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

More Bar Billiards in London

A trip to six pubs and a hotel in search of somewhat elusive Bar Billiards tables.

While in London on Tuesday 20th March I had a hunt around for some more Bar Billiards tables to have a play on.

With the regular minigolf season still a month away my thirst for playing a game that requires the holing of balls and dodging obstacles on a green surface needed to be stated, so using the Bar Billiards table map and lists from the All England Bar Billiards' Association (AEBBA) website and the British Bar Billiards Forum I set off to see what I could find.

The first two pubs visited drew a blank. The barman at The Trafalgar pub on the King’s Road in Chelsea had heard of the game (once I said it ‘was a bit like Pool’). The table was long gone, but some of his regulars still mentioned it.

The next pub visit was to The Surprise on Christchurch Terrace in Chelsea. To not much surprise from me the table there was also long gone. Both The Trafalgar and The Surprise looked nice enough, but were more gastropubs than pubby pubs!

The next location on my list was The Gallery Hotel and the fact that it was a hotel, rather than a pub, left me doubting whether there would be any hint of Bar Billiards. My concerns were unfounded as the Receptionist knew that there was a Bar Billiards table in the hotel, but had never been asked about it before, especially not from someone coming in off the street. But, having explained how I’d heard about it she called the Butler to take me to ‘The Morris Room’ to have a look.

The Bar Billiards area in 'The Morris Room' at The Gallery Hotel in Kensington

Down the stairs in the nicely decorated hotel – the lobby has a nice bar, early 20th century photographic equipment and a chess board set-up amongst the leather chairs and bookcases – I was led to the Bar Billiards table and left to have a play on it.

The felt on the table looked a different colour to that on the other tables I’ve played to date and it had a very fast running baize too. The table is neatly tucked away in an alcove under the stairs. There were two cues, a rules sheet (which marked the establishment of the rules in 1934), chalk, a scoreboard, but sadly only four white balls to use!?

The Bar Billiards table at The Gallery Hotel

The three-pin table was free to play, the timer did work, but the bar did not drop. Interestingly, the coin slot was pre-decimal, so I have no idea how much it would have cost to play ‘back in the day’!?

I had an irregular match against myself (I lost, but won 200 points to 30 points) and then had a bit of a practice. A nice old table in a lovely hotel. Definitely worth a visit if you’re into Bar Billiards.

After the high of playing the table at The Gallery Hotel, my next stop was fruitless as I found that The Gloucester Arms on Gloucester Road no longer has a table either.

After passing by the Pavilion at Hyde Park (home to a 9-hole Miniature Golf Putting Course) I caught the tube to Temple and The Cheshire Cheese pub. And I am certainly glad I did.

The Games Room sign at The Cheshire Cheese Pub

The blackboard outside the pub proudly announces the pub’s Games Room, which is home to all manner of great activities including Bar Billiards, Darts, Rings, Giant Jenga, Chess, Backgammon, Shove Halfpenny, Poker and more!

After ordering my drink I enquired about the Games Room and the barmaid opened up the basement room for me, where I was greeted by a Bar Billiards table, quality dartboard (with electronic scoreboard) and Rings game board.

While waiting for Emily to arrive I had a practice of my ‘arrers and threw a few Rings, to little effect.

Rings and Darts at The Cheshire Cheese Pub

My score of 'lucky' 7 in my practice game at Rings

Once Emily arrived we decided on the format for our mini-Publympics competition – best-of-three games, starting with Bar Billiards, followed by the Ring Toss and ending with a one-leg 301 straight-in, double-out game of Darts.

The Bar Billiards table had four Mushrooms (two white, one red and a black). However, we decided to play the game as a three-pin match instead. In game one I defeated Emily 400-250. Emily had totted up a score of 230 points and a 140-break, before wiping out by hitting the black mushroom.

The four Mushrooms in the holes

In game two I scored a 490 point break on my way to a victory 810-190. This took me to one-nil up in the mini-Publympics.

The Bar Billiards table at The Cheshire Cheese Pub

Next up was a game of Rings. Without knowing the exact rules and with no rule sheet available we played an arbitrary game of six-rings-each, highest score wins. In game one I scored a pitiful 6 points to Emily’s 25. Emily also won game two with a 13-10 points victory to take the second game in our series too. I wrapped up our game of Rings by winning the third, and unnecessary, final game 13-11. Emily’s total points haul was 49 to my 29.

