Crazy World of Minigolf Tour update - June 2020

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic we were closing in on visiting the final 40 courses of the original 600 we set out to play in 2006. We're also very close to hitting 1,000 course visits overall.

Before the lockdown hit and our out-of-home putting was paused we'd visited 948 courses since September 2006.

We'd had a strong start to the year and visited 20 courses in the first 20 days of 2020.

We went to Wythenshawe Park just over the border in Manchester for our daily outdoor exercise on Sunday 21st June and revisited the Crazy Golf we first played in 2009. While there we also visited the currently closed Pitch & Putt Miniature Golf course. That became course visit 949 and the first new course since the pandemic hit.

During the lockdown I've been taking a look at minigolf and competitive socialising in the time of coronavirus and social distancing. You can read more in my post at 'The Coronavirus (Ham & Egger) Files'.

The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour before and during the lockdown

Last new course played before the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown - CLUB GOLF pop-up minigolf in King's Cross, London. 25th February 2020.

Last course played before the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown - Junkyard Golf at First Street in Manchester. 9th March 2020.

Last course visited before the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown - The Lost Valley Adventure Golf at Amazonia in the Market Place Shopping Centre, Bolton. 14th March 2020.

First course we visited on a daily walk that we saw with social distancing measures - Bruntwood Pitch & Putt in Cheadle Hulme. 23rd May 2020.

First previously played course visited during the Coronavirus pandemic - Crazy Golf at Wythenshawe Park in Manchester. 21st June 2020.

First new course visited during the Coronavirus pandemic - Pitch & Putt at Wythenshawe Park in Manchester. 21st June 2020.

Social distancing minigolf

We're interested in seeing examples of Covid-19 social distancing at minigolf courses around the world - from signage to scorecards we'd like to see them and share them.

If you're a course owner, minigolf club or player please do get in touch with your examples.

New courses opening

It's been good to hear that new miniature golf courses are still being planned, designed and built ready for the future.

We've found out about the following developments during lockdown.

• Construction is underway on Adventure Golf courses at Fairhaven Lake in Lytham St Annes.
• Work is nearing completion on the Woodland Adventure Golf course at China Fleet Country Club in Saltash, Cornwall.
• The Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf Club has been created in Bristol, with online Putt at Home activities taking place ahead of the building of a new Crazy Golf course.
• A new Ghetto Golf course could be heading to Sheffield.
• A new indoor Mini Golf venue is opening Birmingham.
• A new Mini Golf course has been installed at Sea Acres Holiday Park at Kennack Sands in Cornwall.
• A new Roxy Ball Room is being created at Withy Grove in Manchester, it'll be home to a minigolf course.
• And a new Adventure Golf course could be built in Andover, Hampshire.

If you know of any other new minigolf courses opening or are planning to create one please do let us know.

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Crazy Golf course at Wythenshawe Park, Manchester

A look at the Crazy Golf course at Wythenshawe Park in Manchester.

Hole 4 of the 9-hole layout

We visited Wythenshawe Park over the border in Manchester for our daily outdoor exercise yesterday.

On the first course since before the Coronavirus pandemic hit

The 9-hole Crazy Golf course is the first previously played Crazy Golf location we've revisited during the coronavirus pandemic.

The 9-hole course

It was the first time we've been to Wythenshawe Park since we played the course on the 25th July 2009 when it became the 114th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Bizarre really as technically it's our most local course!

We had asked a number of people if the course was still there since we moved to Stockport in 2016 but nobody knew anything about it, or said it was long gone.

So it was a nice surprise to see it was still there.

The park is also home to a Pitch & Putt miniature golf course. That became the first new course we've been to during the pandemic and the 949th visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

A view of the Pitch & Putt course

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NO GOLF at Appley Park in Ryde on the Isle of Wight

We couldn't find the Pitch & Putt course listed on the signpost either.

Pitch & Putt and NO GOLF signs in Appley Park

Social Distancing Minigolf

Seeing new signs at miniature golf courses.

While we're still in lockdown some outdoor minigolf courses have been allowed to reopen as long as they have put in place social distancing measures.

We've seen examples of these measures at our local Pitch & Putt course at Bruntwood Park in Cheadle Hulme.

While out on our daily outdoor exercise we've been photographing social media signs, posters and messages and logging them on Instagram as a record of the times we're living through.

We'd be interested to see the different Covid-19 / social distancing posters and signs at minigolf courses in the UK and around the world.

Take a look at the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Newsletter archive and sign-up to receive future editions

Definitions of minigolf

A look at names for the game of minigolf.

