Playing Crazy Golf on Southend Pier

A visit to the miniature golf course at the end of Southend Pier.

On Saturday 25th June we headed to the seaside town of Southend on Sea for a day out of fun and games. Starting with a visit to the new Southend Pier Crazy Golf course - 1.3 miles out at sea!

Olga the Octopus

Emily in action on the pier's latest attraction

The 12-hole layout is on the world's longest pleasure pier and is brilliant fun.

Putting through Olga the Octopus

It's a great layout and even though there are some tough holes and obstacles, there are still plenty of hole in one opportunities.



The course became the 402nd played and 683rd visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

A hole in one

During our visit we competed in a 12-player contest to crown the end of the pier champion. Featuring a cast of veterans, GB internationals, national tour champions and a sprinkling of rookies, the highly competitive event saw me take the win. Former British Master Chris Jones and regular 'do' champion Brad Shepherd were second and third.

The competitors give the course a double thumbs up

Results of the Southend Pier Invitational Tournament 2016:
1st ‘Squire’ Richard Gottfried – 31
2nd Chris ‘Stretch’ Jones – 34
3rd Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd – 37
4th (tied) Lionel ‘The Spoon’ Bender – 39
4th (tied) Gareth ‘Lemsip’ Holmes – 39
6th (tied) Marc ‘The Roller’ Bazeley – 42
6th (tied) Alan ‘Stormin’ Norman – 42
8th Taji ‘Not Seth’ Rafferty – 44
9th Emily ‘Lemony’ Gottfried – 46
10th Paul ‘Flip Flops’ O’Connor – 50
11th Cat ‘Helter Skelter’ Patterson – 52
12th Lhurlyn 'Hole-ing' Holmes – 59
DNS Madeleine 'The Caddy' Bender
DNS Steve 'F1' Gow

The tournament in full swing

Gareth on hole 1

Brad teeing-off

Chris lining up a putt

Lionel in action

Brad on a tricky obstacle

 

Chris and Lionel putting

Emily on the tee

Marc on a very tough middle hill hole

Emily on the pier

Emily and Olga

Lhurlyn finishing her round with a hole in one

Paul O'Connor on the last hole

The Southend Pier Crazy Golf course is well worth a play and it's a great addition to the entertainment on offer in the town. Visit the Southend Pier Crazy Golf course website for prices and opening times.

The pier Crazy Golf course

Video:
- Southend Pier Crazy Golf course hole in one

Links:
- Southend Pier Crazy Golf website
- Southend Pier Crazy Golf on Facebook

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Southend
- Southend Pier Crazy Golf course

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.

Hot Dog mascots of Southend

On our day out in Southend we spotted quite a few Hot Dog fast food mascots - three of which were in Adventure Island, and two of those were of a style we'd not seen on our travels before.

Not a Burger

A new type of happy hot dog man mascot - this one is covered in tomato sauce, or tomato ketchup

And another - this one is mustardy

Another example of the classic self- condimentising hot dog man

We also spotted a fair few cannibal chip men too.

Don't forget that July is National Hot Dog Month!

Related blogs posts:
- Hot Dogs
- Hot Dog Man

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.

Southend Pier Crazy Golf course

New Miniature Golf course at the end of Southend Pier.

A view of Southend Pier on one of our visits to the seaside resort

There's more great news for fans of minigolf as Southend-on-Sea has a new Crazy Golf course!

The 12-hole layout is situated above the sea itself as it's on the world's longest pleasure pier!

The Southend Pier Crazy Golf course is a Swedish Felt B-Run type of course (this photo is of the course that used to be on South Parade Pier in Southsea, Hampshire) - a nice, colourful and tricky layout 

We love visiting Southend. while attending a family 'do' in the town back in 2003 the Adventure Island course became the first Emily and I played. That's three years before our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour began in Southsea. I also made my competition debut on the national minigolf tour in the town and we've also played the Arnold Palmer Putting Course on the promenade a number of times over the years.

The 'playable' Southend Pier Crazy Golf website looks brilliant too. Do check it out!

Southend Pier is undergoing a redevelopment and as well as the Crazy Golf course there will be a refurbed cafe, pop up shops and a pier postal service - so you can get a special postmark on postcards and other mail sent from the end of the pier. Sounds marvellous.

See the poster below and visit the Southend Pier Crazy Golf course website for prices and opening times. We can't wait to visit and take on the challenge of 'Olga the Octopus'!

Link:
- Southend Pier Crazy Golf website

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Southend
- From the Minigolf Archives - Results of our first-ever game of Adventure Golf against each other!

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.

Happy National Roller Coaster Day

I heard via The Milky Way adventure park in Devon that today is National Roller Coaster Day. Over the years we've played a few minigolf courses next to, or underneath, roller coasters!