Emily defeats me at the old parlour game of Rings

In the sudden-death leg of Darts I won the match in a 66 dart-leg(!) to win the overall three game challenge contest 2-1.

The Cheshire Cheese is a great pub. Nice and friendly and with the whole basement given over to pub games and a bar it’s well worth a visit.

Emily throwing some 'arrers at The Cheshire Cheese Pub

Our next stops on the Barmy Bar Billiards Trail led us to Soho and two pubs on Brewer Street. The first, The Glasshouse Stores, had a blackboard on the street detailing the pub games, while the other, Marks Bar at Hix, shows the Bar Billiards table in the photos on the menu outside.

The sign outside The Glasshouse Stores in Soho

The menu and photos showing the Bar Billiards table at Hix, Soho

We decided to visit The Glasshouse Stores and found the Bar Billiards table towards the back of the pub. The pub is quite large and there is a cellar bar too. We asked about playing the Bar Billiards and were told a £5 refundable deposit was required for the cues, chalk and Mushrooms. We were also told the timer was broken so we’d have to pay a pound to play at the bar too.

We set-up the three-pin table and found there were quite a lot of extra balls on the table (a total of twelve available), perhaps they can sell The Gallery Hotel four more! We removed the excess balls and decided we’d play to a 15-minute time limit before the imaginary bar would drop.

Plenty of Bar Billiards Balls to choose from on The Glasshouse table!

In game one I got off to a good start, racking up a break of 510 points, before wiping-out by hitting both white pegs. I still managed to pick up the win, with a score of 430-nil, cleaning up the last three balls on the table with my final shot scoring 10, 50 & 50. Towards the end of the first game Emily had also been unfortunate to wipe-out a break of 510 points!

The rule sheet for the game of Billiards at The Glasshouse Stores

The second of our three games saw me once again pick up a victory, this time the match went to a dreaded shoot-out on the black peg, which I managed to avoid and holed out with my first attempt to take the win 550-nil.

A tricky shot for me

After a bit of practice we decided to have one final challenge match which I won 360-10 after potting the white in the 200-hole on my first attempt again, this time after Emily had missed her first shot at it.

Emily turned a Mushroom upside down with a ferocious shot!

The pub also has a number of other games available to play including a wide selection of board games, along with a good dartboard area too.

The Darts area at The Glasshouse Stores

After playing plenty of Bar Billiards for one day we called it quits and headed home. But we will be back to play the table at Hix, and a few others in London, another day.

Blog Posts:

- Bar Billiards-related Blog Posts at The Ham & Egger Files

Links:

- All England Bar Billiards' Association (AEBBA)
- Bar Billiards Tables Map

- Masters Traditional Games

Bar Billiards and a little bit of Mini-Golf in London

A hunt for three Bar Billiards tables and a revisit to Camden’s Crazy Golf course

While in London on Monday 27th February I thought I’d take the opportunity to check out some of the Bar Billiards tables in pubs in the city.

Prior to my trip I had a look on the excellent Bar Billiards table map, put together by AEBBA.

I saw there were well over twenty tables within easy reach and I planned to get to at least three of the tables on my Barmy Bar Billiards Trail.

My first stop was at the Electricity Showrooms pub in Hoxton.

The Electricity Showrooms pub in Hoxton

Upon arriving I asked the barman if they still had a table, he said they did, but it was “just for decoration”. I had a look at the table and one of the other barmen said he thought it still worked and to put a quid in to give it a go. I asked if they had any cues, they didn’t!? The table was also peg-less! However, the table did appear to be in good condition and the felt/baize was all intact.

The Bar Billiards table at the Electricity Showrooms pub in Hoxton

While chatting to the second barman he also mentioned they have a dartboard too. One for the Capital Arrows London Dart Board List perhaps.

The Dart Board in the Electricity Showrooms pub in Hoxton

My next stop was to Kings Cross and the King Charles I pub. Unfortunately on a Monday it’s not open until 5pm. I decided to head back later in the evening after a visit to Camden.

After refuelling with a new Gluten Free Chicken Salad Sandwich from the Kentish Town Sainsbury's and spotting a sign for an Eternit supplier (sadly un-minigolf related) and prior to visiting the next pub Emily and I had a wander to Camden Market. On our way there had a look to see if the Clarence Way Crazy Golf course was still there. We've previosuly visited in October 2009, May 2011 and August 2011. It is still there and remains unplayed by us on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. The sign at the course has had some graffiti added to it since our last visit!

