Minigolf in The World Games - Karlsruhe 2029

After 40 Years Minigolf Returns to The World Games.

The World Minigolf Sport Federation today announced that minigolf has been selected as one of the sports in The World Games 2029 in Karlsruhe, Germany.

The World Games was first held in the United States in 1981 and every four years has been a showcase for sports and disciplines that are not part of the Olympic Games.

Karlsruhe will be the the first city to host the World Games a second time after hosting in 1989, which also was the year minigolf was last included in the sports played.

The WMF will run the minigolf event alongside Deutscher Minigolfsport Verband (DMV).

Find out more.

You can read the full news item on the World Minigolf Sport Federation website.

About the World Minigolf Sport Federation.

The WMF is the umbrella organisation of Minigolf sports associations worldwide and continental associations in Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

The World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF) is a member of GAISF (Global Association of International Sports Federations), AIMS (Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of Sport) and TAFISA (The Association For International Sport for All).

The WMF is developing and growing as a competitive sport, while also helping to promote the benefits of the game as a fun and accessible leisure activity.

The WMF organises World Championships, which are played every two years and Youth World/Open European Championships, which are each played every year.

The British Minigolf Association and the WMF.

The British Minigolf Association (BMGA) is the UK's member association of the WMF and organises a calendar of tournaments each season. These include national, club, local and open events.

The BMGA also selects players to compete in international championships as part of the Great Britain team.

Playing in WMF tournaments.

Emily and I competed on the BMGA Tour from 2007 to 2015, and were members of the Great Britain team that competed in the 2011 Nations Cup in Finland and the 2013 Nations Cup in Sweden.

We also competed in the WMF World Adventure Golf Masters tournaments in Hastings in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Emily is a two-time WMF World Adventure Golf Masters Women's Champion, winning the title in 2011 and 2013.

Emily Gottfried - WMF World Adventure Golf Masters Women's Champion in 2011

We were both ranked in the WMF World Rankings, where Emily reached a high of 98th in December 2015, and I was ranked a high of 345th in March 2012.

Playing the Eternit Miniature Golf course at the Manse Ratagolf Club in Tampere, Finland in 2008

Serving on the WMF and BMGA Committees.

I led on marketing and media activity for the BMGA between 2008 and 2013, and I was a member of the WMF's Marketing and Media Committee between 2008 and 2014 where I worked closely with colleagues around the world, as well as the wider board, member associations and continental federations.

Links:

• The World Games
• The World Games Karlsruhe 2029
• World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF)
• Deutscher Minigolfsport Verband (DMV)

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour is 20 years old this month

We're celebrating two decades of our crazy minigolfing adventures.

How it started.

We played the Victory Trail course at Treasure Island Adventure Golf in Southsea, Hampshire, England on Saturday 30th September 2006.

And at the end of our 9-hole round I won a free game by firing the cannon on the lucky last hole!

Travelling the UK (and the world) playing minigolf.

We've now been to 1,131 courses overall in the last 20 years, with 1,062 of those locations in the British Isles.

When we originally set off to visit as many courses as possible the target list was 600 in the British Isles. And 20 years later, we have around 50 of those original courses to visit.

As well as playing minigolf in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Jersey and the Isle of Man we’ve travelled to minigolf courses in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain (including Lanzarote & Tenerife in the Canary Islands, and Majorca in the Balearic Islands), Sweden and the USA.

From 600 courses in the UK to more than 1,500.

When our crazy golfing travels began in 2006 there were around 600 miniature golf courses in the UK and wider British Isles.

There are now more than 1,500 - and there are lots of new places to play the game opening all the time.

Minigolf record makers.

Our travels have been recognised by the Guinness World Records, and I'm a record holder for "Most miniature golf courses visited" (902 at the time of going to press). Check out the Guinness World Records 2024 book to see a lot more minigolf records too!

Related blog posts:

• Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
• A look at Treasure Island Adventure Golf in Southsea
• From the Vault - Southsea Minigolf 2006
• First courses played

TallyHo Golf - from a Triple Bogey to an Eagle

Playing the TallyHo Golf Daily Mini Golf game.

I'm so glad that you get to replay your round once each day on the Daily Mini Golf Game from TallyHo Golf.

I went from a Triple Bogey to an Eagle round!

They were a tough 3-holes on the course today.

You can play the TallyHo Golf game on the web and on mobile. The game provides a 3-hole layout to play every day of the week, with a bonus challenge hole to compete on a separate leaderboard each day.

Find out more about the Daily Mini Golf Game and the TallyHo Golf scorecard app on the TallyHo Golf website.

