Showing posts with label Prestatyn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prestatyn. Show all posts

Thursday, December 20, 2018

A Crazy Golf 'holy grail'

Finding a rare Crazy Golf postcard.


As a keen postcard collector I'm always on the lookout for new views of miniature golf courses and while at the December postcard fair in Stockport I found something of a holy grail in the world of minigolf postcards.


A postcard of Pontin's Prestatyn Holiday Village, Central Beach, North Wales. Postally Used 8 July 1977 Photo Precision Limited
The Eternit Miniature Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Village. This Photo Precision Limited postcard was sent on the 8th July 1977

Not only is the card a full view of a Crazy Golf course, but it also has a message on the back about playing Crazy Golf! In the thousands of minigolf postcards I've got this is one of only a few that mentions playing the game and the only one specifically saying "Crazy Golf".

A postcard of Pontin's Prestatyn Holiday Village, Central Beach, North Wales. Postally Used 8 July 1977 Photo Precision Limited
The sender was having quite the holiday in Prestatyn by the sound of it - playing Crazy Golf every day!

The Grand Hotel is now The Beaches Hotel. Sadly the Crazy Golf course is long gone. On our last holiday in Prestatyn we popped into the hotel bar for a drink. The patio area there has a nice sea view.

The Beaches Hotel in Prestatyn
A view of the area in front of the hotel. The plot of land between the hotel and Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park is now a car park

The Beaches Hotel in Prestatyn
Another view of where the Crazy Golf course once was

Luckily there is still a Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park. It's near the main entrance and back in 2014 became the 348th played and 582nd visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Crazy Golf course at Pontins Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park
The Crazy Golf course at Pontins Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

Related blog posts:
- Postcards
- Prestatyn
- Pontins

Wednesday, November 01, 2017

The Butler Cup Holiday on the Buses Crazy Golf tournament

Part of the Holiday on the Buses Weekender in Prestatyn is a Crazy Golf tournament organised by the On the Buses Fan-club and held at the Bastion Road Crazy Golf course.

The On the Buses Fan-club at Prestatyn's Crazy Golf course
The characters of the On the Buses Fan-club

The Butler Cup tournament has two categories - Pro and Amateur - as quite a few professional minigolfers are also members of the fan-club! In 2014 Emily won the first edition to feature the Pro category. Brad Shepherd won the 2015 event, while no tournament was held in 2016.

Prestatyn's Crazy Golf course
Playing a very tough plateau obstacle

The 2017 competition took place on Sunday 24th September and saw 23 players compete in one 18-hole round shoot-out.

Prestatyn's Crazy Golf course
Chris Jones leads off the tournament

In the Butler Cup contest for Pro players staying at Pontins for the Fan-club Weekender I scored a round of 35(-1) to take the win - a far-cry from my dismal sixth place finish in 2014. Alan 'Stormin' Norman shot a 37 to take the runner-up spot, with Emily in third on 38.

The Butler Cup Champion for 2017
The Butler Cup Champion for 2017

Also competing in the Pro category were Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd who scored 39, Seth 'Wandsworth' Thomas who hit a 40 and Chris Jones who shot a 43.

The Holiday on the Buses and Prestatyn's Crazy Golf course get the thumbs-up
The Holiday on the Buses and Prestatyn's Crazy Golf course get the thumbs-up

In the Holiday on the Buses Amateur category Ad Burton took the win with a score of 49, with Paul Thompson runner-up with a round of 51.

Ad Burton and Richard Gottfried - Prestatyn's Crazy Golf Champions
Ad Burton and me - Prestatyn's Crazy Golf Champions

Local minigolf professional Peter 'The Crazy Aced Assassin' Jones shot the low score of 33 to take the overall honours on the day.

Prestatyn's Crazy Golf course
Playing hole 2

Prestatyn's Crazy Golf course
Emily on the 1st

Prestatyn's Crazy Golf course
A classic Arnold Palmer Putting Course hole and a good chance of a hole-in-one

Check out the On the Buses Fan-club's website for more information.

Related blog posts:
- Prestatyn
- On the Buses
- Holiday on the Buses
- Crazy Golf in Prestatyn

Link:
- The On the Buses Fan-club

Prestatyn Crazy Golf

A visit to the Crazy Golf course in Prestatyn.


Prestatyn Crazy Golf

On Sunday 24th September we returned to the Crazy Golf course on Bastion Road in Prestatyn.

Prestatyn Crazy Golf
A view of the course from the first tee

It's a superb 18-hole Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course and is in great condition.

Prestatyn Crazy Golf
The course gets a big thumbs-up

Prestatyn Crazy Golf
One of the best courses in the country

The course was originally the 147th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in 2009. We revisited the course in September 2014.

Prestatyn Crazy Golf
The flat loop on hole 18 has been replaced since our last visit

Prestatyn Crazy Golf
I won another FREE GAME on the lucky last hole

One of the additions to the brilliant venue are some new benches!

Bench at Prestatyn Crazy Golf
Having a nice sit down

Bench at Prestatyn Crazy Golf

Bench at Prestatyn Crazy Golf
  
Bench at Prestatyn Crazy Golf

We were in town and staying at the Pontins Holiday Park as part of a Holiday on the Buses Weekender. Part of the event is the annual Butler Cup Crazy Golf tournament.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Minigolf Course Visit No. 147 - Arnold Palmer Putting at Prestatyn
- Crazy Golf in Prestatyn
- Prestatyn

Friday, October 06, 2017

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Camp

A revisit to the Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park.


Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands holiday park
The ten-hole Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands holiday park

On our Holiday on the Buses at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands we revisited the 10-hole Crazy Golf course at the camp. It's had a lick of paint, some new felt and a change in some of the obstacles since we played the layout in 2014.

Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands holiday park
The castle / fort's walls are a lot more colourful than before

The course was the 348th played and 582nd visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands holiday park
Hole 1 

Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands holiday park
Hole 2 

Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands holiday park
Hole 3

Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands holiday park
Hole 4

Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands holiday park

Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands holiday park
Hole 6 

Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands holiday park
Hole 6

Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands holiday park
Hole 6 

Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands holiday park
Hole 6 

Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands holiday park
Hole 7

Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands holiday park
Hole 8

Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands holiday park
Hole 9 

Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands holiday park
Hole 10

Visit the Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park website for more information.

We've also played Crazy Golf at the Pontin's holiday park at Camber Sands. Our friends Sophia and Karl Moles recently guest blogged about the Adventure Golf course at Pontin's Pakefield holiday park.

Link:
Pontin's Prestatyn Sands

Related blog posts:
- Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park
Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
Holiday on the Buses
Prestatyn
Pontins

Thursday, October 05, 2017

Foot Pool at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands

Playing another new game on our travels.

We recently stayed at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands for a Holiday on the Buses fanclub event and while there we got to play a new game - Foot Pool!

Foot Pool at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Camp
The Foot Pool / Football Pool table at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Camp

It was great fun and an interesting mix of the two sports.

Foot Pool at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Camp
The Rules

In our match-up I defeated Emily two games to nil.

Foot Pool at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Camp
Emily playing a shot

Foot Pool at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Camp
Booting the footpool football

Link:

- Pontin's Prestatyn Sands

Related blog posts:
- Sports and Games Played
- Holiday on the Buses
- Pontins
- Prestatyn

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Holiday on the Buses in Prestatyn

We've just returned from a Holiday on the Buses weekender at Pontins in Prestatyn.

On our roadtrip we played and revisited a number of courses in Rhos on Sea, Abergele & Pensarn, Prestatyn and Rhyl, taking our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour tally up to 783 visits overall!

Crazy Golf course at Pontins Prestatyn Sands Holiday Village
The Crazy Golf course at Pontins Prestatyn Sands Holiday Village has had a lick of paint since our last visit in 2014

We've got a lot of blog posts to follow in the coming weeks.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Holiday on the Buses

Monday, November 03, 2014

Arnold Palmer Putting Courses Crazy Golf pencils

Receiving some Arnold Palmer Putting Courses pencils in the post.

Arnold Palmer Putting Courses Pencils from the Crazy Golf course in Prestatyn, Wales
Pencils from the Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Prestatyn

I'm a big fan of Crazy Golf and I love collecting ephemera and merchandise from the game. Together Tim 'Ace Man' Davies and I have built up quite the collection of stuff. Among the items in The Crazy Golf Museum are a range of pens and pencils from courses around the world. While most Minigolf courses have plain pencils for players to mark the scores on their rounds, others have created branded ones.

After our recent visit to the excellent 18-hole Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course at Central Beach in Prestatyn, Wales I received a lovely gift in the post from the course owner. The two 'Arnold Palmer Putting Courses' pencils are very rare items indeed and only recently uncovered at the course.

The Crazy Golf course on Bastion Road in Prestatyn is a marvellous attraction and well worth a visit
The Crazy Golf course on Bastion Road in Prestatyn is a marvellous attraction and well worth a visit

The team at The Putting Penguin have also found some great pencils at miniature golf courses in the USA over the years.

Links:
- The Crazy Golf Museum
Miniature Golf and Crazy Golf Pens and Pencils
- The Putting Penguin

Related blog posts:
- Crazy Golf in Prestatyn
- Crazy Golf Museum
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
Ephemera

Saturday, October 04, 2014

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

Playing Crazy Golf on the course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park during the Holiday on the Buses Weekender 2014.

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park
On the first evening of our stay at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands we went to have a look at the Crazy Golf course

After spending the morning of the 28 September playing for The Butler Cup at the Crazy Golf course just off the seafront in Prestatyn we headed back into the Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park to make good use of the facilities on our Holiday on the Buses weekender.

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park
Seth, Brad and Emily outside the Castle Battlements of the Crazy Golf course

As well as going swimming (in the very same pool they filmed scenes for Holiday on the Buses) and recreating some of the action from the film by riding around the camp on the big bikes, we had ANOTHER game of Crazy Golf.

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

The 9-hole course on the park is free to play with a £5 deposit required.

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

The course was the 582nd visited and 348th played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006.

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

The layout is felt with wooden borders and some tricky obstacles and some incredibly tough second (and third) putts!

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

Set-out in a castle the course is well made and fits the space nicely.

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

In our five-player semi-pro contest on the course Brad Shepherd stormed to victory with a cracking round of 18(par)!

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park
The Crazy Golf players at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands from l-r Peter Jones, Seth Thomas, Brad Shepherd, Richard Gottfried, Emily Gottfried

Seth Thomas was runner-up on 21(+3), with me third on 23(+5). Peter Jones and Emily tied in fourth-place on 27(+9).

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

Seth playing hole 1 of the Crazy Golf course at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park


Check out the Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park website for more information.

The course sits next to what was once the boating lake that can also be seen in the film. That's now been turned into a Kart Track.

Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park
The view of the old boating lake from the Crazy Golf course

Related blog posts:
Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Holiday on the Buses Weekender at Pontin's 2014
'The Butler Cup' On the Buses Crazy Golf Tournament
Wales
Prestatyn
- On The Buses

Link:
- Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park