The Crazy Golf course at Fantasy Island in Ingoldmells sits right underneath a giant roller coaster 

The roller coaster ride that is the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

The two that courses that immediately spring to mind are the Crazy Golf course at Ingoldmell's Fantasy Island and the Pike's Pass Miniature Golf course at Circus Circus Casino in Las Vegas.

Check out the video of me playing the Pike's Pass course right next to the roller coaster.

Emily playing at Ingoldmells

One of the first unplayable courses we visited on our tour was the Extraordinary Golf course at Alton Towers. Unfortunately it was flooded when we arrived on a rainy day in June 2007 so we were unable to play any of the roller coaster and ride-themed holes.

In 2011 Clacton Pier was home to a minigolf course that sat just along from the thrill rides the pier offers.

The Minigolf course at Clacton Pier in 2011

We've visited the Aztec and Inca Adventure Golf courses in Southend-on-Sea that are part of Adventure Island, home to some roller coasters and rides.

The Milky Way adventure park itself also has an 18-hole Mini Golf Putting course.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy Golf at Fantasy Island in Ingoldmells, Lincolnshire
- Pike's Pass Miniature Golf at Circus Circus in Las Vegas
- Clacton Pier
- Aztec & Inca Adventure Golf at Adventure Island in Southend-on-Sea
- Alton Towers
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Links:
- National Roller Coaster Day website
- #NationalRollerCoasterDay
- The Milky Way

Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Facebook, check out our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter.

A Re-visit to Southend-on-Sea's Arnold Palmer Minigolf Course

Replaying the Arnold Palmer Minigolf Course in Southend-on-Sea.

Wish You Were Here

Emily and I were recently in Southend-on-Sea and luckily for us the 18-hole Arnold Palmer Minigolf course on the Eastern Esplanade was open - and will be on Saturday's and Sunday's throughout the winter (weather permitting).

Emily playing the shortest hole on the course with Europe's longest pier in the background

We've played the course a number of times over the years and Arnold Palmer Putting/Crazy Golf/Minigolf courses are amongst my favourite types of Miniature Golf. They have that classic look and feel that I associate what the game is all about - the windmill, waterwheel, lumps, bumps and hillocks, and the all-important 'lucky' last hole.

A rough start for Richard with an overhit tee-shot landing in a bunker!

When we visited last December the course was closed, so it was nice to get a game of Crazy Golf this time round.

This hole used to have the cup in another position

In our one-round match Emily and I scored a pair of 48's (having enforced the course rules as opposed to BMGA rules) to force a sudden-death play-off to decide the winner. On the the replay of the 18th hole we both scored twos, but I was able to win the game with a two on the 16th hole.

Playing out the Lighthouse hole

Predictably, neither of us won a free game on the 19th hole. I was quite close though.

Emily having a crack at the Top Hole

The Arnold Palmer Minigolf course in Southend used to consist of two 18-hole courses, however it is only the East Course that still exists. On our first visits to the town as Minigolf enthusiasts the old West Course was still in place, though totally unplayable.

The sign for the East Course at Southend-on-Sea

Back in April 2007 I made my professional Minigolf Debut on the British Minigolf Association Tour in the BMGA British Masters competition that was played on the nearby Adventure Island Adventure Golf courses in Southend-on-Sea.

I think the course is always worth a play if you're in the area and you can find it at Darlowes Green, Eastern Esplanade, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS1 2ES.

Related Blog Posts:

- Minigolf and Crazy Golf in Essex
- Then & Now – Southend Arnold Palmer ‘West’ Course

- Crazy Golf and Adventure Golf in Southend-on-Sea - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

- Southend-on-Sea's Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf (re-visit Dec 11)

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Not Playing the Buttons at Southend's Amusements

Finding a playable, unwinnable, 2p machine at 'the Buttons' in Southend.

As a big fan of seasides and amusement arcades I had a fun trip to Southend-on-Sea on Saturday. At one of the Amusement Arcades Emily and I spotted that one of the 2p pusher machines was working, but had no money in it!? 

The unwinnable 2p pusher in the Southend Arcade

Oddly, somebody must of played it as there were a few tuppences in the machine! As a veteran ratter and tatter (and 2012 Worlds Tat Challenge Champion) I know better...

Not playing the Buttons

I also spotted a fruit machine based on my favourite comic of all time that managed to rob me of 70p.

A Viz Fruit Machine in an Amusement Arcade in Southend on Sea

Related Blog Posts:

- Amusement Arcades

- Southend-on-Sea

- Tat Challenges

Five years as a 'Pro' Minigolfer

Playing on the British Minigolf Association Tour since 2007.

Back on the 28th April 2007 I made my BMGA Tour debut in the BMGA British Masters minigolf competition at the Adventure Golf course at Adventure Island in Southend-on-Sea. Last weekend I played in my fourth BMGA British Masters event in five years at the Splash Point Mini Golf course in Worthing.