The Clarence Way Crazy Golf sign

The Clarence Way Crazy Golf course in Camden

We then set off to find the Fiddler’s Elbow pub for the first game of Bar Billiards. We found the pub, but finding the entrance was trickier. Eventually we spotted a door that let us in and had a hunt for the table. The pub no longer has one. We decided to have a drink anyway, the pub had some great 80’s tunes playing, including Ghost Town by The Specials – the pub was something of a ghost town as there was just us two and a couple of other punters in there!

The Fiddler's Elbow pub in Camden

Although there wasn’t a Bar Billiards table there I did notice a poster for a band that our friend Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd and his band, Monkish, knows. You can check out the website of the naughtily named band here. Brad told me he has played at the Fiddler's Elbow music venue three times before and never seen a Bar Billiards table.

A poster for an upcoming performance from a band at the Fiddler's Elbow pub

Me, LIVE at the FIDDLERS!

With a thirst for Bar Billiards unsatisfied we headed back down the Northern Line to go to the King Charles I. Prior to that though we made a stop off at the Hurricane Room on Grays Inn Road as a quick web search while in the Fiddler’s had shown that they had a Bar Billiards table.

When we enquired within we found they didn’t.

The Hurricane Room - no Bar Billiards there, but lots of Pool and Snooker tables

On a wall outside we did however spot a poster for an upcoming Chess Boxing tournament!

Chess Boxing in London!

We eventually reached the King Charles I and through the window I spotted some illuminated green baize! The pub did indeed have a Bar Billiards table and no one was playing on it when we arrived!

The King Charles I pub - not yet open on my first visit

The pub is fairly small but the table is very playable (one of the great things about Bar Billiards is the minimal amount of space required). The table was of the 3-pin/peg variety and was in good condition, albeit with a slight tear on the felt just to the right of the black peg.

The Bar Billiards table at the King Charles I - with lots of balls in play!

The King Charles I even had its own ‘House Rules’ for the Bar Billiards table, with some interesting rules on fouls! More on that later...

The 'House Rules' at the King Charles I

The pub was nice and warm, with a real fire on the go, and there was a nice atmosphere in the wood panelled pub. There were certainly some interesting decorations in the bar , with lots of mounted animal heads on the walls. One large Deer head stared at you while you played on the Bar Billiards table!

Emily and I decided to play a best-of-three game match.

In game one I managed to reach a score of 450 points before wiping-out with a black-peg knock down, with Emily winning 370 points to nil.

Emily plays a shot on the Bar Billiards table at the King Charles I

In game two I won with a score of 440 points to nil. Emily had racked up a nice break of 420 points, however this was lost by knocking down a white peg. Emily had made a claim that I perpetrated a foul on her during play. If there was an independent Umpire for the match I may of been declared as a ‘perpetrator of a foul’ due to 'Goosing', but as we had no referee, the loss of points stood.

In between games we noticed that the pub also has a selection of board games for customers to play. I spotted there was a Shove Ha’penny board behind the bar and we saw some of the other board games atop the jukebox. They included Scrabble, Travel Scrabble and a 1000-piece Jigsaw Puzzle. Emily was tempted to break out the Jigsaw puzzle, but being as we were part way through a match and with a visit to ‘Jigfest’ coming up soon we continued with the Bar Billiards.

The Shove Ha'penny Board behind the bar

The third and final deciding game in our match saw me come out the winner with a score of 200 to Emily’s 170. The closely fought match was slightly notable as I managed to clear the last two balls from the table without the game being decided by a sudden-death last-peg shoot-out as has been the norm in our matches to date. I scored a 20 and a 50 to close-out the game.

Me playing Bar Billiards at the King Charles I

The ‘Committee Board’, above the scoreboard next to the table, shows the ‘Table Record’ held by a Julian Coles, which was made on the 13th of October 2009 and stands at 3,040 points. Including a break of 2,860.

After the main-event we threw another pound in the table and had a bit of ‘training’ before a five minute game. In this quick match I won with a grand total of 20 points.

Commenting on the evening out Emily summed things up by saying “We had a drink in ‘that’ pub, you had a sandwich, we did quite well.”

