Old Miniature golf postcards from Brighton

A look at four old miniature golf postcards from Brighton.

Emily and I have found some brilliant old postcards at fairs, charity shops, car boot sales, antique shops and online over the years. Some are quite new and date from the 2000's, while others are from the early 1900's. We also really enjoy finding brand new postcards on sale at minigolf courses we visit.

Three of the same location.

One of the first minigolf course postcards I bought is also the earliest dated minigolf postcard I have of Brighton. The colourised card shows the 'Miniature Golf Links, Brighton' and was posted from Brighton to West Harrow on the 29th August 1927.

Miniature Golf Links, Brighton. Postally used 29 August 1927. Publisher unknown

The next dated card I have shows the 'New Miniature Golf Course and Carpet Gardens, Brighton' - the same course as above - and was posted from Wolverton in Buckinghamshire to Rochester, Kent on the 27th May 1928.

New Miniature Golf Course and Carpet Gardens, Brighton. Postally used 27 May 1928. Publisher unknown

The Tuck's card No. 2162 I have shows the same area and is captioned 'Lower Parade & Miniature Golf course, Brighton'. It was posted from Brighton to Fulham on the 10th October 1928. However, looking at the course, surrounding area and the clothing people are wearing I would suggest the course was the first to be on the site and was there pre-1927.

Lower Parade & Miniature Golf course, Brighton. Postally used 10 October 1928. Tuck's Photogravure Postcard No. 2162

The pier in the background of those three postcards is the West Pier.

One of a different old course

The next dated card was posted from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire to Lancing, Sussex on the 15th April 1945. This card is captioned 'Aquarium & Palace Pier showing Miniature Golf Links, Brighton'.

Aquarium & Palace Pier showing Miniature Golf Links, Brighton. Postally used 15 April 1945. Publisher unknown

Playing minigolf in Brighton

We've played minigolf in Brighton a number of times over the years but haven't been to the south coast seaside resort for quite some time. We'll need to revisit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour to see what's new there.

The 12th course visited on our travels was on the seafront in Brighton. This was back in July 2007

One of the first courses played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour was the Crazy Golf on the seafront near the Palace Pier back in 2007.

Miniature Golf in Denton Gardens, Worthing through the years

Denton Gardens in Worthing, West Sussex has been home to miniature golf for 100 years.

Minigolf was first played in Denton Gardens on Tuesday 1st July 1924.

The gardens next to the seafront are now home to the 18-hole Splash Point Mini Golf course.

The 18-hole Splash Point Mini Golf course was the 181st played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in 2010 and we've returned several times since that first visit. It's one of my favourite courses to play as it's areal test of putting skill and a unique set of holes and obstacles to tackle.

Playing Splash Point Mini Golf in 2019

Playing the course in 2010

Worthing, Denton Gardens, Putting Green. The Photochrom Co Ltd. Posted  to Birchington, Kent on 30 July 1928

Putting Green, Denton Gardens, Worthing. Photogravure by S. & E. Ltd., Hastings. Postally unused. Undated

A postcard showing the Putting Green, Denton Park, Worthing - it's unposted and undated

The Putting Green, Denton Gardens, Worthing. Picture Post Card by Wardell's. Postally unused. Undated

Check out the Splash Point Mini Golf website for more information.

Millport Crazy Golf on the Isle of Cumbrae

A look at the Crazy Golf course in Millport on the Isle of Cumbrae.

A big thanks to our friend and minigolf rival John Moore for sending over this photo of the Crazy Golf course in Millport on the Isle of Cumbrae, Scotland from his recent trip there.

Millport Crazy Golf course. Photo by John Moore

Earlier this summer another of our friends, Seth Thomas, sent us a snap of the course.

We played the course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour ten years ago while in Scotland for the Commonwealth Games. It's a lovely island to visit and just a short ferry voyage from Largs.

One of the postcards in our collection is this nice Valentine's "Silveresque" style postcard that shows the Crazy Golf course as it looked in the 1960s. It's still recognisable today. The course has had the addition of felt/carpet to the holes since we visited a decade ago. Hopefully we'll return one day.

Crazy Golf, Millport, Isle of Cumbrae. A Valentine's "Silveresque" 3059V Style Postcard, published by Valentine & Sons Ltd. Dundee and London. Postally used at 4.15pm on the 4th June 1964 and mailed from Millport itself

Check out the Millport Crazy Golf Facebook Page for more information.

Barry Island Resort 1995 Information & Entertainment Guide

A look at the Barry Island Resort 1995 Information & Entertainment Guide.

