Visiting and playing the first two Miniature Golf courses in the world!
On the long and winding road that is the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Emily and I have so far visited 528 Minigolf courses and played 317 of them. There have been a wide-range of designs, obstacles, layouts and hazards. Some of the courses were new, some were temporary and others had been established a long time.
Two of the courses we have played lay claim to being the first of their type in the world!
The third Minigolf course we ever visited on what was to become the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour was the Southsea Golf Links in Hampshire, England which according to the British Pitch & Putt Association opened in 1914 and was the first course in England, if not the World, to be purpose built for use by members of the public!
The 292nd and 293rd courses we played were at St Andrews in Scotland where we played The Himalayas Putting Courses, home to the St Andrews Ladies' Putting Club, and the world's first Minigolf course as it was first laid out in 1867!
Other courses and locations we've played at with a fair bit of history include Splash Point Mini Golf in Worthing where there has been Minigolf played on the site of the new course since the 1920's and the roof of Selfridges Department Store on Oxford Street in London which last year re-opened for the first time since the 1930's.
Outside the Treasure Island Adventure Golf course in Southsea
We had a nice wander around the town and seafront, headed to the amusement arcades for some rattin’ and tattin’ and also had a quick look at the Treasure Island Adventure Golf course (location of the genesis of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour). Having played a fair bit of minigolf already during the day we decided not to play anymore, but instead grab some food and head to a few pubs.
Treasure Island Adventure Golf course in Southsea
Ahead of meeting up with my brother who lives in the town we went to the Barley Mow pub to check out the pub games they have on offer. The pub has some great signage on the wall outside advertising their games.
Pub games sign at the Barley Mow
We found a Bar Billiards table in the lounge bar, with a Pool table and Dartboard in the games room next door. The pub also has a nice little Patio/Beer Garden.
The Barley Mow's Bar Billiards table
In our game of Bar Billiards at the Barley Mow Emily and I tied on zero points when I wiped-out my 750 points on the black peg shoot-out.
The table was in great condition and very tricky too. There were also three posters detailing the rules of the game – one of which called it ‘Pokey Pokey’! On this rulesheet it called the pegs 'soldiers'! This is the first time I've seen the pegs on the table called this - they do look a bit like people with their arms outstretched. I haven't seen the game called 'Pokey Pokey' before either. I wonder what the origin of the name is?
The Barley Mow also had a sign-up sheet calling for people to join the pub team to take on others from The Eldon Arms, the White Horse and the King Street Tavern. We’ll definitely be heading back to the Barley Mow for a few drinks on our next visit to Southsea; it’s a great spot to spend some time and is just a short walk away from the seafront.
I line-up a shot
Emily playing Bar Billiards at the Barley Mow
The Simplified Rules of 'Pokey Pokey'!
Some of the signage at the Barley Mow
The Dartboard at the Barley Mow
After having a quick throw of some darts our next stop was to The White Horse. The Bar Billiards table here was the first one I never laid my eyes on when we had previously had a meal there. At that point I had no idea what the game was and it is only since watching Indoor League on DVD that I got bitten by the Bar Billiards Bug!
The Bar Billiards table at The White Horse pub
In our match Emily picked up a win 610 to 590 in an incredibly close game, which was finished when Emily scored 50, 30 and 30 with her last shot!
Emily makes a break
After the game at The White Horse we met up with my brother and headed to the King Street Tavern, only to find that they no longer have a Bar Billiards table. The pub did look nice enough and there was a selection of games on the bar and some local history books available for customers to read. As an aside, one of the books was 'Is Britain Great? 2' by the team at The Caravan Gallery based in the town - the book is well worth a look and includes a photo of the old Mushroom Hut on the now demolished Crazy Golf course at Felixstowe. We’ll head back to the pub for a pint there next time we’re in town.
The final stop on our mini-pub crawl on the Barmy Bar Billiards Trail in Southsea was to The Eldon Arms, the next pub along from the King Street Tavern. Here we found the Bar Billiards table to the left of the bar and in an area next to the Pool table and a dartboard. On Sundays the pub has free play Pool so that table was very busy.
The Bar Billiards table at The Eldon Arms
In me and Emily’s final match of our best-of-three series in Southsea I picked up a win 1,350 to 330 – my highest score to date. I managed to hit the 100 hole in the sudden-death shootout. This did however mean that our Southsea match ended at one win apiece, with the other match a draw. A re-match is on the cards next time we head to Southsea!