Links:
- All England Bar Billiards' Association
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Previous Bar Billiards Blog Posts
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London

First play of Tea Green Golf Club's Minigolf course in 2012

A revisit to Tea Green Golf Club.

On Friday 24th February I headed up to my local Minigolf course at Tea Green Golf Club at Wandon End near Luton for my first rounds on the course in 2012.

Minigolf at Tea Green Golf Club

While there I had a two-round 18-hole match against one of the club ‘Pros’, and Minigolf course record holder, Scott Holmes. Both of us each scored the same in our first and second rounds, I hit a pair of 17s, while Scott had two par rounds of 18 to make the score 34-36 in my favour.

I also had two practice rounds against myself (one using a Pink Golf ball, the other with a Putter King Golf ball). The ‘match’ was a draw with a pair of 15s scored.

The Putter King ball scores an Ace on Hole 2 at Tea Green Golf Club

Finally I played two 6-hole rounds on the excellent little Putting Green at the club and scored a 14 and a 13.

The Putter King Golf ball on the Tea Green Putting Green

Link:

- Tea Green Golf Club

2nd Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt Teaser Video Released!

2nd Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt Teaser Video Released!




Links:
- The Putter King
- Early Details of the 2nd Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt Released!
- Richard Gottfried runner-up in the 1st Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt
- Minigolf Trick Shot Video - Blindfolded Hole-in-One - Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt  - filmed at Tea Green Golf Club
- Full Results of the 1st Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt 
- Putter King Results News Release
- Photo of Richard Gottfried with the Putter King Mascot
- My Entry for the Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt 2011
- Ermington Putters Club - home of 1st Putter King Champion Allan Cox
- The Putting Penguin - home of 3rd placed Pat Sheridan

Another new game played – Bar Billiards

At the recent Star City Open weekend in Birmingham my fellow Crazy Golfer and BMGA Tour minigolf rival Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd pointed me in the direction of the 1970’s Yorkshire TV show ‘Indoor League’. As a fellow fan of odd and obscure sports he knew I would appreciate the games on offer on the programme, he wasn’t wrong.

Bar Billiards sign at The Strathmore Arms Pub

Indoor League was a show that ran from 1972-1977 on Yorkshire Television/ITV and was presented by Cricket legend Fred Trueman. The games played on the show include Darts (using a Yorkshire board, which has no ‘trebles’!), Skittles, Shove Ha’penny, Table Football and a game that took my fancy – Bar Billiards.

In all my years frequenting pubs I had never played the game and have only ever seen a glimpse of a table before – at The White Horse Pub in Southsea. With Indoor League whetting my appetite for a play of the game I took to the web to search out information on the game and whether there were any tables near to us in Luton...?

First of all I found that there is an ‘All England Bar Billiards Association’ that governs the game and organises tournaments in 18 counties, which are mostly in southern England and Jersey.

A link on the All England Bar Billiards Association (AEBBA) website shows the location of Bar Billiard tables in the UK. Checking this out I saw that the closest ones to us were at The Strathmore Arms pub in St Paul’s Walden (near Hitchin, Herts), The Red Lion at Studham (near Dunstable, Beds), Bedford Arms in Hitchin and at The Bucks Head in Little Wymondley (near Hitchin, Herts). Also on the list and fairly nearby were The White Lion in Hemel Hempstead, The Goat Inn in St Albans, The Chequers Inn in Knebworth, Our Mutual Friend in Stevenage and The Unicorn in Cublington, Bucks. I have also found out via twitter that The Orange Tree in Baldock, Herts does have a table (and also sells Gluten Free food and Beer).

* Location updates (4th &11th Feb and 24th March 2012)
- The Bucks Head in Little Wymondley no longer has a table
- The Red Lion in Studham no longer has a table
- The Bedford Arms in Hitchin has changed to a Pool table
- The Chequers Inn in Knebworth does still have a table - and the baize has been relaid
- The White Lion in Hemel Hempstead no longer has a table

So, on Friday 27th January 2012 we headed to the closest pub on the list – The Strathmore Arms pub in St Paul’s Walden.

The Strathmore Arms pub in St Paul's Walden, near Hitchin, Herts

Though close to Luton, a mere 8 miles, the B Road there is long, winding and quite pot holey – far removed from the hustle and bustle of Luton. It’s not often we venture out to the villages surrounding Luton. We have passed through some of them to reach the Offley Oriental Chinese Restaurant (which serves some great Gluten Free food). We also regularly go to Tea Green Golf Club at Wandon End, but this is very close to the Luton border.