The Barry Island Resort 1995 Information & Entertainment Guide

As a big fan of the British seaside and traditional holiday entertainment I was pleased to find a Barry Island Resort 1995 Information & Entertainment Guide a while back.

Seeing the Barry Island Resort 1995 Information & Entertainment Guide brought back so many happy memories.

My family used to go on holiday to Barry Island in the late 80's and 90's and loved it there. The holiday camp was absolutely marvellous, with everything from swimming to Crazy Golf, to snooker and darts, to the fun fair and more - all free of charge once you had checked in. My brother's and I would spend hours going from one activity to another and then spend the evening in the arcades playing games such as Blasteroids, Xybots, Double Dragon and Wardner. Halcyon days.

Check out the six-page Barry Island Resort 1995 Information & Entertainment Guide. As a former holidaymaker at the camp, fan of the British seaside, postcard collector and marketer it makes for interesting reading - especially some of the adverts!

What a cover

There was always so much to do at Barry Island

The entertainment continues

Back when you could still advertise cigarettes!

A great bit of marketing and use of a postcard image

I spent many an hour at building 5 - Princes Ballroom as that's where the Crazy Golf, snooker and arcade was 

Barry Island Resort was originally a Butlin's holiday camp in 1966 and was re-opened as a Majestic holiday camp in the 1980's. Sadly it closed for good in 1996 and was demolished to make way for housing.

I've returned to Barry Island - in 2009, 2010 and 20192019. Apart from the disappearance of the holiday camp there were some new attractions, but the resort was still recognisable from the 90's.

Minigolf in Denton Gardens, Worthing

Denton Gardens in Worthing, West Sussex is 100 years old today. There has been minigolf of one kind or another there for many of those years.

It's now home to the 18-hole Splash Point Mini Golf course.

Minigolf was first played in Denton Gardens on Tuesday 1st July 1924.

The 18-hole Splash Point Mini Golf course was the 181st played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Playing Splash Point Mini Golf in 2019

Playing the course in 2010

Worthing, Denton Gardens, Putting Green. The Photochrom Co Ltd. Posted  to Birchington, Kent on 30 July 1928

Putting Green, Denton Gardens, Worthing. Photogravure by S. & E. Ltd., Hastings. Postally unused. Undated

A postcard showing the Putting Green, Denton Park, Worthing - it's unposted and undated

The Putting Green, Denton Gardens, Worthing. Picture Post Card by Wardell's. Postally unused. Undated

National Postcard Week

Happy National Postcard Week.

This week is National Postcard Week in the USA.

Post Card - Jekyll Island, Gergia. Golf House and miniature golf course. Marsh Post Card Service. Postally unused, undated

We're huge fans of sending and receiving postcards and have built up a big collection of minigolf, crazy golf, putting and adventure golf postcards over the years.

Post Card - South of the Border. South Carolina at the N.C. - S.C. Border. ACE-HI ADVERTISING, INC. Postally unused, undated

Post Card. Grand Haven State Park, Grand Haven, Michigan. Water Wonderland Card Company. Postally unused, undated

• When did you last send a postcard?

• When did you last receive a postcard?

• Do you have a favourite postcard?

Check out Reflections of a Bygone Age for more information on postcard collecting.

The 2022 Picture Postcard Annual is available now and includes a feature that I wrote about Butlin's Monorails.

Butlinland Skegness – Putting Green and Monorail by John Hinde Studios. Sent on 4 Aug 1980

Here's a selection of postcards from our collection.

Bridlington Princes Parade. The Spa Boating Lake. Photochrom Co. Ltd.

Crazy Golf, North Shore, Blackpool. 50. Bamforth Post Card. Unposted. Undated

A Weetabix Gang Crazy Mini Golf Weeta-Card postcard from 1983

Pat Regan's Putting Green in Broadstairs - postcard. Undated

Miniature Golf Links, Brighton. Postally used 29 August 1927

One of two postcard designs you can find at Splash Point Mini Golf in Worthing

Worthing, Denton Gardens, Putting Green. The Photochrom Co Ltd. Posted to Birchington, Kent on 30 July 1928

Butlinland Minehead. Crazy Golf and Chair Lift. John Hinde Studios. 24 May 1976

Putting Green, Great Yarmouth. Postcard postally used on the 11th November 1927. Publisher unknown

A mini golf putting postcard from Burgh Hall in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk

A look at a miniature golf postcard from our collection.

Here's a postcard showing a mini golf grass putting course at Burgh Hall Country Club Chalet & Caravan Park in the 1970s.

The card was posted to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne from Lowestoft, Suffolk on the 24th May 1977.

