A new King Pins tenpin bowling & entertainment centre is opening at The Keep in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The Keep retail and leisure venue in Belfast will be home new a new King Pins tenpin bowling & entertainment centre. King Pins Belfast will have a mini golf course as part of its offering.
Information about new minigolf courses being built, in development and planned to open in the UK.
Minigolf is an incredibly popular activity for all ages and there are new mini-golf, crazy golf and adventure courses opening up all the time in a wide-range of outdoor and indoor locations.
Whereas the game in the UK was more traditionally a seaside pastime, over the last decade it has grown to be a game enjoyed by people in more urban settings - with many minigolf venues catering to a late night audience.
How many minigolf courses are there in the UK?
As at January 2025 there are approximately 1,370 minigolf courses around the UK and British Isles (including Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, and other islands). This includes public courses, as well as those at pay to enter attractions, holiday parks, hotels and other 'non-standard' locations.
Developments over the last two decades
When our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour travels began in 2006 there were around 600 courses in the British Isles. Only two of those original courses were indoor venues. Both of these were on the East Anglian coast (in Felixstowe and Great Yarmouth), and both locations still have minigolf courses. The indoor course at Manning's Amusements in Felixstowe has recently been removed and is being replaced by a brand new layout that is set to open in the same location at Easter this year.
As the year-round, indoor game is booming and you can find minigolf courses indoors at shopping centres, retail parks, and in town and city centres around the country.
The game was traditionally played on days out, short breaks and holidays, either at the seaside or on holiday camps. While the game has always been enjoyed by people old enough to pick up a putter, it has become a game played as much by groups of adults as it is by families.
The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
We've now been to a total of 1,075 miniature golf courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, with 1,017 of them in the British Isles. 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!
Of the original list of 600 we've still got to visit 39 of the public courses. In addition there are a further 150 courses at pay to enter attractions, hotels and holiday parks that we've not yet been to.
On top of these 189 courses from the original list there are hundreds more courses that have opened over the last 18 years! We tracked 320 courses that opened between May 2020 and July 2023. Between August 2023 and September 2024 a further 150 courses opened, or were in development. And between September 2024 and December 2024 another 27 new courses have been announced.
More new courses to come
There are 100+ new courses being created each year - some are on old sites/locations, some are completely new venues, while others are in planning/development, or under construction.
There are also quite a few other minigolf, crazy golf and adventure golf courses that are short-term 'pop-ups', some of which have been used as proof of concept businesses and developed into permanent courses.
A few things to note
Please note that minigolf in the UK is not an exact science and courses are opening, in planning/development, and being 'lost' quite often. Others are being refurbished, and some are completely renovated to the point where they could be considered entirely new courses.
Find new courses
For information about new minigolf, crazy golf, and adventure golf courses opening in the UK take a look at the posts with the 'New course' tag here on the Ham & Egger Files minigolf blog where I regularly post updates about new places to play the game.
Let's talk minigolf
If you know of a new course opening in the UK please do get in touch and let me know.
There are lots of new minigolf courses being built, in development or planned to open in the UK.
Minigolf is an incredibly popular activity for all ages and there are new courses opening up all the time in a wide-range of outdoor and indoor locations.
Whereas the game in the UK has traditionally been a seaside pastime, over the last decade it has grown to be a game enjoyed by people in more and more towns and cities - with many catering to a late night audience.
How many minigolf courses are there in the UK?
As at December 2024 there are approximately 1,370 minigolf courses around the UK and British Isles (including Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, and other islands). This includes public courses, as well as those at pay to enter attractions, holiday parks, hotels and other 'non-standard' locations.
Developments over the last two decades
When our travels began in 2006 there were around 600 courses in the British Isles. Only two of those original courses were indoor venues. Both of these were on the East Anglian coast (in Felixstowe and Great Yarmouth). The indoor course at Manning's Amusements in Felixstowe has recently been removed and is being replaced by a brand new layout that is set to open in the same location at Easter 2025.
