Happy National Pencil Day

A selection of minigolf pencils from our travels.

Thanks to the Derwent Pencil Museum for reminding us of this important day.

We love playing minigolf courses and it's brilliant when we find one that has branded pencils to score the game with.

It's a superb bit of minigolf marketing too.

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 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 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

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 I played before the UK went into coronavirus pandemic lockdown / quarantine

Crazy Golf Museum - the virtual collection

If you own, operate or manage a minigolf course we'd love to share information about your venue.

With an ever-growing collection of minigolf items, ephemera and memories the Crazy Golf Museum reaches a worldwide audience through its website, blogs and social media.

The collection will eventually be housed in a bricks and mortar museum and exhibition space. Since July 2010 the online museum has been the premier space for sharing the history of the game.

We're also keen to share information about online contests and courses in the here and now, as well as future tournaments and events. What is current today soon ebbs into history.

Out to Play exhibition at the Manor House Museum in Kettering

A visit to the Out to Play exhibition at the Manor House Museum in Kettering.

While in Kettering last week we called in to the Manor House Museum in the town centre as we'd spotted a poster for the Out to Play exhibition there.

We're big fans of museums, sports and games and it's always interesting to see different displays and exhibitions.

Kettering is home to the famous Wicksteed Park and the exhibition included a number of items from the amusement park.

It was nice to spot something minigolf related on display.

There were a lot of postcards used in the exhibition.

A nice old postcard of Wicksteed Park

Visit the Manor House Museum website for more information.

Our main reason for being in Kettering was to play the indoor Adventure Golf course at the New York Thunderbowl, our 900th course visit in the British Isles.

There is a Crazy Golf course and a Putting Green at Wicksteed Park and it's on our to visit list when the weather is nicer.

New scorecards in the Crazy Golf Museum

A look at two minigolf scorecards from the USA.

Pat Sheridan from The Putting Penguin minigolf review website has kindly contributed two new miniature golf scorecards to the Crazy Golf Museum's archives.

First is a scorecard from Mountasia Family Fun Center in Santa Clarita, California, USA.

The second is from the Hole 19 pop-up bar and minigolf course in Los Angeles.

It's always brilliant to see minigolf scorecards and items from courses around the world.

Check out the The Putting Penguin minigolf review website to see more from Pat's minigolfing travels.

Happy ninth birthday to the Crazy Golf Museum

The Crazy Golf Museum is nine years old today.

Many happy returns to the Crazy Golf Museum as it marks it's ninth birthday today.

Set up by Crazy Golf legend Tim 'Ace Man' Davies and me back on the 15th July 2010, the virtual musuem is a treasure trove and archive for all things minigolf.

There are so many marvellous things going in the world of miniature golf that there's new stuff to log and record every single day. The future of the game is looking bright too, with new courses opening, new tournaments to play in, milestones and anniversaries to be celebrated, and lots of minigolf fun to be had.

Visit the Crazy Golf Museum on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more information, photos, items, ephemera, stories, videos, postcards, games and more!

Happy birthday to the Crazy Golf Museum

The Crazy Golf Museum is eight years old today.

Many happy returns to the Crazy Golf Museum as it marks it's eighth birthday today.

Set up by Crazy Golf legend Tim 'Ace Man' Davies and me back on the 15th July 2010, the virtual musuem is a treasure trove and archive for all things minigolf.

There's so much stuff happening in the world of miniature golf that there's new stuff to log and record every single day. The future of the game is looking bright too, with new courses opening up around the world all the time.

Check out the Crazy Golf Museum website, Facebook and Twitter for more info.

Museum Week 2018

This week is Museum Week.

Running from the 23rd to 29th April, Museum Week is back for a fifth edition and celebrates the vital role culture, art, science and education plays in the development of societies, forging links which know no borders between women and men. This is why Museum Week 2018 is dedicated to shared values of living together, citizenship and tolerance.

The Crazy Golf Museum - the worldwide archive of miniature golf memories, histories and ephemera

Over the week there are seven different hashtags focusing on a different areas, with the overall theme of #womenMW.

Although the role of women in society is obviously just as important as that of men, it is far from being properly recognised. On Monday 23rd April Museum Week will focus on famous women in the fields of history, art, culture and science, as well as all those anonymous women whose lives structure our societies. Not women chosen for their beauty, but artists, intellectuals, workers, and so on.

The hashtags are:
#womenMW
#cityMW
#heritageMW
#professionalMW
#kidsMW
#natureMW
#differenceMW
#MuseumWeek

Find out more on the Museum Week website.

As a BIG fan of Miniature Golf and a Curator of the Crazy Golf Museum I wouldn't be doing what I am if it wasn't for women creating the game of minigolf.

Emily playing the world's first Miniature Golf course back in 2012

The world's first minigolf course was the Himalayas Putting course at St Andrews, Scotland. The layout was created in 1867 specifically for female players to use. Emily and I visited and played The Himalayas in 2012. It's a wonderful layout and a must-play course for fans of minigolf.

You can read more about the history of the St Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club on their website. It's interesting to note there had previously been a small putting area set-up before 1860, while the 9-hole course opened in 1867.

Today there is a 9-hole and an 18-hole course, both open to the public for a nominal charge.

Scorecard from the 2017 USPMGA Master's minigolf competition held at the Hawaiian Rumble Mini Golf course in North Myrtle Beach. Donated by Pat Sheridan of The Putting Penguin

A selection of Putt-Putt tokens from the Museum's vaults

Pencils from the Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Prestatyn

Some of the other key dates in world minigolf are:

• 1916 - The first minigolf course in the USA. James Barber opened the 'Thistle Dhu' layout in Pinehurst, NC.
• 1926 - The very first Crazy Golf course in the UK opened on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire, England.
• 1926 - The first artificial miniature golf course in the USA. Garnet Carter created the 'Tom Thumb' miniature golf course near Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, TN.
• National Miniature Golf Day always falls on the second Saturday in May.
• Miniature Golf Day is always on the 21st of September.
• 30th September marks the day we visited our first course on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2006.