Related blog posts:

• TallyHo Golf
• Games
• Apps

TallyHo Today - Daily Mini Golf Game from TallyHo Golf

The Daily Mini Golf Game from TallyHo Golf is launching a full version in September.

TallyHo Today, the Daily Mini Golf Game from TallyHo Golf is currently available in beta and will launch a full version on Monday 7th September 2026.

I've been enjoying playing the fun and challenging game. The game provides a 3-hole layout to play every day of the week, with a bonus challenge hole to compete on a separate leaderboard each day.

It's nice to see all of the collated stats for your game as they develop over time.

You can play the game on the web and on mobile.

Find out more about the Daily Mini Golf Game and the TallyHo Golf scorecard app on the TallyHo Golf website.

Related blog posts:

• TallyHo Golf
• Games
• Apps

One month until Miniature Golf Day 2026

There's a month to go until Miniature Golf Day 2026.

This year Miniature Golf Day will take place on Monday 21st September.

Minigolf courses we've played on Miniature Golf Days in previous years

There are two 'miniature golf days' each year.

• National Miniature Golf Day is always on the second Saturday in May.
• The other minigolf day, Miniature Golf Day, is always on the 21st September.

Putting Green at Kingsbarns Distillery & Visitor Centre in St Andrews, Scotland

There's a Putting Green at Kingsbarns Distillery & Visitor Centre in St Andrews, Scotland.

The Kingsbarns Distillery & Visitor Centre in St Andrews, Scotland has an outdoor Putting Green.

Find out more on the Kingsbarns Distillery & Visitor Centre website.

The (Crazy) Golf Apocalypse

A minigolf course based on The End Times!

We played the Golf Apocalypse miniature golf course back in August 2012.

The layout had been created as part of the London Pleasure Gardens, an area set-up to tap into the passing trade between the DLR and the London 2012 Olympic Games at the ExCel centre.

Golf Apocalypse was the first really really really mad-cap pop-up course we played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The layout contained all manner of strange minigolf obstacles and we found ourselves playing through the fuselage of a crashed aeroplane, around a pinball machine, a snooker table and into a volcano.

The pop-up miniature golf course was the first we saw to use reclaimed materials in its construction. Something that has become commonplace these days and we've seen and played a number of funky, junky, scrap, ghetto, trash, garbage, graffiti, wreckage, and art-based courses since.

The 9-hole Golf Apocalypse course was the 304th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Daily Mini Golf Game from TallyHo Golf

Check out the Daily Mini Golf Game from TallyHo Golf.

The team at TallyHo Golf have added a Daily Mini Golf Game challenge to the website.

Check out my Birdie Round from today.

Find out more about the Daily Mini Golf Game and the TallyHo Golf scorecard app on the TallyHo Golf website.

Related blog posts:

• TallyHo Golf
• Games
• Apps

Crazy Golf at the Boulevard in Nicholas Everitt Park, Oulton Broad, Suffolk

There's a crazy golf course at the Boulevard in Nicholas Everitt Park, Oulton Broad, Lowestoft, Suffolk.

A new crazy golf course has opened at the Boulevard in Nicholas Everitt Park in Lowestoft.

The crazy golf course is a 9-hole outdoor layout.

Find out more on The Boulevard - Oulton Broad Facebook Page.

The Brewmaster's Open minigolf tournament at the Camden Town Brewery in London

Playing crazy golf in a brewery!

The Brewmaster's Open minigolf tournament took place at the Camden Town Brewery in London on this day in 2012.

We competed in The Brewmaster's Open at the Camden Town Brewery 14 years ago today. It was part of the brilliant summer of sport in the capital.

Richard Gottfried, Christopher Gottfried, Alan Norman, Emily Gottfried, Seth Thomas and Simon Hall at The Brewmaster's Open

More than 200 players competed in the tournament on the pop-up 5-hole crazy golf course.

Richard Gottfried, Alan Norman and Seth Thomas on the podium at The Brewmaster's Open

Alan 'Stormin' Norman won The Brewmaster's Open with his round of 8. I finished in tied 2nd place alongside Seth Thomas.

The scorecards for the event

Related blog posts:

• Camden Town Brewery
• Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Link:

• Camden Town Brewery

Rooftop Crazy Golf at Yum Yum World in Rugby

There's a rooftop crazy golf course at Yum Yum World in Rugby, Warwickshire.

Find out more on the Yum Yum World website.

Arnold Palmer Putting course at Pop’s Meadow in Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk

A look at the old Arnold Palmer Putting course at Pop’s Meadow in June 2010.

Miniature Golf of one sort or another has been played on the site since the early to mid-1900's.