Now the indoor game is booming and you can find minigolf courses indoors at shopping centres, retail parks, and in town and city centres around the country.
The game was traditionally played on days out, short breaks and holidays, either at the seaside or on holiday camps. While the game has always been enjoyed by people old enough to pick up a putter, it has become a game played as much by groups of adults as it is by families.
The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
We've now been to a total of 1,072 miniature golf courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, with 1,014 of them in the British Isles. 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!
Of the original list of 600 we've still got to visit 39 of the public courses. In addition there are a further 150 courses at pay to enter attractions, hotels and holiday parks that we've not yet been to.
On top of these 189 courses from the original list there are hundreds more courses that have opened over the last 18 years! We tracked 320 courses that opened between May 2020 and July 2023. Between August 2023 and September 2024 a further 150 courses have opened, or are in development. And between September 2024 and December 2024 another 27 new courses have been announced.
More new courses to come
There are 100+ new courses being created each year - some are on old sites/locations, some are completely new venues, while others are in planning/development, or under construction.
There are quite a few other minigolf, crazy golf and adventure golf courses that are short-term 'pop-ups', some of which have been used as proof of concept businesses and developed into permanent courses.
A few things to note
Please note that minigolf in the UK is not an exact science and courses are opening, in planning/development, and being 'lost' quite often. Others are being refurbished, and some are completely renovated to the point where they could be considered entirely new courses.
Find new courses
For information about new minigolf, crazy golf, and adventure golf courses opening in the UK take a look at the posts with the New course tag here on the Ham & Egger Files minigolf blog where I regularly post updates about new places to play the game.
Let's talk minigolf
If you know of a new course opening in the UK please do get in touch and let me know.
Glenpark Estate Festive Crazy Golf tees-off on the 6th December.
Glenpark Estate in Omagh, Northern Ireland will have an 18-hole Winter Wonderland Crazy Golf course set-up inside a marquee from Friday 6th December 2024 until Saturday 4th January 2025.
There are lots of new minigolf courses being built, in development or planned to open in the UK.
Minigolf is an incredibly popular activity for all ages and there are new courses opening up all the time in a wide-range of outdoor and indoor locations.
Whereas the game in the UK has traditionally been a seaside pastime, over the last decade it has grown to be a game enjoyed by people in more and more towns and cities - with many catering to a late night audience.
How many minigolf courses are there in the UK?
As at September 2024 there are approximately 1,350 minigolf courses around the UK and British Isles (including Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, and other islands). This includes public courses, as well as those at pay to enter attractions, holiday parks, hotels and other 'non-standard' locations.
Developments over the last two decades
When our travels began in 2006 there were around 600 courses in the British Isles. Only two of those original courses were indoor venues. Now the indoor game is booming and you can find minigolf courses indoors at shopping centres, retail parks, and in town and city centres around the country.
The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
We've now been to a total of 1,064 miniature golf courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, with 1,007 of them in the UK. 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!
Of the original list of 600 we've still got to visit 39 of the public courses. In addition there are a further 150 courses at pay to enter attractions, hotels and holiday parks that we've not yet been to.
On top of these 189 courses from the original list there are hundreds more courses that have opened over the last 18 years! We tracked 320 courses that opened between May 2020 and July 2023. And between August 2023 and September 2024 a further 150 courses have opened, or are in development.
More new courses to come
There are around 100 new courses being created each year - some are on old sites/locations, some are completely new venues, others are short-term 'pop-ups', while others are in planning/development, or under construction.
A few things to note
Please note that minigolf in the UK is not an exact science and courses are opening, in planning/development, and being 'lost' quite often. Others are being refurbished, and some are completely renovated to the point where they could be considered entirely new courses.
Find new courses
For information about new minigolf, crazy golf, and adventure golf courses opening in the UK take a look at the posts with the New course tag here on the Ham & Egger Files minigolf blog where I regularly update about new places to play the game.
Let's talk minigolf
If you know of a new course opening in the UK please do get in touch and let us know.
