The Crazy Golf course in Church Stretton, Shropshire

A look at the Crazy Golf course in Church Stretton, Shropshire.

Last month we visited the 913th course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour when we swung by the Crazy Golf at the town park in Church Stretton, Shropshire.

Unfortunately the gates were locked so we couldn't have a game. A shame as it looked like a nice and interesting layout.

The course appeared to be a mixture of 'Eternit' miniature golf and 'Beton' concrete styles. They are types of course more commonly found in continental Europe.

Related blog posts:

- Shropshire
- Church Stretton
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Crazy Golf in Church Stretton

A visit to the Crazy Golf course in Church Stretton, Shropshire.

We travelled through Shropshire on our drive down to South Wales last Friday and after leaving Shrewsbury we stopped off at Church Stretton to visit the Crazy Golf course in the main town park.

There are quite a few activities to do in Church Stretton Park

Here's a full list of games and prices

A nice sign at the course

The 9-hole course was the 913th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Unfortunately the course was locked up on our visit

It looked like an interesting layout and one we'd liked to have played if it was open.

A view of a couple of holes

It appeared to be a mixture of Eternit miniature golf and Beton concrete styles, types more commonly found in continental Europe.

Hole 1

  

Hole 2

A ditch on hole 2

Hole 3

Holes 4 and 5

Hole 5's green

Hole 6

 

Hole 7

Hole7

 

Hole 8

Hole 8's green

Hole 9

Hole 9 - I bet that concrete block can collect a lot of minigolf balls!

Adventure Golf at Telford Town Park

A visit to the Adventure Golf course at Telford Town Park.

On a recent visit to Telford I noticed that the Town Park had a 12-hole Adventure Golf course.

The layout, made by City Golf, has a Telford-theme to it and features local landmarks.

The Adventure Golf course at Telford Town Park became the 716th visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

On our previous visit to Telford we visited Wonderland. The Crazy Golf course there was the 300th played and 500th visited on our tour.

Telford Town Park was a nice spot for a wander. I'll definitely explore it more on a future visit. One of the walks in the area features an old Railway Platform, something the train nerd in me would like to see.

Looking on the Telford Town Park map I also noticed that there was an area to play Boules. I tried looking for the terrain and the petanque piste but I couldn't see it at all.

Until I looked at the ground UNDERNEATH the outdoor table football and table tennis court!

No boule games here

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Memories of the 2012 Oslympic Games

Looking back at the 2012 Oswestry Games multi-sport event in Shropshire.

Back in the summer of 2012 we were proud to be a part of the Oswestry Games. The festival of sport in Shropshire saw the sport of minigolf included in a multi-sport games event in the UK for the first time.

The Oswestry Games, or 'Oslympics' as they became known, were a mammoth undertaking for the organisers at the Oswestry Sports Council and it was a real pleasure and honour for Emily and I to organise the minigolf events along with other coaches and players from the national tour.

The coaches and competitors in the Pro-Am minigolf tournament at Cae Glas Park

The Oswestry Games consisted of more than 50 sports and cultural events held over ten-days in July 2012.

Minigolfing at the Oswestry Games

Things got off to a great start on our first night in the town - not only were we recognised while on our way to the sporting quiz night at the town's cricket club, but we also won the bronze medal in the quiz itself.

The bronze medal winning quizzing minigolfers

The Saturday morning of the Games saw us organise coaching sessions for locals youth and adult players on the 18-hole 'Eternit' miniature golf course in Cae Glas Park in the town centre. This was followed by the BMGA Oswestry Games Pro-Am Minigolf Classic team tournament in the afternoon - won by Marc 'The Force' Chapman, Steve Sturdy and Chris Powell.

On the tricky Cae Glas Park miniature golf course

Sunday was the closing day of the Games and a large number of clubs, regional organisations and national governing bodies gathered at the Leisure Centre for a jam-packed day of sporting fun, games and competition.