Check out the Crazy Golf Museum website and Crazy Golf Museum-related blog posts for more info.

Urban Putt in San Francisco

Many thanks to our friend and minigolf rival (and sometimes team-mate) Kevin 'Max' Moseley for posting us a minigolf scorecard and pencil following his recent visit to Urban Putt in San Francisco, California.

It's always great to see and receive ephemera and collectibles from around the world. These are two fine additions to the Crazy Golf Museum's archives.

Check out the Urban Putt website for more information and to take a virtual tour of the indoor miniature golf course.

Related blog posts:
- The Crazy Golf Museum
- Kevin Moseley
- Scorecard
- Pencils

Links:
- Urban Putt website
- Urban Putt on Twitter
- Urban Putt on Facebook
- Urban Putt on Instagram

150 years of miniature golf

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the world's first miniature golf course.

The world's first miniature golf course

The Himalayas Putting course at St Andrews was created in 1867 specifically for female players to use. We visited and played The Himalayas in 2012. It's a wonderful layout and a must-do for fans of minigolf or 'regular' golf.



To mark the occasion, The British Golf Museum at St Andrews has created a special exhibition - Shining Examples: 150 years of the St Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club - which runs until March 2018.

What a view

You can read more about the history of the St Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club on their website. It's interesting to note there had previously been a small putting area set-up before 1860, while the 9-hole course opened in 1867.

The first hole on the 9-hole course sees you putting across a path

Today there is a 9-hole and an 18-hole course, both open to the public for a nominal charge.

A nice long tee-shot

We're looking forward to a return visit to St Andrews, a visit to the exhibition and a few more games on the famous links minigolf course.

Emily putting on The Himalayas

Visit The British Golf Museum at St Andrews and the St Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club websites to find out more.

The British Golf Museum was closed on our visit to St Andrews. Still, not going in gave us even more time to play The Himalayas

The Himalayas is a real pleasure to play

The Himalayas sits next to the Old Course at St Andrews

A long minigolf hole

 

Lots of challenging lumps and bumps

Look how hilly that route to the cup is

Playing the first hole on the 9-hole layout

The Rules

Other key dates in world minigolf are:

• 1916 - The first minigolf course in the USA. James Barber opened the 'Thistle Dhu' layout in Pinehurst, NC.
• 1926 - The very first Crazy Golf course in the UK opened on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire, England.
• 1926 - The first artificial miniature golf course in the USA. Garnet Carter created the 'Tom Thumb' miniature golf course near Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, TN.
• National Miniature Golf Day always falls on the second Saturday in May. In 2017 this will be on Saturday 13th May.
• Miniature Golf Day is always on the 21st of September, which is on a Thursday in 2017.
• 30th September marks the day we visited our first course on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2006.

Visit the World Minigolf Sport Federation's website for details of World Championships taking place this year, as well as events from their 62 member nations.

Check out the online Crazy Golf Museum for more information about the history of minigolf.

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.

Happy March

Find out about the Cumberland Pencil Museum in the Dull Men's Club 2017 Calendar.

The star of March in the Dull Men's Club 2017 Calendar is Dawn Walker, the Curator of the Cumberland Pencil Museum in Keswick.

March 2017

Back in 2012 we visited Keswick but didn't have time to visit the Cumberland Pencil Museum as we played the minigolf course at Hope Park instead.

Keswick was a wonderful spot for an afternoon of miniature golf

As well as being addicted to minigolf, we also run a museum dedicated to the world of Crazy Golf. We've got a lot of pencils in the archives. They've been an essential part of the game since it was invented in 1867.

Two of the many minigolf pencils stashed in the vaults of the Crazy Golf Museum

Our obsession with miniature golf has also got us included in the Dull Men's Club 2017 Calendar. You can see us in the month of July.

The Dull Men's Club is a place where dull men, and women who appreciate dull men, share thoughts and experiences about ordinary things

The Dull Men's Club 2017 calendar also features a cutlery sculptor, tombstone traveller, prefabricated buildings fan, lost glove spotter, a bubbleologist, giant pumpkin growers, a barbed wire enthusiast, a brown sign follower, village pump spotter, a vintage radio collector, and a couple who built a life-size railway station in their back garden.

Visit the Cumberland Pencil Museum website for more information.

Links:
- Dull Men's Club
- Cumberland Pencil Museum
- The Crazy Golf Museum

Related blog posts:
- Dull Men's Club
- Pencils
- Keswick

A visit to the Portland Basin Museum in Ashton-under-Lyne

A look at the Collector's World exhibition at the Portland Basin Museum in Ashton-under-Lyne.

We recently visited Ashton-under-Lyne and the Portland Basin Museum to see the Collector's World exhibition which is on display until the end of February.

I'd seen the Collector's World listed in the Tameside Reporter newspaper and as a collector of many things myself it was interesting to see the varied display of people's collections in the museum.

The various collections were displayed in some very nice pods

Medal, sticker and bottle collections

The Portland Basin Museum is well worth a visit and the curators there were incredibly enthusiastic and helpful. We only had time for a flying visit, but we'll be back for a longer look around in the future.

We had a great time in Ashton-under-Lyne

The Portland Basin Marina

Interacting with one of the museum's social history exhibits in the 1914-1918 Street

Eat Less Bread. Wise words indeed

Visit the Portland Basin Museum website for details of upcoming displays and opening times.

Link:
- Portland Basin Museum

Related blog posts:
- Ashton-under-Lyne
- Museum