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.

New Adventure Golf course at Clayton Caravan Park in Fife

A new Adventure Golf course is being created at Clayton Caravan Park in Fife, Scotland.

A new 18-hole Adventure Golf course is being built at Clayton Caravan Park in Fife, Scotland.

The course will is being themed on the Old Course at St Andrews and will open in 2022.

Visit the Clayton Caravan Park website for more information.

The Himalayas at St Andrews

A look at The Himalayas putting course, the world's first Miniature Golf course.

Playing The Himalayas course at the St Andrews Ladies' Putting Club back in 2012.

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.

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

The two courses at The Himalayas became the 292nd and 293rd miniature golf courses played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We've now been to 948 courses since September 2006.

150 years of miniature golf

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the world's first miniature golf course.

The world's first miniature golf course

The Himalayas Putting course at St Andrews was created in 1867 specifically for female players to use. We visited and played The Himalayas in 2012. It's a wonderful layout and a must-do for fans of minigolf or 'regular' golf.



To mark the occasion, The British Golf Museum at St Andrews has created a special exhibition - Shining Examples: 150 years of the St Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club - which runs until March 2018.

What a view

You can read more about the history of the St Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club on their website. It's interesting to note there had previously been a small putting area set-up before 1860, while the 9-hole course opened in 1867.

The first hole on the 9-hole course sees you putting across a path

Today there is a 9-hole and an 18-hole course, both open to the public for a nominal charge.

A nice long tee-shot

We're looking forward to a return visit to St Andrews, a visit to the exhibition and a few more games on the famous links minigolf course.

Emily putting on The Himalayas

Visit The British Golf Museum at St Andrews and the St Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club websites to find out more.

The British Golf Museum was closed on our visit to St Andrews. Still, not going in gave us even more time to play The Himalayas

The Himalayas is a real pleasure to play

The Himalayas sits next to the Old Course at St Andrews

A long minigolf hole

 

Lots of challenging lumps and bumps

Look how hilly that route to the cup is

Playing the first hole on the 9-hole layout

The Rules

Other key dates in world minigolf are:

• 1916 - The first minigolf course in the USA. James Barber opened the 'Thistle Dhu' layout in Pinehurst, NC.
• 1926 - The very first Crazy Golf course in the UK opened on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire, England.
• 1926 - The first artificial miniature golf course in the USA. Garnet Carter created the 'Tom Thumb' miniature golf course near Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, TN.
• National Miniature Golf Day always falls on the second Saturday in May. In 2017 this will be on Saturday 13th May.
• Miniature Golf Day is always on the 21st of September, which is on a Thursday in 2017.
• 30th September marks the day we visited our first course on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2006.

Visit the World Minigolf Sport Federation's website for details of World Championships taking place this year, as well as events from their 62 member nations.

Check out the online Crazy Golf Museum for more information about the history of minigolf.

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. Please do sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter too.

Two Miniature Golf Firsts

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!

Pitching on hole 2 at the Southsea Golf Links

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!

Emily Putting at the 18th hole at The Himalayas in St Andrews

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.

Links:

- Southsea Golf Links

- Himalayas St Andrews

- British Pitch & Putt Association

Related Blog Posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

- Southsea (Golf Links) in Southsea, England

- The Himalayas Putting Course at St Andrews, Scotland

- Splash Point Mini Golf in Worthing - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Course Visit #181

- Playing Minigolf on the Selfridges Rooftop Crazy Golf course!

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

The Himalayas Putting Course at St Andrews, Scotland

Visiting and playing the world's first Miniature Golf course!

On Sunday 8th April 2012 Emily and I visited St Andrews in Scotland to visit and play the world’s first Miniature Golf course!

The Ladies' Putting Green (The Himalayas) at St Andrews, Scotland

The Himalayas Putting Course, also known as the Ladies’ Putting Green, is part of a private club run by the St Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club. In 1867 the course was created and the St Andrews Ladies’ Golf Club was formed.

Evidence of the founding of The Ladies' Putting Club at St Andrews in 1867 - the World's First Miniature Golf Course and Club!

As part of our tour of Scotland we had visited Minigolf courses in Helensburgh, Bannockburn, Perth, and Broughty Ferry before arriving at St Andrews for the most anticipated course visit since we first heard about The Himalayas!

Richard & Emily Gottfried at the World's First Miniature Golf Course - The Himalayas Putting Course in St Andrews, Scotland

Luckily on our visit the course was open for play by the general public. It’s open from April to September, but there are some ‘members only’ reserved times. We quickly paid for a round and hit the links!

Richard Gottfried playing a shot at the World's First Miniature Golf Course - The Himalayas Putting Course in St Andrews, Scotland

In our match I defeated Emily 47 to 59 on the very well maintained and difficult course. The course is incredibly good value and it costs just £2 per person to play the 18-holes

The Himalayas Putting Course - Information and Local Rules Board

The 18-hole Himalayas Putting Course in St Andrews, Scotland

The course has been on our ‘to visit and play list’ for some time and was a definite activity on our tour of the north of England and Scotland. A bonus find when we arrived was that there is not only an 18-hole course, but also a 9-hole layout! This is only £1 a round!

The 9-hole Himalayas Putting Course in St Andrews, Scotland

In the 9-hole contest the match was much closer. I won the game with a score of 26 to Emily's 28.

Emily plays a shot on the 9-hole Himalayas Putting Course in St Andrews, Scotland

Both of the Himalayas Putting Courses were incredibly testing and the grass on them was as good as any felt we’ve played on a Minigolf course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour to date!

Richard plays a shot on the 18-hole Himalayas Putting Course in St Andrews, Scotland

After having a walk around St Andrews we returned for another couple of games and I finally managed to score a hole-in-one – on the 6th hole of the 18-hole course.

Emily plays a shot on the 18th hole at The Himalayas Putting Course in St Andrews, Scotland

The two courses at The Himalayas became the 292nd and 293rd miniature golf courses played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006!

Richard playing on The Himalayas Putting Course in St Andrews, Scotland

Richard playing the 9-hole Himalayas Putting Course in St Andrews, Scotland

The Himalayas Putting Course has a Course Record of 34(-2) held by a G. Anderson - that's some top Putting!

Himalayas Putting Green

Video - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour visit to the world's first Miniature Golf course - St Andrews - 1 of 2 - Introduction

Video - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour visit to the world's first Miniature Golf course - St Andrews - 2 of 2

There were two other Putting Greens that we spotted while we were there. One is strictly for Old Course Players, while the other (the Bruce Embankment) is open to the general public. Unfortunately it was closed on our visit.

If you’re a fan of Minigolf and/or Golf then St Andrews is a must visit place. We can’t wait to return. Hopefully we’ll have more time to spend there next time. I’m also looking forward to visit the British Golf Museum as it was closed when we visited.

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

Related Blog Posts:

- The Himalayas Putting Course at Kingsway Golf Centre, Melbourn, Cambs - course played #196

- Visiting a further 49 Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in England and Scotland

- Unplayed Minigolf Courses on our Roadtrip to Scotland & Back

- 495 Miniature Golf course locations visited to date!

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Links:
- St Andrews Ladies' Putting Club website

- St Andrews Links, the Home of Golf
- St Andrews - Local Golf Clubs

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. Please do sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter too.