Playing the Putterfingers Crazy Golf course at the Oswestry Games

With a Putterfingers modular Crazy Golf course we took centre stage and had a large number of the public, athletes and competitors from other events joining us for a round on the 9-hole course.

We scooped Gold, Silver and Bronze medals at the Games - and what very fine medals they are too

We ended our trip to the Oslympics by contesting the BMGA & Putterfingers Oswestry Games Minigolf Championship - which I won!

The podium for the pro-tournament - Marc Chapman, me and John Moore

Did you know - Miniature Golf was once played during the actual Olympic Games! While it was not officially part of the Games programme, the participants in the Golf tournament at the 1904 Olympic Games held in St Louis, USA also competed in a Putting Championship on a specially built miniature golf course at the Glen Echo Country Club.

It'd be great to see miniature golf become an Olympic sport one day. And we'd also like to see the Oswestry Games return once more. Perhaps when the UK next hosts the Olympics, minigolf will be an event, and Oswestry will host their Games again.

The future for the sport of miniature golf looks bright, with the international governing body - the World Minigolf Sport Federation - gaining further recognition on the global stage all the time. The WMF is a member of SportAccord and an organisation called AIMS (the Alliance of Independent Members of SportAccord) - who's goal it is to achieve International Olympic Committee recognition for its members.

Back in 1989 the sport (Bahn Golf) was a demonstration event in the IWGA World Games in Karlsruhe, Germany. The WMF is also hoping to have minigolf included in other multi-sport events in the future.

As the umbrella organisation of minigolf sports association's worldwide and continental associations in Asia, Europe and America the WMF has 55 members. The sport is played on an organised level in Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, China, Chinese Taipai, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Kenya, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, USA and Vietnam.

There are more than 38,000 competitive minigolf players registered with the WMF via the 55 member nations, with 900-plus clubs between them. Over 1,000 courses are approved for official competitions and around 1,500 minigolf tournaments are held each year.

Aside from the March 2011 list Emily and I have been in the sport's international rankings since November 2008 following our debut for the Great Britain team at that year's Nations Cup championships in Tampere, Finland.

We're hoping to one day visit the Olimpiapark Munchen too as the venue has an eternit miniature golf course that was set-up in the Athletes Village for the 1972 Olympic Games. That'd be a great course to play on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Related blog posts:
- The Oswestry Games
- Miniature Golf and the Olympic Games

Links:
- Oswestry Sports Forum
- The Oswestry Games 2012
- World Minigolf Sport Federation
- Minigolf Report from the 2012 Oswestry Games Multi-Sport Event

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems.

You can also now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

Minigolf Report - Gottfrieds win at the Oswestry Games in Shropshire

17th July 2012

Press Information

For Immediate Release

Minigolf Report from the Oswestry Games ‘Oslympics’ in Shropshire

Luton Minigolfers Richard and Emily Gottfried competed in two Minigolf tournaments as part of the Oswestry Games multi-sport event on the 14th and 15th July. Richard won the BMGA & Putterfingers Oswestry Games Minigolf Championship on Sunday, while Emily collected a silver medal in the BMGA Oswestry Games Pro-Am Minigolf Classic team event on Saturday.

The Podium at the BMGA & Putterfingers Oswestry Games Minigolf Championship - Richard Gottfried (Gold), John Moore (Silver), Marc Chapman (Bronze)

The Saturday BMGA Oswestry Games Pro-Am Minigolf Classic team competition was contested at the 18-hole Eternit-style Miniature Golf course in Oswestry’s Cae Glas Park and saw Emily and her team mates Ruth Burke and Christian Urbano end as runners-up to the team of Marc Chapman, Steve Sturdy and Chris Powell. Richard teamed up with John Moore and Ed Odametey and finished in third place.

