Minigolf in Letchworth Garden City

Playing the 9-hole Mini Golf course in Letchworth Garden City’s Garden Square Shopping Centre's ‘seaside experience’.

The Mini Golf course at Letchworth Beside The Seaside

While in Letchworth Garden City on Friday 30th of August I walked through the Garden Square Shopping Centre and noticed some red flags in the distance and was surprised and excited to see they were part of a Minigolf course set-up as part of the shopping centre’s ‘Letchworth Beside The Seaside’ event!

The Mini Golf and Games course gets the thumbs-up from me

The 9-hole Swedish Felt type of Mini Golf had been in Letchworth for the week and would be closing at 5pm on the very day I happened to be there!

Hole 1 - the loop-di-loop

A round of Crazy Golf was a reasonable £2.50 to play so I headed out for a round with the gaze of the shoppers on me as I attempted to have a good round on the tough type of Miniature Golf course.

A view of the obstacle on hole 3, hole 7 in the middle and hole 8 in the distance

The layout was of the smaller, more portable type of Swedish Felt but still had some very tough obstacles and fiendishly small holes to putt into.

Hole 4 of the nice and bright Minigolf course in Letchworth Garden City

I started with some OK twos, but hit a four at the third. However I recovered and hit a nice ace on the seventh to a ripple of applause from some of the shoppers enjoying the lovely sunny day and taking a break on the benches near the course. I also aced the ninth to score a total of 20(+2).

Hole 7 - a hole I hit a sweet ace on, even if I do say so myself

After my round I had a chat to John from Mini Golf and Games who has been setting up the course at a number of events over the summer. The course is available for hire and more details can be found on the Mini Golf and Games website.

The course was well laid out, with a nice consistent playing surface and with felt in very good condition. It was well worth a play and with a second round played on the same day half price it’s worth challenging yourself to beat your previous score. I tried, but failed to best my 20 and even though I started well with an ace on the first (a loop-di-loop obstacle – a nemesis of mine) I could only manage a 20 again, as I hit a three on the last.

Hole 9 required a shot that was nicely played and slightly angled to the right to score the ace. Or a wall shot rebound

I’m looking forward to playing the Mini Golf and Games course in future and it’ll be nice to have a challenge match against Emily on it.

The Letchworth public enjoying a round of Minigolf on the course at the Garden Square Shopping Centre

The course was the 321st played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006 and the 536th visited overall. Interestingly the 535th course visited was also a Swedish Felt variety and the last new course played was also fairly close to home as it was in Bedford.

I also learned a bit of Swedish while playing the course as the scorecard had the line "Högsta antal slag per hål: 7" luckily I didn't score a seven while playing the tricky layout!

Back on the 29th September 2007 I played a Putting Green course in Letchworth Garden City – it was the 38th course played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour – unfortunately it’s no longer there.

Links:

- Mini Golf and Games

- Garden Square Shopping Centre

- Shop Letchworth / Love Letchworth

Related Blog Posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

- Letchworth-related blog posts

- From the Archives - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Course Visit #38 Letchworth Garden City - Putting Course

- A Putting Green from 1943 in Letchworth Garden City

Not Playing Minigolf in Walton on the Naze

Rain Stops Play in Walton on the Naze, Essex.

On the 22nd of August Emily and I visited Walton on the Naze in Essex to play the Crazy Golf and Putting course in the town's Coronation Gardens in Bathhouse Meadow on Hall Lane.

Unfortunately, and following the theme of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour over the last seven years, the courses were closed. To be fair the weather was rainy and it wasn't the best of days, but only we could visit a seaside resort in the height of summer and not play a Minigolf course!

Closed due to the weather - another unplayable course on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

We did have a good look at the 9-hole Crazy Golf course (it's a Swedish Felt variety of Miniature Golf) and the interesting looking 18-hole Putting course - it had some very thin lanes and greens that were raised at the back. 

Outside the Putting course in Walton on the Naze

The pair of courses became the 534th and 535th courses visited in total on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. Hopefully one day we'll get to play the courses.

A view of the 'Swedish Felt' Crazy Golf course in Walton on the Naze

And another...

...and another...

...and one for luck.

The courses are open 11am to 5pm, seven days a week from the 20th of July until the 1st of September. The Crazy Golf course costs just £1 for adults (75p for juniors and seniors). The Putting is £2.50 for adults (£2 for juniors and seniors).

The price list for the Crazy Golf and Putting in Walton on the Naze

Back in May 2009 we visited Walton on the Naze and obviously missed the courses then!? We did however find and play the Hillbilly Shooting Shack on the pier and managed to visit and play a few of the other Essex Minigolf courses, including those at Dovercourt, Clacton on Sea (1 and 2) and Blake End, near Braintree.

Links:

- Coronation Gardens - Crazy Golf and Putting

Related Blog Posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

- Minigolf and Crazy Golf in Essex

- Shooting Shacks - Walton on the Naze & Clacton

Crazy Golf at Chichester Golf Centre, Hunston - Course played #272

The 272nd course played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour was the 9-hole Crazy Golf course at Chichester Golf Centre, Hunston.

The course is a nautical themed 9-hole Swedish Felt B-run type and was in good condition.

It was the first course we've played that had a huge Dolphin to putt through! The Sea Dweller's Crazy Golf in Chapel St Leonards that we played on our Lincolnshire roadtrip earlier this year was home to a smaller Dolphin obstacle.

In our Irregular Mini Golf Tour Match-up I defeated Emily 27-30.

Photos of the course:

There was also a small Putting Green/Course at the Golf Centre. However, we didn't play it.

It's another Crazy Golf course that you can find by following Brown Tourist Signs.

Related blog post:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Link:
- Chichester Golf Centre

Bracknell Crazy Golf - Jocks Lane Park - Minigolf Course Played #254

The second minigolf course of the day played on Friday 15th July 2011 was at Bracknell's Jocks Lane Park.

There is an 18-hole Crazy Golf course there, which actually consists of two 9-hole courses. The front-nine holes are Swedish Felt B-Run type Miniature Golf, while the back-nine holes are a farm-themed Crazy Golf course.

In our Irregular Mini Golf Tour Match-up...I defeated Emily.

The park is also home to a Miniature Railway, organised by the Bracknell Railway Society.

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Minigolf Course Played #160 (#206 overall) - Hither Green, Swedish Felt

A visit to the Green Indoor Mini Golf course in Hither Green, Lewisham, London.


Today we visited the 206th course on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, when we played the brand new 18-hole indoor Swedish Felt minigolf course in Hither Green, Lewisham, London.

The course opened two weeks ago and as soon as we found out about it we had to give it a go. The one and only previous round of Swedish Felt Minigolf we played was following the Nations Cup tournament in Tampere, Finland, when the Great Britain Team held an Unofficial 'British Swedish Felt Run Championships' (aka 'The Rotten Shark Classic').

In total I played four rounds and Emily played two.


In our first match Emily picked up the win, with a score of 54(+18) to my 60(+24).


In the second match we also played against the course Manager Nick Sandqvist (from Sweden). The scores here were: Nick - 42(+6), Richard - 55(+19), Emily - 64(+28).


I also had a practice round where I scored a 58(+22).


In my fourth and final round versus Nick I scored a 53(+17), with Nick hitting a 41(+5).

The course is the first full size Swedish Felt Minigolf Course that I know of in the UK. We have played quite a few of the smaller Swedish Felt 'B-run' courses on our travels, but only the one full size course in Finland.

Swedish Felt is also interesting to play as it offers options for the level of difficulty for some holes. For instance, some of the gaps between obstacles can be made narrower, while some holes with helpful barriers can be lifted or dropped to determine the hole's difficulty.

I'm looking forward to returning to play more (and improve!).

Videos from our visit.














View other courses visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Link to a blog post about other Mini Golf, Crazy Golf and Adventure Golf courses in and around London.

Minigolf Course Visit No. 95 - Blake End, near Braintree

On Sunday 24th May we visited two new courses, the first of which was the 9-hole Swedish Felt B Run Minigolf course at Blake End Craft Centre, near Braintree, Essex.





Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - List and links for all Miniature Golf courses visited to date
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf in Essex

Link:
- Blake House Craft Centre

Minigolf Course Visit No. 92 - Dovercourt

On Saturday 23rd May we made the trip to Dovercourt near Harwich and played the 6-hole Swedish Felt B-Run Minigolf course near the Seafront.



Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf in Essex
- Crazy Golf in Dovercourt