Christopher watches Emily playing Bar Billiards
Emily making a sudden-death shot
The final game of Bar Billiards saw me introduce Christopher to the game. He took to it like a duck to water and defeated me 840 to 710 in a close match that went the distance. In the sudden-death shootout he hit the 100 hole with a white ball to take the win. We also chatted to a few of the punters who were watching us play and explained the rules of Bar Billiards to them, they seemed intrigued by the game and thought it sounded more fun than Pool. It's a shame the pub didn't have a rulesheet available to let interested people know how to play the game.
Christopher playing his first game of Bar Billiards
All in all a great finish to a long day out of fun and games in Basingstoke and Southsea!
During our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour roadtrip to Southsea and beyond we had a replay of the Putting Course and Crazy Golf at the Castle Mini Golf Centre on Southsea Common.
First up on Saturday 1st October 2011 we played the 18-hole Putting Course, where I picked up the win with a score of 44(+8) including two holes-in-one. Christopher scored a 48, with Emily hitting a 49.
Next up Christopher and I played a round on the Crazy Golf course using 'proper' Crazy Golf rules. In the very high scoring round Christopher picked up the big minigolf win with a score of 61 to my dismal 73.
The Castle Mini Golf Centre can be found by following the Brown Tourist Signs on the main road nearby.
The Castle Mini Golf Centre has three courses, with the third one a Pitch & Putt. We didn't play it this time as there were some large groups out on the course which would have meant the game would have taken ages and we had plans to visit the Model Village in Southsea and have a go on the Swan Boats at Canoe Lake too, before heading to Gosport to play the 12-hole Adventure Golf course there too.
Minigolf revisit to Treasure Island Adventure Golf in Southsea - Exactly five years since our first visit
On Friday 30th September 2011 Emily and I headed down to Southsea, Hampshire to celebrate the five-year anniversary of the start of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We were joined by my brother Christopher who was also there at the start of our tour of the UK’s Miniature Golf courses, when we played our Irregular Mini Golf Tour competition on the 9-hole Victory Trail course at Treasure Island Adventure Golf on the seafront in Southsea.
Photo: Emily tees-off on hole 1 of the Victory Trail course as Christopher looks on
Back on Saturday 30th September 2006 a group of us headed to the Treasure Island Adventure Golf course during a weekend away visiting Christopher on one of our seaside trips (Emily and I had made a resolution to visit as many seasides as possible). We played the Victory Trail first, followed by the 9-hole Warrior Trail course on the Sunday.
Photo: Richard plays hole 1 of the Victory Trail course
From there our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour has seen us travel all over the UK and to several other countries too. Following our trip to Southsea’s Treasure Island, a replay of two other courses on Southsea Common, and a roadtrip along the coast to Bognor Regis and Felpham the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour courses played count now stands at 276, with visits made to 430 courses overall.
In our Irregular Mini Golf Tour re-match on the Victory Trail course Emily took the win with a score of 24, followed by me with a score of 25 and Christopher one-shot off with 26. In a nod to nostalgia we played the game under Crazy Golf Rules, as when we first played in 2006 we used very different rules to those we generally use now. Back in 2006I had scored 31, Emily had hit a 34 and Christopher had managed a 36.
Video: Playing hole 18 of the Victory Trail course
Photo: The Scorecard from our revisit to the two Adventure Golf courses at Treasure Island
After the round we then stepped up to try our luck on the lucky last hole and try to Fire the Cannon to win a FREE GAME. I had managed this feat in 2006 and once again I hit a hole-in-one to earn a FREE GAME pass! Something I very rarely manage despite how often we play minigolf!?
Photo: Richard shows off his Top Hole winnings
With the FREE GAME pass safely tucked away as a memento of the visit, and a future exhibit in the Crazy Golf Museum, we decided to play the Warrior Trail Adventure Golf course too.
The light was beginning to fade but our enthusiasm for playing did not. This time round I managed a 28, with Emily hitting a 29 and Christopher once again just one-shot back on 30. Before the scores were added up we stepped up to try to Fire the Cannon, however none of us managed a hole-in-one the second time around.
Photo: Christopher plays hole 5 of the Warrior Trail course
In the overall Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Victory & Warrior Trail 5-Year Anniversary Tournament there was (as in 2006) a tie for first-place. This time it was Emily and me that were joint winners, with Christopher in third spot.
On the 1st October we headed to revisit and replay the other courses in Southsea at the Southsea Common Castle Mini Golf Centre, and the closed course on Southsea Pier. We also played a new Adventure Golf course at Stokes Bay in Gosport. On Sunday 2nd October we then headed along the coast towards Bognor Regis, west Sussex, where we managed to play a further seven courses in Earnley, Selsey, Hunston, Bognor itself and Felpham (next to Bognor).