There used to be an Arnold Palmer Putting Course at Pop’s Meadow Putting Green in Gorleston-on-Sea. In May 2009 that layout became the 100th visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

We played the 9-hole Arnold Palmer Putting Course that was at Pop’s Meadow back in June 2010.

There is still a crazy golf course at Pop’s Meadow. The area is now Pop’s Meadow Kids Amusement Park and Café.

Check out the Pop’s Meadow Kids Amusement Park and Cafe Facebook Page for more information.

Arnold Palmer Putting Courses.

Arnold Palmer Putting Courses are a design classic and include all the elements that make a Crazy Golf course great – the Windmill, the Waterwheel, an Obelisk, ledges, bunkers, traps, flat loops, hills and plateaus – everything laid out to make a course interesting, testing and most of all fun!

The Arnold Palmer branded miniature golf courses were part of the Arnold Palmer Enterprises empire set-up in 1961 that saw the legendary golfer's name licensed and franchised to a wide-range of activities and products including Dry Cleaning centres and an Arnold Palmer brand foot detergent.

By 1966 there were 130 Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in the USA, with ten in Japan and some in South Africa.

Take a look at this blog post about "Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in the UK" for further information.

Related blog posts:

• Pop's Meadow
• Gorleston-on-Sea
• Arnold Palmer Putting Courses

Guess the Minigolf course location...

Where in the world was this minigolf course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour?

Guess the Minigolf course location...

Where in the world was this minigolf course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour?

Minigolf guest blog posts from around the world

We've now received minigolf guest blog posts from 31 countries - and international waters!

It's brilliant receiving photos, information and updates from - and about - crazy golf, minigolf, miniature golf putting, pitch & putt, adventure golf, and Putt-Putt courses around the world. There's such a wide-range and variety of courses out there.

This week we've received photos from courses in the USA, Belgium and Poland.

We've been playing minigolf on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006.

During the last 20 years Emily and I have met so many people and made some great friends, many of whom have contributed to our travels by telling us about new courses, letting us know about course refurbs, or by sending over photos of courses they've been too. We've also received excellent photos of miniature golf courses from our family, friends, our networks, and course owners, managers, designers and builders themselves.

Over the last 20 years of blogging we've published guest blog posts about courses in England, Wales, Scotland, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Croatia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guernsey, Indonesia, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Luxembourg, Morocco, the Netherlands, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain (including Lanzarote, Tenerife and Majorca), Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, the USA, on the high seas onboard the MSC Opera cruise ship (sailing from Italy - to Montenegro - to Greece), and even North Korea!

What makes it extra special is that these guest blog posts have captured a course in a moment of time, and in some cases such as pop-ups and courses that are now closed - courses that we'll never be able to visit or play.

It's wonderful seeing the variety of courses around the world, and also how many places you can find a course to have a round.

Some of the courses our friends and family have been to are far flung, and even some of those in the British Isles are in places off the beaten path or in island locations we haven't had the chance to reach yet.

We're looking forward to receiving more guest posts in the future.

Do get in touch if you see or play a course and would like it added as a guest blog post.

Mini Golf Mosir in Warsaw, Poland

A look at a mini golf course in Warsaw, Poland.

Many thanks to our friend, minigolf rival - and my sometimes minigolf doubles team-mate - Kevin Moseley for sending us these snaps of a minigolf course he spotted on a recent trip to Warsaw, Poland.

He spotted the Mini Golf Mosir course at Bar Plażowy (a beach-themed bar) opposite the Polish National Football Stadium.

Related blog posts:

• Warsaw
• Poland
• Guest blog posts

Two months until Miniature Golf Day 2026

There are two months until Miniature Golf Day 2026.

This year Miniature Golf Day will take place on Monday 21st September.

Minigolf courses we've played on Miniature Golf Days in previous years

There are two 'miniature golf days' each year.

• National Miniature Golf Day is always on the second Saturday in May.
• The other minigolf day, Miniature Golf Day, is always on the 21st September.

Mini Golf and Snooker Golf at Leopoldpark in Blankenberge, Belgium

A look at the Mini Golf and Snooker Golf courses at Leopoldpark in Blankenberge, Belgium.

Many thanks to our friend and minigolf rival Gareth Holmes for sending over these photos of the Mini Golf and Snooker Golf courses at Leopoldpark in Blankenberge, Belgium.

Find out more about the Leopoldpark in Blankenberge

Visit the Leopoldpark website for more information.

Visiting the Leopoldpark in Blankenberge on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Emily has been to Leopoldpark in Blankenberge on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour twice. The first time in October 2016, and a return in January 2017. 

Related blog posts:

• Blankenberge
• Leopoldpark
• Guest blog posts