When we arrived at The Strathmore Arms we ordered some drinks and then asked if they had a Bar Billiards table. The obliging barman said they did and pointed us around to a room attached to the main bar area where the table stood. And what a sight it was. The Barman told us it was a “pound a go” and left us to it.

The Bar Billiards table at The Strathmore Arms pub

Having only seen the game played on TV before, Emily and I had a quick glance at the rules on the plate affixed to the table itself, put a quid in the machine and started playing.

Emily plays a shot

After the first practice game we had a deeper read of the rules sheet that was beside the table and realised we had been playing our own version of the game! We then decided to play a best-of-3 games match to decide the Champion.

Emily has a read of the rules

In the first ‘proper’ game I managed to beat Emily with a final score of 400 to nil after Emily knocked the Black Peg down in the final ball shootout. Emily had reached a score of 940 before this was wiped out.

In the second game of the best-of-3 match I once again won to take the overall victory. This time I had a score of 1000, to Emily’s 90. This was a much cleaner match, with very little peg knocking down!

I line up a shot

In our fourth and final game Emily beat me 70-0. I had reached 180 but knocked the Black Peg down to wipe-out. Emily’s opening break was a score of 380 before she played a foul shot to wipe-out the break.

Once we’d finished our games we had a chat to the bar staff and some of the friendly locals. We got some further information about Bar Billiards and that it used to be a very popular game in Hertfordshire (and was one of the originating spots for the game), however there are not that many tables left to play.

As we were so interested in the game a few of the locals asked us if we were on a mission of some sort relating to Bar Billiards. We told them we weren’t (yet), but were on a Crazy World of Minigolf Tour! As I’m like a dog with a bone about new/old/interesting/fun/obscure/odd games and sports and challenges who knows, we may start-up a Crazy World of Bar Billiards Tour!

Another view of the table - plenty of balls still in play!

Emily was also interested in the Pudding Club that is run at The Strathmore Arms and there was a lively discussion going on amongst the staff and regulars over the latest offerings and the current rankings list!

A Dart Board was also set up next to the Bar Billiards table. I may take my ‘arrers next time we visit.

Looking at the Bar Billiards table I noticed that there was a badge affixed to the table we played that was from the “National Bar Billiards Association”. When I got home I had another look on The Online Guide to Traditional Games website and reread about the game and saw that National Bar Billiards Association was a pre-World War II organisation! The game started in the UK in the 1930’s, so the table at The Strathmore Arms could well be one of the first in the UK then!

Speaking with Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd and fellow sports and games enthusiast Marc ‘The Roller’ Bazeley I have found out they know of other tables in London, Gravesend and Northampton. ‘The Roller’ also tells me there is a thriving Wellingborough Bar Billiards League and when Emily and I head to Northants for a game then the Crown & Anchor Pub in Northampton is the place to go.

It seems a Bar Billiards ‘side-tournament’ or two is in order.

As Fred Trueman would say “Ahl si thee”

The Rules of Bar Billiards

Links:
- All England Bar Billiards Association
- The Strathmore Arms Pub
- Indoor League at Wikipedia
- Indoor League at UK Game Shows
- Bar Billiards at The Online Guide to Traditional Games
- Bar Billiards at Wikipedia
- Map of Bar Billiards Tables in the UK
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Minigolf Course Visit #210(a!?) - Vienna, Austria (Askoe Wien Wasserpark) - pit-pat "Hindernis Billards" (Obstacle Billiards)!

Nominate Richard & Emily Gottfried for the Luton Sports Awards!

Nominate us for a Luton Sports Award!

Voting has opened for the annual Luton Sports Awards, organised by Luton Sports Network.

Emily and I would both appreciate your vote and nomination to help us be shortlisted (and hopefully win) a prestigious Luton Sports Award. Details on Criteria and How to Nominate is below.

Emily is entering the ‘Sports Woman of the Year’ category and I am entering the ‘Sports Man of the Year’ category. A summary of the highlights of our 2011 Minigolf Season can also be found below.

You can download entry forms from the link here

The deadline to nominate is Tuesday 21st February 2012.