Information about new adventure golf, crazy golf and miniature golf courses in the UK.
For information about new minigolf, crazy golf, and adventure golf courses opening in the UK take a look at the posts with the New course tag here on the Ham & Egger Files minigolf blog.
Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
Up to Saturday 30th December 2023 we had visited a total of 1,044 miniature golf courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. 997 of these have been in the British Isles.
Visiting the Crazy Golf course at the end of the Pier in Southend-on-Sea
Our minigolfing adventures began on the 30th September 2006 and in that time we've been able to play a total of 573 courses. Many locations have been found to be abandoned, closed, out-of-season or derelict on our initial visit. Luckily some courses that were closed on our original visit have since been played. And there are some course we've revisited and replayed many many times!
When we originally set off to visit as many courses as possible the target list was 600 in the British Isles. We've still got around 50 of those original courses to visit.
Only two of those original courses were indoor venues. Now the indoor game is booming and you can find minigolf courses indoors at shopping centres, retail parks, and in town and city centres around the country.
Together with my brother Christopher - a charter member of the tour - and his family, we've visited a total of 1,090 courses.
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!
We haven't been to Northern Ireland for a fair few years and the course at the Brunswick Moviebowl will be another to add to our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.
Information about new adventure golf, crazy golf and miniature golf courses in the UK.
There are lots of new minigolf courses being built, in development or planned to open in the UK.
Minigolf is an incredibly popular activity for all ages and there are new courses opening up all the time in a wide-range of outdoor and indoor locations.
Whereas the game has traditionally been a seaside pastime, it has grown to be a game enjoyed by people in more and more towns and cities - with many catering to a late night audience.
Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
Up to Saturday 30th December 2023 we had visited a total of 1,044 miniature golf courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. 997 of these have been in the British Isles.
Moby Golf in Romford, Essex
Our minigolfing adventures began on the 30th September 2006 and in that time we've been able to play a total of 573 courses. Many locations have been found to be abandoned, closed, out-of-season or derelict on our initial visit. Luckily some courses that were closed on our original visit have since been played. And there are some course we've revisited and replayed many many times!
When we originally set off to visit as many courses as possible the target list was 600 in the British Isles. We've still got around 50 of those original courses to visit.
Only two of those original courses were indoor venues. Now the indoor game is booming and you can find minigolf courses indoors at shopping centres, retail parks, and in town and city centres around the country.
Together with my brother Christopher - a charter member of the tour - and his family, we've visited a total of 1,089 courses.
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!
For information about new minigolf, crazy golf, and adventure golf courses opening in the UK take a look at the posts with the New course tag here on the Ham & Egger Files minigolf blog.
There are plans for a new entertainment centre in Belfast city centre.
Part of the former Debenhams store in Belfast is planned to become an entertainment centre with a crazy golf course, laser tag, escape rooms, VR experiences and more.
The new indoor minigolf course at CastleCourt in Belfast will be another new course and venue for us to visit on a return trip to Northern Ireland on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.
The last few years has seen a number of former retail units becoming entertainment venues with a fair few minigolf, crazy golf and adventure golf layouts setting up shop in the locations.
With the demise of Debenhams as a high street presence there is a lot of empty real estate open to the opportunity that retailtainment offers.
There are Mini Golf courses at Airtastic Entertainment Centres in Craigavon and Cork.
You can now find space-themed indoor mini golf courses at the Airtastic Entertainment Centres in Craigavon, Northern Ireland and Cork, Republic of Ireland.
Details of new miniature golf courses opening in the UK.
Do you want to have a guess where the next new minigolf course will be opening in the UK?
So far this year new miniature golf courses have been announced to be opening / have opened in Walsall, Pembrey, Crawley, Northampton, Edinburgh, Newcastle upon Tyne, Norwich, Hull (two venues), Rochdale, York, Leeds (two venues), King's Cross London, Harrow in London, Reading, Milton Keynes and Glasgow.
There's also going to be a new adventure golf course at Les Mielles Golf & Country Club in Jersey.