The field of players at the BMGA Oswestry Games Pro-Am Minigolf Classic at Cae Glas Park

BMGA Oswestry Games Pro-Am Minigolf Classic Silver Medallist - Emily Gottfried

Richard Gottfried practicing the 'Middle Hill' obstacle at Cae Glas Park's Minigolf Course

In the elite player competition on Sunday seven players competed over 36-holes on a Putterfingers 9-hole portable Crazy Golf course at Oswestry Leisure Centre. Richard won the BMGA & Putterfingers Oswestry Games Minigolf Championship with a total of 73(+1) after rounds of 40(+4) and a course record 33(-3). Newcastle’s John Moore was runner-up with a total of 77(+5) and Canterbury’s Marc Chapman was third with 78(+6). Emily finished in 6th place with a score of 89(+17).

Richard Gottfried playing hole 1 of the Putterfingers Mini Golf course

Richard said “We had a wonderful three days in Oswestry and two great days of coaching events and competitions. I’m incredibly happy to have won an Oslympics gold medal in the BMGA and Putterfingers elite player contest. John Moore and Marc Chapman had a good lead over me heading into the second round but I was able to score nice and consistently on the tricky layout to set the course record and pick up a BMGA Tour victory. I’d like to thank the Oswestry Games organisers for including Minigolf in the programme of events at the Oslympics."

Richard Gottfried playing hole 2 of the Putterfingers Mini Golf course

Emily said “The Oswestry Games was a fantastic event and I’m really happy that I was able to take part, as well as to come away with a couple of medals! The games, the park, the courses and the people in Oswestry were all very nice and welcoming and I enjoyed the whole weekend. The Minigolf tournaments were well organised and great fun, and it was nice to meet, advise and play Minigolf with local players and novices.”

Richard Gottfried playing hole 4 of the Putterfingers Mini Golf course

The Minigolf competitions were part of a ten-day festival of sports and culture which saw over fifty events in 33 sports take place at the Oswestry Games. Richard and Emily were part of the coaching team delivering Minigolf training sessions with the British Minigolf Association. On Friday 13th July the BMGA team also took part in the Oslympics Open Quiz and won the bronze medal in a 14-team contest.

Ends

Winning the Bronze Medal at the Oswestry Games "Oslympics Open Quiz"

British Minigolf Association Team finishes in third-place at Oslympic Sports Quiz at Oswestry Cricket Club..

On Friday 13th July Emily and I headed to Oswestry Cricket Club which was to be the host for the Oswestry Games’ “Oslympics Open Quiz” event.

With five players in town ready for the weekend’s Minigolf action we split into two teams – with me, Emily and Marc ‘The Force’ Chapman making up the BMGA team of the ‘Crazy Minigolfers’ while Ruth Burke (who would later join our team) and Steve Sturdy were joined by some family members to make up another team.

After twelve intense rounds of sports and Olympic-themed questions the Crazy Minigolfers were announced as Oslympic Bronze Medal winners and were asked to take their place on the podium to receive their medals and bottles of Station Bitter from the event sponsors Stonehouse Brewery!

The Crazy Minigolfers on the podium! Photo by Steve Sturdy

The Oslympics Quiz winners were Team Drink GB, with the team of JT was Innocent in second-place.

Our Oslympics Quiz Prizes - Stonehouse Brewery's Station Bitter and Oswestry Games Bronze Medal

The quiz was a great event and a nice start to a brilliant weekend in Oswestry. Many thanks to the Oswestry Games organising committee, Oswestry Cricket Club, Stonehouse Brewery and Quizmaster for the night, BBC Radio Shropshire’s James Bond!

Links:

- British Minigolf Association (BMGA)

- Oswestry Games

- Oswestry Cricket Club

- Stonehouse Brewery

- BBC Radio Shropshire

A Minigolf Visit to Wonderland in Telford!

Minigolf Course #500 visited / #300 Played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

On our journey to the 2012 Oswestry Games we had the chance to visit the 500th course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour! Prior to our trip we had seen on the excellent Minigolf resource of MiniatureGolfer.com that the Wonderland Theme Park in Telford, Shropshire was home to a Pirate Crazy Golf course.

