A revisit to the abandoned Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate.
We were lucky enough to visit Blackpool twice in August last year and that meant we were able to revisit a number of miniature golf courses there.
One of them was the abandoned Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate in Blackpool.
Check out my other blog posts to see what the course looked like on the 10th August 2018 and in October 2016. The one time we played the course was in April 2008.
A look at the derelict former Arnold Palmer Putting Course at Starr Gate in Blackpool.
We had a day out in Blackpool on Friday 10th August and parked up at the Starr Gate end of the promenade so we could take a look at the Crazy Golf course near the tram terminus.
It's in a terrible abandoned state now and looks even worse than on our last visit in 2016.
A tram's eye view of the old Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate in Blackpool.
Many thanks to our friend Philip Walsh for sending over these great snaps of the derelict Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate in Blackpool. Philip photographed the course while aboard a tram during a recent tram heritage weekend.
The tram at the Starr Gate depot
Emily and I visited the remnants of the minigolf course - formerly an Arnold Palmer Putting Course - last October. Luckily we did get to play it once, back in April 2008.
A revisit to the Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course in Blackpool.
It's always a real shame to find a once thriving Crazy Golf course that has been abandoned. Unfortunately that's exactly what we found on a recent trip to Blackpool.
What remains of the course has become quite overgrown in places
The Arnold Palmer Putting Course next to the tram terminus at Starr Gate was a great course. Luckily we managed to play it on our visit to the seaside resort in April 2008.
The course at the end of the tram line at the south end of the town
Sadly the course closed earlier this year and all of the obstacles have been removed. Although the bases and borders of the holes remain.
The GOLF OPEN lettering at the entrance is certainly redundant now
Check out the video, and others in the links below, to see more of the course.
Arnold Palmer Putting Courses are a classic part of the British seaside and it's dreadful to see them either left in this state or worse. Another Arnold Palmer Putting Course to be demolished this year was the layout in Exmouth. We got to visit that course as part of our tour of the south west coast of England in the summer of 2015. Sadly, the two Arnold Palmer courses in Great Yarmouth have also been removed in recent years and been replaced by one Adventure Golf course. While the two courses in Cliftonville, Margate were closed a couple of years ago. The course that was once in Folkestone is no longer playable - as it was used to make an art installation.
The Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Skegness still has an old scorecard in use. It lists many of the Arnold Palmer courses that are long gone. A great bit of minigolf history. Of the Arnold Palmer Putting courses listed on the reverse of the scorecard we've visited Camber Sands (now demolished), Mablethorpe (now Pirate themed), Southend (one of the two courses still exists), Tynemouth (demolished), Cleethorpes, Canvey Island (9 of the original 18-holes remain), Great Yarmouth (replaced by an Adventure Golf), Hastings (home of the World Crazy Golf Championships) and Margate (part demolished in 2014)
There is also a new type of Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight. Formerly a Beton-style of Miniature Golf, it received a refurbishment a few years ago and is now an oversized version of many of the courses listed above!
As the Blackpool Pleasure Beach Open minigolf champion the seaside resort will always be special to me. In addition to the excellent Pleasure Beach Adventure Golf course, Blackpool is also home to a number of other Crazy Golf, Minigolf, Miniature Golf and Adventure Golf courses, as well as a Putting Green.
One of these courses is the Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate. This 18-hole course was the 45th course we visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back on the 12th April 2008 (while in Blackpool for the 2008 Pleasure Beach Open tournament).
In our Irregular Mini Golf Tour match at Starr Gate, Emily and I both scored 49(+13), but as I had scored most holes-in-one (1!?) I picked up the victory!
The course also featured one of the highest placed giant fake ice cream cones I have seen on my travels - very unique!
.JPG "Mini Golf blog post about playing the Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate in Blackpool as part of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in April 2008")
.JPG "Richard Gottfried playing the Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate in Blackpool")
.JPG "Emily Gottfried playing the Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate in Blackpool")
.JPG "Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate in Blackpool")
.JPG "Emily Gottfried playing the Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate in Blackpool")
.JPG "Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate in Blackpool")
.JPG "Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate in Blackpool")
.JPG "Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate in Blackpool")