf, miniature golf and adventure golf courses worldwide on MiniatureGolfer.com

- The Putting Penguin - Minigolf reviews from around the world

- A Couple of Putts - Minigolf blog from the USA

- British Minigolf Association

- World Minigolf Sport Federation