Happy National Pencil Day

Today is National Pencil Day!

Minigolf pencils from our travels

Here's a selection of minigolf pencils we've collected over years.

We enjoy visiting courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and it's marvellous when we find one that has a branded pencil to score the game with.

Pencils and promotional scratchcards from Congo River Golf in Orlando, Florida, USA

It's a superb bit of minigolf marketing too.

A minigolf pencil from Christopher Gottfried's Crazy World of Minigolf Tour trip to Magic Carpet Golf in Galveston, Texas, USA

We've seen several minigolf courses switching to virtual scorecards (and scoreboards), and app-based scorecards. Others are using a mixture.

We think, and hope, there's space and a place for all methods of scoring to continue in the game.

Our friend Pat Sheridan from The Putting Penguin minigolf review website (among his many other hats in the game) has contributed quite a few pencils and scorecards to the Crazy Golf Museum that he's picked up on his own minigolf adventures.

One of the most peculiar minigolf pencils we've seen is this one Pat sent a snap of, as it's a real life pencil for a virtual minigolf game!

A pencil from the Walkabout Mini Golf VR game

If you'd like your minigolf course pencil (or other items of merch and ephemera) displayed and archived in the Crazy Golf Museum please do get in touch.

Just one of the many minigolf pencils in the Crazy Golf Museum - from the Wye Valley Miniatvre Golf course in Symonds Yat West

You can see more miniature golf course pens and pencils on the Crazy Golf Museum website.

A scorecard and pencils from Disney's Winter Summerland Miniature Golf in Orlando, Florida, USA from our friend Shelley Barrett

Arnold Palmer Putting Courses Crazy Golf pencils from the course in Prestatyn

A pencil from Lumberjax Mini Golf in New Zealand from our friend James Astrop

A pencil from Urban Putt in San Francisco from our friend and minigolf rival (and sometimes team-mate) Kevin Moseley

A pencil from Doug Fishbone's Leisure Land Golf

A minigolf pencil from Swing by Golfbaren in Stockholm, Sweden 

A pencil from Swingers Crazy Golf in London

A pencil from the CLUB GOLF crazy golf pop-up at Coal Drops Yard in King's Cross, London. This was the last course Richard played before the UK went into coronavirus pandemic lockdown / quarantine

A pencil from the Putt 18 indoor putting game - we played a lot of this during the pandemic

Roxy Ball Room opening at St Mary Axe in London

The latest Roxy Ball Room venue is opening at St Mary Axe in London on Thursday 10th April.

The new location at St Mary Axe - next to The Gherkin - in London will be home to a Crazy Pool course, as well as many of the brand's other popular games including Tech Darts, Ice-Free Curling and American Pool.

Crazy Pool is a mix of crazy golf and cue sports, with the game played on a table using a golf ball to tackle obstacles, and played with a cue rather than a putter.

We've played Crazy Pool at the Roxy Ball Room at the Manchester Arndale venue.

We've visited several of the Roxy locations on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - the first being the Leeds Boar Lane venue back in 2016.

You can find Roxy locations in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Edinburgh, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield and York. The venues have a mix of games including Roxy Golf and Crazy Pool.

Check out the Roxy Ball Room website for more information on the venues, prices and opening times.

Playing Miniature Golf at Boondocks Fun Center in Northglenn, Colorado

Looking back at my visit to the Miniature Golf course at Boondocks Fun Center in Northglenn, Colorado, USA in 2009.

I played the two miniature golf courses at Boondocks Fun Center in the town of Northglenn, Colorado in March 2009.

My visit came during a trip to Denver to attend the week-long SportAccord conference in the city. During some downtime I travelled outside the city limits to play miniature golf in the Boondocks!

At the two courses at Boondocks Fun Center

As it was '$12 Tuesday' I had unlimited play on the minigolf courses - the 'Caverns Mill' and 'Hillbilly Hallow' - that sit next to Interstate-25. I managed to fit in three rounds on the two layouts.

The courses became the 82nd and 83rd played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

A token from Boondocks

Check out the Boondocks Fun Center website for more information, opening times and prices.

Baseball Mini Golf in Solna, Sweden

A look at the minigolf course at O'Leary's bar and entertainment centre at the Mall of Scandinavia in Solna.

We visited our 801st minigolf course and 32nd overseas at O'Leary's bar and entertainment centre at the Mall of Scandinavia in Solna, Stockholm, Sweden in February 2018.

The Sports World Minigolf course was a 14-hole indoor layout with sports themed holes. One of them was based on baseball.

Visit the O'Leary's website for more information.

Scrapyard Golf at Discobowl Banbury

Banbury Bowl is now known as Discobowl Banbury.

We visited the Banbury venue on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour last December - it's home to an indoor minigolf course called Scrapyard Golf

The indoor minigolf course (December 2024)

You can find Scrapyard Golf courses at Discobowl venues in Chatham, Nottingham, Nuneaton, Worcester and Banbury.

