The Himalayas Miniature Golf course at St Andrews

A look at The Himalayas putting course in St Andrews, Scotland - the world's first Miniature Golf course.

Emily playing The Himalayas course at the St Andrews Ladies' Putting Club back in 2012

Playing The Himalayas course at the St Andrews Ladies' Putting Club

The layout was created in 1867 and is the world's first Miniature Golf course.

When we visited there were two courses to play, an 18-hole course and a 9-hole layout. They were an absolute pleasure to play and one of my very best putting experiences.

The two courses at The Himalayas became the 292nd and 293rd miniature golf courses played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Visit the St Andrews Ladies' Putting Club website for more information.

Putting Green at Club de Golf Los Leones in Santiago, Chile

Finding a Putting Green with a view of the Andes.

Emily visited the first of two miniature golf courses in South America on her recent trip to Santiago, Chile.

The first was the Putting Green at Club de Golf Los Leones in Santiago.

Visit the Club de Golf Los Leones website for more information.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Since 2006 Emily and I have visited 1,064 miniature golf courses around the UK and overseas on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. As well as playing minigolf in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Jersey and the Isle of Man we’ve travelled to minigolf courses in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain (Lanzarote and Majorca), Sweden and the USA.

When added to the courses Christopher and his family have visited around the British Isles and Türkiye, Spain (Majorca), Italy, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Indonesia, Croatia and the USA, the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour stands at a combined 1,111 courses visited!

Minigolf at Burrowhead Holiday Village

I recently found out there is a Pitch & Putt course, Crazy Golf, and a Putting Green at the Burrowhead Holiday Village in Cutcloy, Scotland.

It's always interesting finding out about new places to play minigolf. Hopefully we'll get to visit these layouts on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the future.

Check out the Burrowhead Holiday Village website for more information. 

Putting Green at Station Park in Moffat

A look at the Putting Green course at Station Park in Moffat, Dumfriesshire.

Our friend and minigolf rival John Moore sent us this photo of the Putting Green at Station Park in Moffat. It's not a course we had on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour radar before now!

Putting Green at Station Park in Moffat. Photo by John Moore, May 2022

Visit the Station Park website for more information.

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.

Grass Putting Course at Northcliffe Park in Shipley

We visited the grass Putting Course at Northcliffe Park in Shipley, West Yorkshire last week.

The Mini Golf Putting Course at Northcliffe Park in Shipley

It became the 975th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006.

 

Putting Course in Northcliffe Park, Shipley

A visit to the Putting Course at Northcliffe Park in Shipley, West Yorkshire.

We swung by Northcliffe Park in Shipley, West Yorkshire on our recent journey back from Leeds as we'd seen the park was home to a Putting Course.

The entrance to the course

The course looked like a nice layout and in good condition.

A fine looking green

You get a lovely view of the area from the course

The course is played on a sloping layout

One of the long miniature golf holes

A view from the green of the last hole

Unfortunately the Ticket Office was closed (and looked long since abandoned!) and there was nowhere else to hire clubs and balls from.

The Putting Course at Northcliffe Park in Shipley became the 975th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006.

Thatched Roof Putting at Kirkley Cliff in Lowestoft

A revisit to the Putting Green at Kirkley Cliff in Lowestoft, Suffolk.

We swung by the Putting Green at Kirkley Cliff in Lowestoft, Suffolk during our East Anglian Road-Trip in August.

We first visited the Kirkley Cliff Putting Green on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in February and June 2009. We played it when we returned in August 2011. It was the 264th course played on our travels.

The course is now known at the Thatched Roof Putting and the layout still looks to be in excellent condition.

As with many things in Lowestoft, the grass miniature golf course at Kirkley Cliff is the most easterly thing of its type in the British Isles.

Visit The Thatch Restaurant website for more information.

Crazy Golf at Vickersway Park in Northwich

A revisit to the Crazy Golf course at Vickersway Park in Northwich, Cheshire.

We were in Northwich at the weekend and while there had to swing by the Crazy Golf course at Vickersway Park.

The 9-hole layout was the 700th course overall we visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in September 2016. We returned in January last year - it was one of the last courses we visited before the pandemic hit!

A Covid-19 sign at the Vickersway Park Crazy Golf course

We've now been to 973 courses on our minigolfing travels since September 2006. 934 of them have been in the British Isles.

Vickersway Park in Northwich is a very pleasant spot and lovely for a wander.

Vickersway Park is also home to nice grass Putting Course.

The Putting Green at Vickersway Park

Looking for the Putting Green at Runcorn Hill Park

We had a look for the Putting Green at Runcorn Hill Park in Runcorn, Cheshire on our way back from a day out at Chester Zoo yesterday. Unfortunately the course wasn't cut in.

Out of season

You could however still see some of the mounds and bumps of the greens of the layout.

A green on the Putting Course

It was still nice to have a wander around a different park, after having traipsed around the same parks and paths for more than a year.

Not a minigolf hole

But it looked a bit like one

One of two stones in the park that depict the Earth

The UK

The other half of the globe

We'll be heading back to Runcorn again in the future as we've never been to the town centre. We'll swing by Runcorn Hill Park again and see if the course is there next time.

We had a wander to the cliff

You get some superb views from the top of the Frog's Mouth Cliff!

Crazy Golf at Tuckton Tea Gardens in Bournemouth

A look at the Crazy Golf at Tuckton Tea Gardens in Bournemouth.

Thank you to my friend and minigolf rival Matt Dodd for these photos of the Crazy Golf course at Tuckton Tea Gardens in Bournemouth, Dorset.

Visit the Tuckton Tea Gardens website for more information about the Crazy Golf course and Putting Green there.

Matt and his family have visited hundreds of courses on their crazy golf adventures and it's always nice to meet up with them for a game. Matt has managed to track down and play quite a lot of courses that we're yet to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour!

We're looking forward to a return visit to Bournemouth and playing the two miniature golf courses at Tuckton Tea Gardens.

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

Park Square Putting Green in Cheadle Heath

A look at the snowy Park Square Putting Green in Cheadle Heath.

Unplayable

The Putting Green at the Park Square offices in Cheadle Heath was the first miniature golf course we visited this year.

An old Putting Green postcard from Blackpool

A look at an old miniature golf postcard from Blackpool.

This old postcard showing the Putting Green at the North Shore in Blackpool was posted on the 10th of October 1938.

We've visited the course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. Unfortunately the kiosk was closed so we couldn't get a game. At that time in 2009 there was also a Crazy Golf layout next to the grass Putting Course.

Mini Golf at Canoe Lake in Southsea

A look at the Mini Golf course at Canoe Lake in Southsea, Hampshire.

The 12-hole course was the 669th visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in August 2015.

It was one of the best grass putting courses I've played on my travels and the sort of course I could play all day long.

We've now visited 954 courses since September 2006. The very first course was also in Southsea!

It'll be marvellous when we're able to get back to the seaside.

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Miniature Golf in Salford

Finding two minigolf courses in Salford.

We found two miniature golf courses by accident while out on our daily outdoor exercise yesterday afternoon!

Both layouts were in the City of Salford - one was a Putting Green at Victoria Park in Pendlebury, Swinton and the other was a Pitch & Putt course at Buile Hill Park in Salford.

Neither course was open

It's always nice to find minigolf courses we didn't previously know about. It was especially crazy as both are fairly close by!

We've now been to 954 courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006.

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Porthcawl

Ah to be at the seaside on a day like today.

Looking through my photos from last year I spotted this lovely view of the beach in Porthcawl, Wales.

I can't wait to be able to head back out on our travels and visit the coast.

It was slightly outside of the season so I couldn't have a game on the Putting Green in Griffin Park

Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines at Coney Beach

What are the 7 Dimensions?