We had also planned to visit Littlehampton and play the many Miniature Golf courses there, however we ran out of time which means that they will become some of the first we’ll play when they reopen in 2012 after the winter break.
More photos from our revisit to Treasure Island Adventure Golf in Southsea
Photo: Christopher & Richard on hole 8 of the Victory Trail course
Photo: Christopher plays a tricky second shot on the Victory Trail course
We've since gone on to visit a total of 419 courses in eleven countries to date, playing 268 of them. These 419 courses have gone under various names and guises (not all Miniature Golf courses are the same), in fact we've played the game at courses using a total of 43 synonyms!
The tour itself and the many road trips we've been on since 2006 came about after Emily and I set about visiting as many seasides in the UK as we could. So far we've made it to 149 coastal resorts, towns and villages by the sea. We've played Minigolf in 89 of these places.
Photo: Richard plays Hole 7 of the Oddballs Crazy Golf Course in Cleethorpes, Lincs
Photo: Emily putts through a Rocketship hole at the Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
So to celebrate the half-decade landmark point of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour we've put together the following facts and stats.
Number of courses played = 268
Number of holes played on the 268 courses = 3,675
Number of courses visited but not played = 151
Number of courses visited overall = 419
Number of courses played that had a Windmill obstacle = 16
- Rottingdean’s Putting Course and Miniature Golf #223 was at an actual Windmill!
- The Extraordinary Golf at Alton Towers has a Windmill on it but the course was flooded on our visit, so we could not play there
Number of countries Emily and I have played Minigolf in = 11 – England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Finland, USA, Austria, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden
Number of Piers that have got a Minigolf course on, but which wasn’t open on our visit = One – Southsea
Number of Piers that advertise that they have got a Minigolf course on, but haven’t = One – Brighton
Number of Seasides we’ve played Minigolf in = 89
Number of Capital Cities we’ve played Minigolf in = 6 – London, England; Stockholm, Sweden; Auckland, New Zealand; Vienna, Austria; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Edinburgh, Scotland
Islands in the British Isles we’ve played Minigolf on = 7 – Portsea Island, Isle of Wight, Thanet, Isle of Anglesey, Barry Island, Canvey Island, Hayling Island
Results and report from our three-day Miniature Golf Tour of Hampshire & the Isle of Wight.
Between the 25th and 27th of July 2008 Emily and I headed to the south coast to link up with Christopher Gottfried for a Minigolf Tour of Portsmouth, Southsea, Hayling Island and the Isle of Wight. This trip formed the basis of the ‘Hampshire & Isle of Wight Invitational Tournament 2008’.
During the three days we played 125-holes of Minigolf, Crazy Golf and Adventure Golf on nine courses in five towns on three islands!
The Competitors line-up at Shanklin's Beton Crazy Golf Course
Stages of the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Invitational Tournament: - 25/07/2008 Irregular Mini Golf Tour Southsea Open
- 26/07/2008 Irregular Mini Golf Tour Shanklin Classic
- 26/07/2008 Irregular Mini Golf Tour Shanklin Jungle Open
- 26/07/2008 Irregular Mini Golf Tour Rylstone Gardens Open
- 26/07/2008 Irregular Mini Golf Tour Sandown Lost World Open
- 26/07/2008 Irregular Mini Golf Tour Sandown Classic
- 26/07/2008 Irregular Mini Golf Tour Ryde Open
- 26/07/2008 Irregular Mini Golf Tour Southsea Victory Masters
- 27/07/2008 Irregular Mini Golf Tour Hayling Island Classic
I won four of the stages, Emily also won four events and Christopher collected a single win.
- Richard Gottfried – 4 wins, 4 second places, 1 third place
- Emily Gottfried – 4 wins, 3 second places, 2 third places
- Christopher Gottfried – 1 win, 4 second places, 4 third places
Within the main 125-hole tournament, we also played for ‘The Solent Cup’ – a holes-in-one competition, with the title going to the player who hit the most Aces over the three days. The Solent Cup took the place of the Irregular Mini Golf Tour Wenlock Cup which was introduced into competitive play on the Irregular Mini Golf Tour on the 3rd of February 2008. During 2008 The Wenlock Cup was awarded to the Irregular Mini Golf Tour member playing in an Irregular Mini Golf Tour sanctioned tournament that scored the most holes-in-one.
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