At the Adventure Island courses in Southend-on-Sea ahead of my BMGA Tour debut in 2007

I officially joined the British Minigolf Association on Monday 22nd January 2007 and made my first appearance in the third tournament of the season (I missed the Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open and the Irish Open).

In the 2007 BMGA British Masters I finished in 24th place in the 28 player field, earned one ranking point and was second in the novice category behind Alan Norman and ahead of Ian Barrett. Of the three of us, Alan and I have continued to regularly play on the Tour, while Ian was never seen again! You can read a report and see the results of the 2007 BMGA British Masters - won by Keith Kellard - at MiniatureGolfer.com. In fact my rival Alan 'Stormin' Norman and I were on the same score and paired together for the final round of the 2012 BMGA British Masters in Worthing. In that mini-contest I defeated Alan and finished 16th (I scored a 43 while he shot a 50).

Since that first appearance on the BMGA Tour I have competed in 76 BMGA competitions, winning five of them. I've had six runner-up finishes, three third-places and 23 other top ten finishes. In the five years as a BMGA player I have had the honour of representing Great Britain in two international minigolf tournaments overseas (the 2008 WMF Nations Cup in Finland and the 2011 WMF Nations Cup in Sweden) and at the 2011 WMF World Adventure Golf Masters in Hastings. I have also represented England in five World Crazy Golf Championships, reaching the finals on three occasions.

Emily made her BMGA Tour debut on the biggest stage in Crazy Golf at the 2007 Virgin Money World Crazy Golf Championships in Hastings where she finished 54th overall and 6th in the Virgin Money Women's World Crazy Golf Championships.

Related Blog Posts:

- My fourth blog post at The Ham & Egger Files - "The Crazy World of Miniature Golf"
- Richard Gottfried - Minigolf Player Profile
- Emily Gottfried - Minigolf Player Profile

- Crazy Golf and Adventure Golf in Southend-on-Sea - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Pitch & Butt - Naked Minigolf Guinness World Record Attempt

A Minigolf Guinness World Record Attempt in Southend-on-Sea that I will NOT be participating in!

The Putting Penguin Minigolf Team alerted me to a news item about a very crazy miniature golf event taking place in Southend-on-Sea this weekend - the ‘Most Naked People to play a Miniature Golf Course in One Hour’ Guinness World Record Attempt!!!

Now, I am a big fan of Crazy Golf AND someone who likes attempting to set/break Guinness World Records, but I will NOT be taking part in the naked Minigolf attempt, but I do wish the brave people who are going to have a crack at the challenge all the very best. Fingers crossed for the warm weather to continue too!

The fundraising event is taking place at the 18-hole Aztec & Inca Adventure Golf course at the Adventure Island Theme Park and will tee-off at 9am on Sunday 25th March. The nominated good cause is the Prostate Cancer Charity.

Adventure Island was also host to a successful Guinness World Record Attempt for the most naked people riding a rollercoaster, which was achieved when 102 people rode the Green Scream ride in Southend in 2010!

Links:

- Just Giving page for the "Naked Golf Guinness World Record"

- The Prostate Cancer Charity

- Adventure Island

- News story: "Pitch and butt"

Southend-on-Sea related blog posts on The Ham & Egger Files:

- Adventure Island's Aztec & Inca Adventure Golf in Southend-on-Sea (re-visit Dec 11)

- Crazy Golf and Adventure Golf in Southend-on-Sea - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Adventure Island's Aztec & Inca Adventure Golf in Southend-on-Sea (re-visit Dec 11)

On Saturday 2nd of December 2011 we replayed the two 9-hole Adventure Golf courses that were originally the 14th and 15th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in March 2007!

We also played the Aztec Adventure Golf course in 2003, way before our 'proper' Tour began.

On this occasion our Emily defeated (destroyed!) me in our Irregular Mini Golf Tour Match-up with a score of 22 to my 28 on the Aztec Adventure course and a 22 to my 30(!?) on the Inca Challenge course.

Photo: The courses do not contain any fake Crocodiles, or Alligators, but does have a turtle on the 9th hole of the Aztec Adventure course

In April 2007 I made my Professional Minigolf Debut in the BMGA British Masters tournament held on the Adventure Island courses in Southend-on-Sea, where I finished 24th in the field of 28 players and was the runner-up in the Novice Category.

Video: Playing Adventure Island Minigolf Golf in Southend-on-Sea (Dec 11)



Previous Blog Posts
- Crazy Golf and Adventure Golf in Southend-on-Sea - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Minehead & Southend on Sea - pre-Crazy World of Minigolf Tour course visits
- From the Minigolf Archives - Results of our first-ever game of Adventure Golf against each other!
- Minigolf in Southend on Sea - The Southend Masters

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour