Showing posts with label Rhoose. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rhoose. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Dragon Classic minigolf tournament at Fontygary Leisure Park

Details of the Welsh Minigolf Club's Dragon Classic competition at Fontygary Leisure Park in Barry.


Dragon's Quest Mini Golf course at Fontygary Leisure Park in Rhoose, Barry, Wales
The Dragon can be found on holes 2 and 18 of the Fontygary Leisure Park course

The first mid-pandemic socially distanced minigolf tournament in the UK is taking place on Sunday 26th July.

Organised by the Welsh Minigolf Club the 2020 Dragon Classic will be held on the Dragon's Quest Mini Golf course at Fontygary Leisure Park in Rhoose, Barry.

Entry is limited to 18 players and more information can be found on the Welsh Minigolf Club's website and Facebook page.

Good luck to all of the players in the event.

Playing the course

I played the 18-hole Dragon's Quest Mini Golf course at Fontygary Leisure Park during my trip to compete in the Welsh Double's Championship in May last year.

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf course at Fontygary Leisure Park in Rhoose, Barry, Wales
There are some superb views from Fontygary Leisure Park and it's well worth a visit

Other tournaments

The last minigolf tournament held in the UK before lockdown was the 19th edition of the Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Open held on the 1st March. The Thanet Open had been held in Margate, Kent on 9th February.

Details of minigolf tournaments in the UK can be found on the British Minigolf Association website.

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Sunday, May 17, 2020

Thursday, May 16, 2019

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park

Playing the new Dragon's Quest Mini Golf course at Fontygary Leisure Park in Rhoose, Barry, Wales.


Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park

Earlier this month I heard about the new Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park from the team at Greenspan Projects. Luckily I was in South Wales for the Welsh Mini Golf Club's Double Championship in Aberavon at the weekend so was able to swing by on my way home.

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Look at the size of that dragon!

It was great to have a round on the 18-hole Dragon's Quest Adventure Golf course. It looks really nice and has some interesting features, most noticeably the BIG red dragon!

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park

The Dragon's Quest Mini Golf course at Fontygary Leisure Park became the 887th visited and 517th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006.

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
A funny looking character on the course. And what I believe is a Dragon Slayer model

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
I really liked the look of the mining hole 

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
The course is in a very nice setting and looks lovely

The minigolf course at Fontygary Leisure Park is open to the public, with a round costing £7 for adults and £5.50 for children. Check out the Fontygary Leisure Park website for more information.

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf scorecard from Fontygary Leisure Park
I shot a round of 41 on the 18-hole course

Photos of the 18-hole Dragon's Quest Mini Golf course.

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 1

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 2

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 2

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 3

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 4

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
The mine theming on hole 4

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
I really like the derailed effect on the hole

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
The green of hole 4

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 5

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
A tunnel through a barrel to the cup on hole 5

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
The water jets vary in height on hole 6 so you need to time your shot just right

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 6

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 7

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Into a tunnel on hole 8

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 8

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 8

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
The green and raised cup on hole 8

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
A view of hole 8

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 9

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 9

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 9

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 10

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 10

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 10

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 11

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 12

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 13

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 14

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 14

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 15

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 16

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
The green on hole 16

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 17

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 18

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 18

Dragon's Quest Mini Golf at Fontygary Leisure Park
Hole 18

Related blog posts:
- Wales
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - update from Wales

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - update from Wales

A blog post from a wonderful weekend in Wales.


I've just returned from a brilliant weekend away in Wales. Hours and hours of minigolf on some new courses, superb weather and visits to some new seasides added up to a lot of fun.


Pirate Cove Adventure Golf course at Aberavon beach in Port Talbot
It's always nice to see a shark obstacle on a minigolf course

I arrived in Wales at 10.40am on Saturday morning and my first stop was in Port Talbot town centre for a wander, a bit of charity shop shopping and some lunch. While there I spotted the outdoor market/car boot sale in a car park and was surprised to be able to add to a number of my collections by finding some retro 80's toys, pin badges and amusement park tokens! The weekend got off to a bright start.

After checking in at the excellent Aberavon Beach Hotel on the seafront I went straight to the Pirate Cove Adventure Golf course to practice for the Welsh Mini Golf Club's Doubles Championship.

The Pirate Cove Adventure Golf course at Aberavon beach in Port Talbot
The Pirate Cove Adventure Golf course in Aberavon

The 12-hole Pirate Cove Adventure Golf course became the 865th course visited and 516th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. Created by the Natural Play Company, it's a tricky layout and while there are hole-in-one opportunities, they are few and far between!

We warmed up for Sunday's tournament with a singles competition to celebrate National Miniature Golf Day. The in-form David Hartley added to his recent trophy haul by taking the win by one-shot, with Marion Hartley and me tied for second place.

Aberavon beach is such a lovely spot and provides spectacular views - Swansea Bay to the right and the steelworks to the left! It was a very nice place to spend time Putting.