BURGH HALL COUNTRY CLUB postcard. Posted 24 May 1977

We'll be heading back to Great Yarmouth this summer for the Big Mini Golf Tour taking place across miniature golf courses in Great Yarmouth, Hemsby and Gorleston-on-Sea.

A minigolf postcard from Pontin's Holiday Village in Hemsby, Norfolk

A look at a minigolf postcard from our collection.

Here's a long-lost Crazy Golf course depicted on a Pontin's multi-view postcard of the Hemsby Holiday Village in Hemsby, Norfolk.

PONTIN'S HOLIDAY VILLAGE, HEMSBY, NORFOLK R5713 by Photo Precision Limited, St Ives. Unposted, undated

The layout is of the Eternit Miniature Golf style - a rarity on these shores.

We'll be heading back to Hemsby this summer for the Big Mini Golf Tour taking place across miniature golf courses in Great Yarmouth, Hemsby and Gorleston-on-Sea.

You can play minigolf at the Lost World Adventure Golf and Stonehenge Adventure Golf in the seaside town of Hemsby.

A minigolf postcard from Great Yarmouth. Sent in 1927

Stepping back in time for a look at minigolf in Great Yarmouth in the 1920s.

One of the earliest miniature golf postcards I have in my collection is this one showing the Putting Green on Marine Parade in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

Putting Green, Great Yarmouth. Postcard postally used on the 11th November 1927

The postcard was sent to Hayes, Middlesex on the 11th November 1927.

You can see the Hippodrome in the left of the image and this building is still standing and is the Hippodrome Circus on St George's Road. If you visit now you'll find a row of buildings in front of the Hippodrome itself!

You will also find that there is still a minigolf course on the same spot as the Putting Green.

Castaway Island Adventure Golf on Marine Parade in Great Yarmouth in 2016

Now called Castaway Island Adventure Golf the site was an Arnold Palmer Putting Course that we played a number of times on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Playing the Arnold Palmer Putting Course on Marine Parade in Great Yarmouth in June 2011

It's proof, if proof were needed, that Great Yarmouth has long been a minigolf hot-spot.

Minigolf Putting in the UK

The first miniature golf course in the world was created at St Andrews in Scotland in 1867. That links course is still there.

The decades that followed saw a boom in the game with minigolf courses popping up around the country. In 1926 the first Crazy Golf course opened in England, with the layout created on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire.

Minigolf in Great Yarmouth

There are a number of brilliant mini, crazy, putting and adventure golf courses on the seafront in Great Yarmouth, as well as in the wider Greater Yarmouth areas of Gorleston-on-Sea and Hemsby.

The minigolf courses in the seaside resort will play host to the Big Mini Golf Tour - a campaign to highlight the courses in the area this Spring and Summer season.

Butlin's Monorails in the Picture Postcard Annual

The 2022 Picture Postcard Annual is out now.

Picture Postcard Annual 2022

The new Picture Postcard Annual is available now and includes a feature that I wrote about Butlin's Monorails.

Butlinland Skegness – Putting Green and Monorail by John Hinde Studios. Sent on 4 Aug 1980

There's a lot of great content in the annual including a wide-range of features, event listings, dealer contacts and more.

You can buy the 2022 Picture Postcard Annual from the Reflections of a Bygone Age website.

We made it to one postcard fair this year - at Stockport Town Hall - and we're looking forward to hunting for more old postcards of minigolf, monorails and holiday camps next year.

Monorails and minigolf!

Check out my latest post about Butlin's monorails on the Reflections of a Bygone Age blog.

A Typical Butlin Monorail. Postcard S25. Skegness 1971

Splash Point Mini Golf at Denton Gardens in Worthing

A look at the Splash Point Mini Golf course in Worthing's Denton Gardens.

We last got to visit and play at Splash Point Mini Golf in Denton Gardens, Worthing in April 2019. It's one of the best courses in the country and a favourite of ours to play.

The unique 18-hole layout has a range of challenging holes to play and we've enjoyed playing official tournaments and 'fun' competitions between ourselves there over the years.

It'll be ace to be able to get down for another game there again soon.

The front nine

The back nine

Minigolf in Denton Gardens

Minigolf has been played in Denton Gardens since 1924 and the excellent 18-hole Splash Point Mini Golf course opened in 2010 and has proved popular with locals, holidaymakers, day trippers and professional minigolfers ever since.

Worthing, Denton Gardens, Putting Green. The Photochrom Co Ltd. Posted  to Birchington, Kent on 30 July 1928

The layout was the 181st course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We're now up to 956 courses visited on our travels since September 2006.

Visit the Splash Point Mini Golf website and follow the course on Twitter.