If it was open it would the 300th course played too!

The weather was rather ominous on the drive to Telford on Friday the 13th of July and the date did not help the feeling of dread that the course would not be there, or worse – be there, but not in a playable condition. This is the sort of thing that runs through your mind when you’ve visited and not played so many courses over the years!

When we arrived at Wonderland the weather was less than summery and it was tipping down with rain. We parked up, grabbed our umbrella and headed into the Theme Park to see if we could find the course. We started our search at the opposite side of the park and so took a wander through, passing a very big Giant on our way.

A Giant and Richard at the Wonderland Theme Park in Telford

When we arrived at the Crazy Golf kiosk we asked to play the course, but were advised not to as the rainy weather had made the course very slippery. After explaining that we had played in far worse weather conditions and that we would be incredibly careful navigating the course we were handed our putters, minigolf balls and a very nice scorecard for the Treasure Island 9-hole Crazy Golf course!

The Pirate-themed layout is intriguing as it has a mixture of hole types and designs, with some of the holes made of wooden planks, others are concrete with metal rails and others are a more ‘traditional’ felt.

Hole 2 - made of wooden decking!

Even in the wet conditions the course was fun to play and very tricky in places. While neither Emily or I scored a hole-in-one (this time) we were close on a few attempts. The killer hole for me was the 4th (Smugglers Cove) which saw me score a dreaded 7!

Playing a shot on hole 9 at Wonderland Telford

In the end the result of our Irregular Mini Golf Tour match-up saw only one shot separate the two of us – with Emily the eventual winner with a score of 29, to my 30!

Emily playing a shot on the Wonderland Treasure Island Crazy Golf

Richard playing a shot up a ramp and over a boat on the Wonderland Crazy Golf course

Richard playing the Wonderland Treasure Island Crazy Golf

If you’re a fan of Crazy Golf and/or Fairytales then the Wonderland Theme Park is the place for you to visit. The Crazy Golf is great fun, the park and its attractions look great and are very well maintained and the staff working there are incredibly nice and friendly.

Richard getting scared off of a Dinosaur at Wonderland Telford

What has become our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour began on the 30th September 2006 when we visited another Treasure Island Adventure Golf course in Southsea. We also made a re-visit on the 30th September 2011!

On our many roadtrips and travels around the UK to play Minigolf we’ve been to a couple of other “Treasure Island’s” and quite a few Pirate-themed courses.

Links:

- Wonderland Telford website
- Wonderland on Facebook
- Wonderland on Twitter

Related Blog Post:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

The Oswestry Games

While on twitter recently I came across a tweet from John Waine of The Best of Oswestry (twitter @bestofoswestry) about the 2012 Oswestry Games.

As a fan of all sports and games, large and small, mainstream and obscure, I clicked through to find out more.

Looking at http://twitter.com/OswestryGames and the Oswestry Games website I found that in July 2012 the town of Oswestry, Shropshire, will be hosting a community games event in celebration of the 2012 Olympic Games, and the 'spirit of sport' that is alive and kicking in and around Oswestry. Looking at the Oswestry Games Information Pack you can see that the area has a long link to the Olympics, stemming from their own Wenlock Olympian Games dating back to the 19th century.

I wish the organisers of the Oswestry Games event all the best with their efforts, in what looks to be a great sporting and community event.

Back in August 2009 Emily and I embarked on a nine-day Seaside & Minigolf Roadtrip that took us from Luton, to Oxford, around the Welsh coast, and back into England at Oswestry. The 32nd Minigolf course we played on this element of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour was at the very nice Cae Glas Park in Oswestry, where we found an 18-hole Eternit Miniaturegolf course. I also won the "Tour of Wales Trophy" and was presented it in Oswestry. We found the town to be very pleasant and well worth a visit.