Check out the Discobowl Banbury website for more information.

Nine months until Christmas Day!

There are now 'just' 275 days to go until Christmas 2025.

Last November we played the Christmas-themed minigolf course from Lancashire Crazy Golf at the Northwich Christmas Extravaganza

Free Mini-Golf in Canary Wharf, London

A free-to-play pop-up mini golf course is being set-up in Canary Wharf, London next month.

‘Minigolf by Craig & Karl’ (designed by artists Craig Redman and Karl Maier) will be in Montgomery Square in Canary Wharf from Friday 4th April until Sunday 5th October.

Check out the Canary Wharf and Craig & Karl websites for more information on the 9-hole minigolf course.

Minigolf course planned for Tunbridge Wells

A minigolf course could be created as part of a new Laser Quest centre in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

There are plans for a new Laser Quest centre to be created in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. The venue would also be home to an indoor minigolf course and arcade.

The location for the new entertainment centre would be the former Hop House pub on Knights Park in Tunbridge Wells.

The venue would be a new place for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Putt Above indoor mini golf opening in Bristol

A new indoor mini golf venue is opening in Bristol.

The Bristol location will be the third site for the Putt Above brand following Dudley and Blackpool.

Check out the Putt Above website for more information.

It'll be another course for us to visit on a return to Bristol on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Plans for the Crazy Golf course at Cae Glas Park in Oswestry

There are plans for a new Crazy Golf course to replace the existing one at Cae Glas Park in Oswestry, Shropshire.

Playing the Cae Glas Park Crazy Golf course in 2020

There aren't many 'Eternit' type Miniature Golf courses here in the UK at all and some of those that do still exist have been modified over the years. The course at Cae Glas Park in Oswestry is one of the best examples you can find.

Holes 1-9 of the course

We've played the Crazy Golf course at Cae Glas Park in Oswestry several times on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour over the years. The first was in 2009 at the end of a road-trip around Wales when we re-entered England. It was the 149th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Holes 10-18

We returned in 2012 as the course hosted one of two minigolf events as part of the town's Oslympic Games.

We last played there in 2020 when we were able to travel with a bit more freedom during the Coronavirus Pandemic. The 18-hole layout was still in great condition with some nice hole-in-one opportunities to be had.

For many years the Cae Glas Park Crazy Golf course has been one of, if not, the best value courses in the UK. The current price to play is £2 for adults, £1 for juniors, or £5 for a family (2 adults, 2 children). Amazing prices and the course is well worth a play.

We're obviously BIG fans of minigolf and seeing new courses being created, however it'll be a real shame to see a part of minigolf history disappear as the course in Oswestry is such a fun, tricky and testing place to play the game.

Check out the Oswestry Town Council website for more information.

Puttify Mini Golf in the Entertainment Hive at Center Parcs Woburn Forest

A new Mini Golf course has opened at Center Parcs Woburn Forest.

Center Parcs Woburn Forest in Bedfordshire has a new indoor minigolf course.

Puttify Mini Golf is an indoor tech-minigolf course and can be found in the Entertainment Hive at the holiday park.

Puttify Golf is a new type of interactive mini golf. You can find out more about Puttify Golf on the Greenspan website.

Visit the Center Parcs website for more information on the Woburn Forest holiday park.

Emily and I haven't been to a Center Parcs before, however my brother Christopher and his family have holidayed at Center Parcs Elveden Forest in Norfolk and played the outdoor Treasure Island Adventure Golf course there on their branch of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Street Golf Felixstowe opening at Beach Street

Street Golf Felixstowe is opening at Manning's Amusements in the seaside town this year.

Felixstowe will be home to two new 9-hole indoor Crazy Golf courses as Street Golf Felixstowe opens inside Manning's Amusements at Beach Street in the Suffolk seaside town.

Construction work is underway and the former Magical Golf FX course on the site has been removed to make way for the building of the two new Crazy Golf courses.

We're looking forward to checking out the new Street Golf layouts when they open.

We've played minigolf at Manning's Amusements in Felixstowe a lot over the years. The first time we played there was back on the 19th November 2006 when it became the fifth course we ever visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. It was also the first indoor minigolf course we played.

Back then it was one of only two indoor minigolf courses in the UK!

We've now been to 1,077 courses (1,019 in the British Isles) and there are a lot more indoor minigolf venues than there were in the mid-noughties.

The Golf FX course at Manning's Amusements was a brilliant layout, with lots of optical illusions and practical effects. It was a unique course and ahead of its time with its sound and light effects. Very few courses we have been to have come close to capturing the fun of it.

Since our first visit to Manning's Amusements the course had a few upgrades, refurbishments and name changes - it was called 'Golf FX' when we first played and has been known as 'Magical Golf', 'Magical Golf FX' and 'Harry Putter and the Magical Crazy Golf'!

The green on the old first hole is still the only revolving one we've seen on our travels! It'll be interesting to see how the new course at Manning's evolves...