If you know of a new minigolf course opening do let us know in the comments.
If you are interested in installing or building a minigolf course and would like to receive specialist help, Richard Gottfried is able to provide experience, knowledge and support for all aspects of minigolf business, at any stage of the process. Get in touch to find out more.
Captain Green's Space Adventure Golf now open in Craigavon, Northern Ireland.
Captain Green's Space Adventure Golf opened earlier this year and is home to two 18-hole indoor Adventure Golf courses.
We're looking forward to visiting Green's Space Adventure Golf on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We haven't been over to Northern Ireland for a while and need to re-ignite our minigolf rivalry with our friends and fellow minigolf enthusiasts Mark Swain and Craig McAllister.
Spotting the bootleg A-Team van in Southend on Sea reminded me of this superb knock-off we spotted in Belfast way back in 2010. There's so much to like about the vehicle and its signage!
The people behind this van's paint job must've been rascals!
Winning a Pirates Adventure Golf Facebook Competition!
The team at Pirates Adventure Golf in Dundonald, Belfast, Northern Ireland have recently been running a number of online competitions to win Pirates Adventure Golf Goodies and I won the competition on Tuesday 11th December :-)
Back in August 2010 Emily and Ivisited and played at Pirates Adventure Golf. There are two 18-hole Adventure Golf courses there - Blackbeard's Adventure and The Captain's Challenge - and they became the 188th and 189th courses we played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. Very good fun and testing courses they are too. While in Northern Ireland we played a Minigolf Challenge Tournament (the NIBBAL-IT) against Northern Ireland's top Minigolfers - Mark 'The Horse Whisperer' Swain and Craig 'Kamikaze' McCallister, with the Bangor Minigolf Club members winning the contest.
The year of Minigolfing competitions started in England with the Luton Invitational Minigolf Tournament on the 1st January 2010, followed by the first British Minigolf Association (BMGA) Tour event of the year on the 24th January at the BMGA National Open at Adventure Island Mini Golf, Star City, Birmingham.
And of course the final of the four home nations visited was Wales, where we competed 2010 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament) at the 9-hole Crazy Golf course at Tredegar Park, Newport.
Since our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour began on the 30th September 2006 we have now visited 249 minigolf, crazy golf, adventure golf, miniature golf and putting courses all over the UK.
Our recent trip to Bangor, Belfast, Antrim and Larne in Northern Ireland completed the list of home nations visited to play Miniature Golf on the Irregular Mini Golf Tour, The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, and the BMGA Tour.
On our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour we've also headed to a few other 'Islands' within the British Isles. Back in 2008 we visited the Isle of Wight and Hayling Island (for Minigolf, Shooting Shacks, Rollercoasters, Miniature Steam Railways and Scarecrows), and in 2008 and 2009 we also visited Canvey Island.
In July 2010 we even found ourselves in New England!
Other countries we've visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour include Finland (once), USA (thrice - 1, 2, 3) and Austria (once). Although there wasn't a minigolf course there and it's not on a map(!?) we did drive through Egypt on the way back from a Minigolf Tour in August 2010!
On Saturday 31st July and Sunday 1st August the first ever Northern Ireland Belfast Bangor Antrim & Larne Invitational Tournament (NIBBAL-IT) trophy was contested between the Bangor Minigolf Club and the visiting Luton Wanderers Minigolf Club.
The 2010 NIBBAL-IT Champions - The Bangor MGC - l-r, Mark Swain, Craig McCallister.
The 2010 NIBBAL-IT Runners-Up - The Luton Wanderers MGC - l-r, Emily Gottfried, Richard Gottfried.
The NIBBAL-IT was played on four courses and comprised seven rounds, totalling 126-holes. The team tournament was won by the Bangor MGC with 47 points to the Luton Wanderers MGC's 32 points in the point-play system used to decide the NIBBAL-IT Champions.
The competitors receive their prizes (also pictured Eva McCallister - Bangor MGC Team Mascot).