Pirate Cove Adventure Golf course at Aberavon beach in Port Talbot
Playing hole 12

Wandering along the prom I noticed an odd-shaped lump in the distance and upon closer inspection found it to be a huge concrete whale, surrounded by some penguins! I've been told that this was once part of another, long-gone, Crazy Golf course! I'd love to know more about Aberavon's Whale Park...

The Whale Park in Aberavon
The Whale Park in Aberavon

The Whale Park in Aberavon, Port Talbot
It was the largest fake whale I've seen on my travels

Sunday's Welsh Mini Golf Club Doubles Championship was a great event to be a part of. The Welsh Mini Golf Club are relative newcomers to the world of minigolf and have put in a lot of effort to create new events, play at different courses and become competitive on the national minigolf tour.

The weather was perfect, with not a cloud in the sky and only a slight sea breeze. This, though would cause a lot of 'classic' minigolfer's sunburn by the end of the day!

I teamed up with my former Midlands Minigolf Club team-mate Seve Kukielka for the event and after a shaky middle patch we qualified from the round-robin group stage as group winners. This meant a semi-final clash with Cardiff's combination of Holly and Stewart aka the team of 'How Hard Can This Be?'. Seve and I - as the 'Natural Disasters' - avoided catastrophe and qualified for the final match against 'Sturgeon's Nightmares', the combination of Planet Hastings' Dave Gomm and the Welsh Mini Golf Club's Simon Brown, who had defeated Cindy Kukielka and Andrew Edmonds in the other semi-final.

Pirate Cove Adventure Golf course at Aberavon beach in Port Talbot
Playing hole 11

The final itself was a very close match, with Dave and Simon leading by one-hole heading to the 12th. Simon managed to drain a long second putt to close out the match meaning Seve and I were runners-up. Even so it was a nice event to compete in and the new course was well suited to the doubles format.

The Welsh Doubles Championship silver medalists with Martyn Williams, captain of the Welsh Mini Golf Club
The silver medalists with Martyn Williams, captain of the Welsh Mini Golf Club

As I love holidays/minigolf/the Welsh coast I was in no rush to head home on Monday and stopped off at Porthcawl as I'd seen there was a Putting Green in Griffin Park. Unfortunately it wasn't yet open for the season and the groundskeepers were working on a few other areas of the park to get it ready for the summer.

Putting Green at Griffin Park in Porthcawl
You can make out the shape of the holes at Griffin Park's Putting Green

We have been to Porthcawl before, although only to Trecco Bay Holiday Park where we played Adventure Golf back in 2009. So it was nice to explore a new seaside resort and play in some new amusement arcades.

The Hi-Tide amusement arcade in Porthcawl
The Hi-Tide amusement arcade in Porthcawl - can you see Pac-Man?

I'd recently heard from the team at Greenspan Projects that there was a brand new minigolf course at Fontygary Leisure Park in Rhoose and luckily for me that was on my route.

Dragon's Quest Adventure Golf course at Fontygary Leisure Park
I do like a mining theme

It was great to have a round on the 18-hole Dragon's Quest Adventure Golf course. It looks really nice and has some interesting features, most noticeably the BIG red dragon!

Dragon's Quest Adventure Golf course at Fontygary Leisure Park
The dragon breathes smoke at times too!

The Adventure Mini Golf course at Fontygary Leisure Park became the 887th visited and 517th played since September 2006.

View from the patio at Fontygary Leisure Park
What a view from the patio at Fontygary Leisure Park

My next stop was somewhere I know well, as my family had many happy holidays in Barry Island back in the 1980's and 1990's.

Barry Island is still recognisable from my time there 30 years ago, even though the holiday camp has been knocked down to make way for housing and a public car park.

Site of the old Butlin's Holiday Camp at Barry Island
They paved paradise

While in Barry Island I revisited a lot of my old haunts including the Quasar and had a nice chat with the owner who told me about it's history. It opened in July 1992, so I must've been one of the first players through the door on our summer holiday that year!

Me with a Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 Series 800 Terminator at Barry Island Quasar
Me with a Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 Series 800 Terminator at Barry Island Quasar

Before I left I had a round on the Smuggler's Cove Adventure Golf course - a course we first played in 2009 - and had one last walk on the beach.

Smuggler's Cove Adventure Golf at Barry Island
The Smuggler's Cove course at Barry Island was the 121st visited

Smuggler's Cove Adventure Golf at Barry Island

Smuggler's Cove Adventure Golf at Barry Island

Barrybados beach
Big Steve the seagull on Barry Island beach

Rather reluctantly, I left Barry Island for the trip back north to Stockport and re-entered England at 5.38pm.

Barry Island railway station
I might look happy here - well, that is a double Pacer Railbus formation - but it was sad to leave Barry Island on such a lovely sunny day

All in all it was a marvellous weekend and I'm looking forward to my next trip to the Welsh coast already.