Criteria:
Nominations will be accepted for sports people, teams or clubs who either have their home team/club venue or reside within the Borough and have:
• Achieved outstanding performances
• Shown outstanding ability
• Shown major improvement in their sport
• Promoted sport and influenced more members of the community to take part in sport

How to Nominate:
Complete the nomination form, which would typically include information on:
• For individuals: commitment and training, achievement, representation (e.g. school, club, county, international), contribution to sport etc. during 2011

Notes:
Please ensure that you provide full details and information about the nominee’s achievements during 2011 on this nomination form as the judges decisions will be based entirely upon this and no supplementary information will be considered.

The Luton Sports Awards are made by members of the public through a series of nominations per category. You can nominate anyone who meets the criteria on the nomination form. The awards are presented by the Luton Sports Network on behalf of Luton’s sporting community to recognise achievement in sport.

The nomination forms should be returned by Tuesday 21st February 2012 to Luton Sports Awards, c/o Active Luton, Wigmore Hall, Eaton Green Road, Luton LU2 9JB.


2011 Minigolf Season Highlights

Emily Gottfried

Emily is a British Minigolf Association (BMGA) Tour Pro and competed in ten full BMGA Tour competitions in the 2011 season.

Emily Gottfried - the 2011 WMF World Adventure Golf Masters Women's Champion

Emily represented Great Britain in two Minigolf tournaments in the UK and Sweden, winning the WMF World Adventure Golf Masters Women’s Championship in Hastings in May. While playing for Great Britain in Stockholm, Sweden in June she set a new British Women’s Record, and all-time personal best round, by scoring a 24(-12) on the Eternit type of Miniature Golf.

In September Emily was the runner-up in The Putt Park Annual Mini-Golf Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada and on home soil she has continued to improve her play, recording four top ten finishes in her ten BMGA Tour appearances, along with a fifth place finish representing England, for the fourth time, in the Castle Golf Women’s World Crazy Golf Championships in October.

International Honours:
- Member of the Great Britain Minigolf Sport Team that competed in the WMF Nations Cup in Stockholm, Sweden
o The Great Britain 2 team finished the tournament in 10th place
o Set a new British Women’s Record, and an all-time personal best score, with a round of 24(-12) on the Eternit format of Miniature Golf. Her previous best was a 37(+1). Emily also set a new personal best of 36 on the Beton format of Minigolf, with a previous best of 40
o 10th in the WMF Nations Cup (Female Category)
o 45th in the WMF Nations Cup (Individual Category)
- Great Britain Player in the WMF World Adventure Golf Masters
o First-ever WMF World Adventure Golf Masters Women’s Champion
- In the WMF World Minigolf Rankings for Nations Great Britain has moved up one place to now be ranked 19th of 31 Countries

2011 Minigolf Season Highlights – Results:
- Winner of the WMF World Adventure Golf Masters Women's Championship in Hastings, East Sussex
- Runner-up in The Putt Park Annual Mini-Golf Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
- 4th in an April GMGC Club Tournament in Hither Green, London
- 5th in the Castle Golf Women’s World Crazy Golf Championships in Hastings, East Sussex
- 6th in the Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open Tournament in Hastings, East Sussex
- 7th in the Midlands Open Tournament in Dorridge, Solihull
- 8th (tied) in the Weymouth Open in Dorset
- 10th (with Brad Shepherd) in the BMGA British Doubles Championships in Dorridge, Solihull

2011 Minigolf Season – Rankings:
- Ranked 24th of 138 players in the BMGA Season Rankings for 2011
- Ranked tied 35th of 116 players in the BMGA Order of Merit Rankings for 2010-2011

- Continued to promote Minigolf through online and offline media and social media channels

- During 2011 Emily played at 72 different Miniature Golf courses, taking the total played to date to 282, with 444 courses visited in total since 2006


Richard Gottfried

Richard is a British Minigolf Association (BMGA) Tour Pro and competed in 14 full BMGA Tour competitions in the 2011 season.


Richard Gottfried at the 2011 WMF World Adventure Golf Masters tournament in Hastings


Richard represented Great Britain in two Minigolf tournaments in the UK and Sweden. In the WMF World Adventure Golf Masters in Hastings in May he qualified for a Major WMF Final for the first time and finished in 18th place overall. While playing for Great Britain in Stockholm, Sweden in June Richard was chosen to be Captain of the GB2 side that finished the tournament in 10th place overall.