Mark Swain, Co-Captain of Bangor MGC said "It feels fantastic. We used the home advantage well. It’s great to win."
Craig McCallister, Co-Captain of Bangor MGC said "It’s nice to win, despite my great efforts not to. I look forward to the return leg in Luton."
In the individual standings Mark 'The Horse Whisperer' Swain won the gold medal, by 15 clear shots of runner-up 'Squire' Richard Gottfried. Craig 'Kamikaze' McCallister was third. Emily 'Coach' Gottfried took the NIBBLA(sic)-IT Wooden Spoon in fourth place.
The final individual strokeplay rankings were:
1st - Mark 'The Horse Whisperer' Swain (NI & BMGC) - 293(+41)
2nd - 'Squire' Richard Gottfried (ENG & LWMGC) - 308(+56)
3rd - Craig 'Kamikaze' McCallister (NI & BMGC) - 325(+73)
4th - Emily 'Coach' Gottfried (ENG & LWMGC) - 332(+80)
Defeated tourist Richard Gottfried of the Luton Wanderers MGC said "What a fantastic tournament weekend in Northern Ireland. It was great to compete against such nice opponents in a fun, but very competitive tournament. The courses, the format of the competition and the quality of the players involved meant that the outcome was hard to predict. Mark and Craig's knowledge of the PAG course in Belfast, coupled with them being used to the inclement Northern Irish weather conditions certainly played into their favour. I can't wait for the 2011 NIBBAL-IT tournament now."
Emily Gottfried said "It was a really great tournament. All four course were challenging in their own way, so we all had a chance to take the lead during the seven rounds. Congratulations to Mark for his well-deserved win, and thanks also to Mark and Craig for a tough, but thoroughly enjoyable, doubles competition!"
The tournament began early on Saturday 31st July at the 18-hole Pirate themed Junction Jack's Adventure Golf course in Antrim, where the opening two NIBBAL-IT rounds were contested. After round one the Luton Wanderers MGC led by four points. After round two the score was ten points apiece.
Round three took place at the 18-hole Minigolf course at Larne's Carnfunnock Country Park. With Mark Swain winning the round with a score of 48(+12) to see the Bangor MGC take an overnight lead with 19 points to the Luton Wanderers' 15 points.
The day one standings were as follows:
Teams:
1st - Bangor MGC
2nd - Luton Wanderers MGC
Individuals:
1st - Mark 'The Horse Whisperer' Swain (NI & BMGC) - 132
2nd - 'Squire' Richard Gottfried (ENG & LWMGC) - 142
3rd - Craig 'Kamikaze' McCallister (NI & BMGC) - 146
4th - Emily 'Coach' Gottfried (ENG & LWMGC) - 151
The second and final day's play took place at the Bangor MGC's current home courses, at the 36-hole Pirates Adventure Golf centre in Dundonald, Belfast.
Two rounds were played on the Blackbeard's Adventure course first, with the standings after four rounds with Bangor MGC ahead by seven points.
After round five Bangor MGC led by five points. In the individual standings Mark had lost his 10-shot lead and shared first place with Richard heading into the final 36-holes on the Captain's Challenge course.
After the sixth round Mark had regained the lead, which also helped the Bangor MGC extend their lead to 11 points.
The inaugural NIBBAL-IT Trophy and Title was eventually won in round seven on the 5th hole, and saw the Bangor MGC lift their first piece of sliverware since Mark Swain won the Top Local Championship at the 2007 BMGA Irish Open.
Photos and Videos from the NIBBAL-IT 2010.
Rounds 1&2 at Antrim
Videos - Action from Antrim's Junction Jack's Adventure Golf course.
Round 3 at Larne
Video - Action from Larne's Minigolf at Carnfunnock Country Park.
Rounds 4-7 at Belfast
Video - The new NIBBAL-IT Champions - The Bangor MGC - Interviewed Following the Tournament.
The prestigious title will be contested again at the NIBBAL-IT (Northern Ireland Bangor Bedfordshire and Luton - Invitational Tournament) in 2011.
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