There are a number of different names for the game of minigolf. While there are some design standards for courses, most would be regarded as 'fantasy' courses where the end result is limited only by imagination, budgets and building regulations.

In the UK many people would refer to minigolf as crazy golf. This is the sign at the Crazy Golf course at Fletchers Family Garden Centre in Eccleshall, Staffordshire

Here's a look at the common names for the game of putting:

Minigolf (also Mini Golf, Mini-Golf, Miniature Golf) – Minigolf is a catch-all name for the game and can be used to describe every type of course no matter its make-up or design.

Some Pitch & Putt and Par-3 Golf courses also describe themselves as Minigolf / Miniature Golf.

Adventure Golf – Adventure Golf is a relatively new name for the game and mostly describes a course with theming such as pirates, jungles, dinosaurs and space.

Crazy Golf – Crazy Golf is a name most commonly used in the UK. It is seldom, if ever, used overseas except in tourist spots popular with UK natives.

An equivalent name in the USA would be Goofy Golf.

Mini-putt – Mini-putt courses are similar in appearance to Putt-Putt courses however they have distinct standardised hole designs and are particular to Canada.

"Mini-putt" is the Québécois term for the game of minigolf, thanks largely to the popularity of the Quebec cable sports show 'Défi mini-putt' in the 1970s and 80s.

Pitch & Putt – Sometimes Pitch & Putt courses will use the name Miniature Golf or Minigolf.

Putt-Putt – Putt-Putt is a trademark and denotes specific patented types of miniature golf courses. Most courses can be found in the USA, with some in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Putt-Putt is sometimes incorrectly used as a catch-all / interchangeable name with Minigolf to describe a course or the game.

Putting – Grass Putting courses and Putting Greens are a type of minigolf and are often found at the seaside or in parks and gardens.

We have found 91 synonyms, types and variants of minigolf on our travels to date.

What do you call the game? Do let us know in the comments.

Number of holes

Most minigolf courses consist of either 9 or 18 holes. There are also a number of 12-hole courses. Some venues have two, three or four separate 9-hole or 12-hole courses to create 36-hole centres.

There is a 4-hole course in Halifax, Yorkshire and a number of courses classify themselves as 19-hole courses by including a Lucky Last Hole where a free game can be won.

Pop-ups

There are also a number of pop-up minigolf courses created for retailtainment activity and promotions, sports tasters, marketing events, art installations and more.

Competitions

As well as being played as a fun, leisure activity there is also an official competition side to the game.

Tournament play is more established in continental Europe, although the UK and USA have governing bodies and hold a number of competitions each year.

World Minigolf Sport Federation

The World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF) is the governing body for minigolf and has 63 member nations. There are currently a further three countries awaiting recognition as full members.

• There are 900 registered member clubs worldwide.
• 38,000 people around the world play in a tournament each year.
• 1,000 approved tournament courses.
• 1,500+ competitions held each year.

Players competing in tournaments tend to use putters specially designed for the needs of minigolfers as well as minigolf balls made of rubber and designed with competition players in mind, allowing them to find the best hole-in-one shot.

Tournaments are held on four types of minigolf courses and the WMF has its own definitions:

Feltgolf – Feltgolf courses (also known as Swedish Felt) are a type of course made of a felt covered wooden base consisting of 18 holes from a selection of 32 standardised designs.

Concrete – Concrete courses (also known as Beton) are a type of course made of a concrete base with metal rails as borders. They consist of 18 standardised holes. Some courses have a mirror-image of certain designs.

Miniaturegolf – Miniaturegolf courses (also known as Eternit) are a type of course made of a thin concrete material consisting of 18 holes from a selection of 28 standardised designs.

Minigolf Open Standard (MOS) – these are courses that do not fit into the above standard types and would be more recognisable to most players in the UK and USA. MOS courses include Adventure Golf courses, Crazy Golf layouts and Minigolf courses that take inspiration from regular golf. Each hole on a WMF-sanctioned MOS course can range from 3 to 40 metres in length.

Competitions are also held on the Stern Golf and Cobi Golf systems, although these are not well known outside of Germany.

You can see the many types, styles and names of 'Minigolf' we've found on our travels in our blog post 'Types and Variants of Miniature Golf visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour'.

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Crazy Golf at Penwith Pitch & Putt in St Erth, Cornwall

A look back at the Crazy Golf course at Penwith Pitch & Putt in St Erth, Hayle, Cornwall.

It was one of 62 courses we visited during our two week holiday around the South West coast back in 2015.

The 18-hole course was the 37th visited on our South West trip, the 375th played and 636th course visited.

Playing Crazy Golf at Penwith Pitch & Putt in St Erth, Hayle, Cornwall

We've now been to 948 courses since September 2006.

Visit the Penwith Pitch & Putt website for more information.

Minigolf on the Great Orme in Llandudno

One of the funniest things I've seen during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown are the photos and videos of the mountain goats roaming around Llandudno town centre. They've got free reign as streets are free of people.

We really like visiting Llandudno and the Great Orme. The mountain is home to three miniature golf courses!

We haven't seen any mountain goats up there, but it was fun seeing the sheep there roaming freely near the toboggan run

The Rocky Pines Adventure Golf course at the summit is the highest minigolf course in the British Isles.

Half way down is the Alpine Adventure Golf course at the Llandudno Ski and Snowboard Centre.

If you head down to the town centre you'll find a Pitch & Putt course.

Once the world re-opens we're really looking forward to getting back out to the seaside.

Pitch & Putt and Crazy Golf at Shibden Park in Halifax

A look at the Pitch & Putt and Crazy Golf courses at Shibden Park in Halifax.

We visited Halifax in West Yorkshire for the first time on Saturday. We've been meaning to go there since we moved north in 2016 and finally found some time to a look round. We really liked the town and are looking forward to a return visit.

While there we played at the new Galactic Golf indoor adventure golf. Once we'd wandered around the town centre we drove out via Shibden Park where we knew there was a four-hole(!) Crazy Golf course.

The entrance to the two miniature golf courses

Up these steps is the strangest Crazy Golf course we've ever seen

Our friend and minigolf rival Brad Shepherd had played the course in 2015 and we were intrigued by the layout.

It certainly looks a lot different now to the summer of 2015!

Unplayable

Shibden Park is a nice spot and we enjoyed our walk round it. We also found it's home to a miniature railway.

As the park is quite large and we didn't fancy a wild goose chase looking for the Crazy Golf course I called Brad and he told me the course was next to a Pitch & Putt course. Another bonus.

Unfortunately as it's currently out of season neither the Pitch & Putt or Crazy Golf was playable on this occasion.

The Pitch & Putt course

But the Crazy Golf was certainly a sight to behold!

Blimey!

It looked like a minigolf course graveyard

The Pitch and Putt course at Shibden Park was the 936th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. The Crazy Golf course the 937th.

Hole 1

Hole 2 is there

Hole 3

Hole 4

A closer look at an obstacle

One of the best worst course visits we've made in the last thirteen years

Hole 1

Hole 2

Hole 3

Hole 4

Pitch and Putt at Ravenmeadow Golf Centre in Worcester

We visited the Ravenmeadow Golf Centre in Worcester last May to play the Jungle Safari Adventure Golf course there.

There's also a nice looking Pitch and Putt course at the venue.

We didn't have time for a game on the Pitch and Putt as well as we were en route to Southampton.

Pitch and Putt at Walton Hall and Gardens in Warrington

A look at the Pitch and Putt course at Walton Hall and Gardens in Warrington.

We've visited Walton Hall and Gardens in Warrington a couple of times on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The first time was to play the old Crazy Golf course and Putting Green back in 2009.

The second time was in 2016 when we played the new Adventure Golf course.

Next time we'll have to have a go on the Pitch and Putt course there.

Pitch & Putt at Appley Park in Ryde, Isle of Wight

Looking for, but not finding, the Pitch & Putt course at Appley Park in Ryde.

Back in October 2016 we revisited the Isle of Wight on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Our first stop was to the seaside town of Ryde where we had a look at the out of season Pirate Adventure Golf course at Peter Pan's Funfair and Amusements on the Esplanade.

We then headed towards Puckpool Park to play the Crazy Golf course there.

En route we passed through Appley Park and saw a sign for a Pitch & Putt course. However we couldn't find it.

Pitch & Putt was supposedly that way

No Golf allowed

Pitch & Putt Golf at the Lea Marston Hotel in Sutton Coldfield

A look at the Pitch & Putt course at the Lea Marston Hotel.

Back in September 2017 we stayed at the Lea Marston Hotel in Sutton Coldfield. The hotel had an on-site Pitch & Putt course.

A view from the first tee

The walkway between the hotel and golf course was netted to avoid being hit by errant shots from the driving range

Crazy Golf and Pitch & Putt at Trenance Gardens in Newquay

A look at the Crazy Golf and Pitch & Putt course at Trenance Gardens in Newquay.

During the summer of 2015 we visited 62 miniature golf courses on a two week road trip of the South West of England.

Two of those were at Trenance Gardens in Newquay, Cornwall.

A view of the Pitch & Putt course

The Crazy Golf course

Trenance Gardens is also home to a miniature railway.

The Little Western Railway