Hopefully the two new Street Golf courses being built at Manning's Amusements are as good as, or better than, the course they will be replacing.

Over the last several years the team at Manning's have transformed the amusements and leisure area to incorporate Beach Street - a container yard for dining, drinking and entertainment. You can get lovely sea views from some of the seating and we enjoyed meeting friends for tapas there on our last visit to Felixstowe. It was also fun having a go on some of the new arcade games there. Roll on Spring and Summer for our next trips to the town.

Find out more and follow the progress of the course build on the Manning's Amusements and Beach Street Felixstowe websites and social media.

Crazy Golf at Au Vodka's new HQ in Swansea

There's an indoor minigolf course for staff to play at Au Vodka's new HQ in Swansea, Wales.

The indoor Crazy Golf course is a 9-hole layout and in keeping with the brand's identity is gold and black throughout.

Check out the Au Vodka website for more information.

Crazy Golf in a Wrestling Ring at Teezers Retro Golf in Coventry

We visited and played a round at Teezers Retro Golf in Coventry on Easter Sunday back in 2019.

The 18-hole indoor Crazy Golf course at Teezers Retro Golf opened in 2018 and was the 507th course played, and 865th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour at that time.

It's now a lost course.

Mini Golf Scoring and Loyalty Apps

A look at minigolf, crazy golf and adventure golf scorecard and loyalty apps.

On our travels to 1,077 courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour we've used several apps to keep the score in our games.

We've seen a number of venues have introduced a mobile app to compliment or replace the traditional paper scorecard. Some of these apps are really good and help to enhance the experience. We're still fans of pencil and paper to score our rounds and have amassed a large collection of scorecards from our travels. That said, when we find an app that works well we're more than happy to download and use it. We've found the best ones are at courses that have both traditional and digital options for marking your scores as it keeps everyone happy.

The minigolf apps we've found offer a range of scoring functions, loyalty and reward schemes, games, reviews, contests, information and tips.

These are the adventure golf, crazy golf and minigolf apps available on Android and iPhone that we've found on our miniature golfing adventures:

• Adventure Island Mini Golf in Birmingham
• Bangolf Arena tournament scoring systems
• Congo River Golf Scorecard App - eight locations in the USA
• Dinton Adventure Golf
• Eingelocht: Minigolf Scorecard
• Four Ashes Golf Centre in Dorridge, Solihull
• Ghetto Golf
• GlowGolf® Score-App
• Golf Kingdom in Romford - home of Moby Golf
• Hastings Adventure Golf
• Hollywood Drive-In Golf, Orlando, Florida
• International Pitch & Putt Association (IPPA)
• Inky’s Mini Golf at Sirenian Bay in Belize
• Lost World Adventure Golf in Hemsby
• Mini Golf App
• Mini Golf Score Card
• Monster Mini Golf Scorecard App in the USA
• My Mini Golf Scorecard
• Nyborg Minigolf in Denmark
• Oasis Fun in Bournemouth
• Paradise Adventure Golf in Täby Centrum, Sweden
• Paradise Island Adventure Golf in Cheshire Oaks, Derby, Glasgow, Livingston, Manchester, Plymouth, Rushden Lakes and Sheffield
• Peter Pan Mini Golf, USA
• Play Minigolf App - four courses in Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Portugal, Czech Republic, Italy, Netherlands and Belgium
• Playing tips for mini golf
• Popstroke, USA
• Puttstars
• Rainforest Adventure Golf in Dundrum, Ireland
• Smugglers Cove Adventure Golf in Bournemouth
• Stagecoach Greens, San Francisco, USA
• Swingers Crazy Golf
• TallyHo Golf App
• Teezers Retro Golf in Coventry
• The Clubhouse Stoke
• The Putter King game
• The Putting Penguin minigolf review site
• Volcano Falls Adventure Golf in Castleford
• We Are Minigolf

Do you know of any other minigolf apps, games or scoring systems? What do you think of them? Do you use them when you visit a course? Do you have a favourite? Let us know in the comments below.

Eleven months until Christmas!

There are 'just' 334 days to go until Christmas 2025.

Last November we played the Christmas-themed minigolf course from Lancashire Crazy Golf at the Northwich Christmas Extravaganza

Sign up to join the American Mini Golf Alliance

The American Mini Golf Alliance is a group of mini golf enthusiasts organizing to bring together people passionate about the game.

The American Mini Golf Alliance (AMA) was formed in 2022 with the organisation bringing together a number of groups and players. Competitive miniature golfers and putting enthusiasts from across the US including A Couple of Putts (Minnesota), O-Street Mini Golf (New Jersey), and The Putting Penguin (Connecticut / DC) connected back in 2019 and came together to create the American Mini Golf Alliance.

Since its formation the AMA has grown in member numbers and events, and also incorporates online and digital putting competitions in its calendar.

You can join the American Mini Golf Alliance for free via the AMA website.

Check out the American Mini Golf Alliance website and social media channels for more information and updates.