In September Richard won The Putt Park Annual Mini-Golf Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada to add to the Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament) title he won in Newport in July. He also won in England with a victory in the Weymouth Open Team Tournament alongside Chris Harding.

On the BMGA Tour Richard recorded ten top ten finishes in his 14 tournament outings, including two runner-up spots. In October Richard represented England in the Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships, finishing in 25th place in his fifth appearance in the tournament.

International Honours:
- Member of the Great Britain Minigolf Sport Team that competed in the WMF Nations Cup in Stockholm, Sweden
o Captain of the ‘Great Britain 2’ team at the WMF Nations Cup
o 34th in the WMF Nations Cup (Male Category)
o 41st in the WMF Nations Cup (Individual Category)
o Recorded new personal best rounds on Eternit Miniature Golf with two rounds of 29(-7) and on Beton Minigolf with a round of 33(-3). His previous personal bests were 39 and 36 respectively
- Great Britain Player in the WMF World Adventure Golf Masters
o 11th in the WMF World Adventure Golf Masters (Male Category)
o 18th (finalist) in the WMF World Adventure Golf Masters (Individual Category)
- In the WMF World Minigolf Rankings for Nations Great Britain has moved up one place to now be ranked 19th of 31 Countries

2011 Minigolf Season Highlights – Results:
- Winner of The Putt Park Annual Mini-Golf Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
- Winner of the Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament) in Newport, Wales
- Winner (with Chris Harding) of the Weymouth Open Team Tournament in Dorset
- Runner-up in the Weymouth Open Tournament in Dorset
- Runner-up in the London Invitational Tournament in East Finchley, London
- Runner-up in a January GMGC Club Tournament in Hither Green, London
- Runner-up (with Will Collins) in the Lost World Adventure Golf Pro-Am Classic in Hemsby, Norfolk
- Runner-up in the First Annual Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt
- 3rd in a February GMGC Club Tournament in Hither Green, London
- 3rd (with the Midlands Minigolf Club) in the BMGA British Club Championships is Dorridge, Solihull
- 7th in the BMGA English Open at Wroxham Barns, Norfolk
- 7th (with Scott Lancley) in the BMGA British Doubles Championships in Dorridge, Solihull
- 7th (with Oliver Florence) in the GMGC Green Doubles Tournament in Hither Green, London
- 9th in the BMGA British Masters Tournament in Margate, Kent
- 25th in the Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships in Hastings, East Sussex

2011 Minigolf Season – Rankings:
- Ranked 10th of 138 players in the BMGA Season Rankings for 2011
- Ranked 16th of 116 players in the BMGA Order of Merit Rankings for 2010-2011

- Continued to promote Minigolf through online and offline media and social media channels

- During 2011 Richard played at 72 different Miniature Golf courses, taking the total played to date to 282, with 444 courses visited in total since 2006


Photo Links:

Emily Gottfried

Emily Gottfried at the WMF Nations Cup in Sweden

- Emily Gottfried - the WMF World Adventure Golf Masters Women's Champion
- Emily Gottfried playing hole 1 at the Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships
- Emily Gottfried playing hole 16 of the Crazy Golf course in Hastings during the Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open
- Emily Gottfried playing the first hole at Strokes Adventure Golf in Margate at the BMGA British Masters
- Emily Gottfried playing hole 18 at Wroxham Barns during the BMGA English Open

Richard Gottfried 

Richard Gottfried at the WMF Nations Cup in Sweden

- Richard Gottfried playing hole 5 of the Crazy Golf course in Hastings at the Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships
- Richard Gottfried playing on the new Pirate Adventure Golf course at the WMF World Adventure Golf Masters in Hastings
- Richard Gottfried at the Weymouth Open
- Richard Gottfried playing hole 18 of the Wroxham Barns Minigolf course during the BMGA English Open
- Richard Gottfried playing at The Green Indoor Mini Golf course
- Richard Gottfried at Strokes Adventure Golf in Margate at the BMGA British Masters
- Richard Gottfried playing the Minigolf course in East Finchley at the London Invitational Tournament


Links:
- Ham & Egger Files Year in Review
- Richard Gottfried Player Profile
- Emily Gottfried Player Profile
- Luton Sports Network homepage
- Luton Sports Awards
- Luton Sports Awards Nomination Form
- British Minigolf Association
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour