Playing the GolfParc course at the London Golf Show

A bit of Pitching on the GolfParc Mini Golf layout at the London Golf Show at Earls Court.

 

At the 2012 London Golf Show my fellow Minigolfer Oliver ‘The Machine’ Florence and I had a go on the GolfParc Golf set-up and a nearest the pin competition laid out by the Golf Coaches on the course. In the three-hole contest Ollie picked up the win and was complimented on being a short game expert by one of the coaches. Kind words for the big man.

 

On the green of the GolfParc course

GolfParc is part of Factory Eleven, a business that design innovative sports equipment and in addition to Golf Parc they have a Cricket and Tennis set-up. The GolfParc layout was good fun and well made - it's designed for younger players so they Clubs were undersized for us.

 

Here’s a pic of me playing the GolfParc layout and here’s one of Ollie.

 

The Velcro covered balls were a nice touch as it allowed you to stop the ball dead next to the hole with your shot (as deftly demonstrated by Oliver). The GolfParc equipment has been designed to help with the understanding of the fundamentals of Golf in a fun and interactive environment.

 

Back in May the GolfParc team ran an online Minigolf game competition to raise awareness of the Golf Parc kit.

 

Links:
- GolfParc
- Factory Eleven
- London Golf Show
- Previous Blog Post – GolfParc challenge - online golf game competition running throughout May!

The Knowley Grail of Minigolf

Competing for a new Minigolf trophy.

Following the 2012 Midlands Open Minigolf Tournament at the Four Ashes Golf Centre in Dorridge twelve BMGA Tour Professionals competed for a brand new Miniature Golf title and trophy in The Knowley Grail!

With the London Minigolf Club members having spent the Friday perusing the charity shops of nearby Knowle they had happened across a silver chalice on sale for £2.50. With players always eager to compete in side-competitions the trophy and a prize pot of £9.50 was up for grabs in a one-round shootout between the competitors.

There were a few specials rules in The Knowley Grail contest. Firstly, all players would use one type of ball – a “Pinky Diver” – and secondly, any player scoring a maximum of seven shots on any hole would be eliminated from the contest. With the Pinky Diver having an unprecedented amount of bounce on it the casualty rate was expected to be high!

However, despite Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd’s best efforts to jinx players it wasn’t until the 11th hole that play crumbled. In fact up until that point many of the competitors had actually scored better than they had in the Midlands Open!

Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd hoping for a 7 from Sethers

With the lead group of Brad, me, Seth and Chris Jones completing the round unscathed and with Brad holding the clubhouse lead with a score of 22(-2), and a new personal best for him at Dorridge, we were able to settle down to watch the remaining eight players take on the last two holes.

Alan 'Stormin' Norman lining-up a shot

The first player to crumble was Alan ‘Stormin’ Norman. The Brewmaster’s Open Champion managed to get the ball through the pipe but was unable to sink the putt when on the green and so was sent/dragged to a chair of shame.

Alan 'Stormin' Norman being dragged off the course by Brad

Alan 'Stormin' Norman sitting in a chair of shame

With ‘Stormin’ able to relax the wait was on to see if anyone else would hit a dreaded seven. We didn’t have to wait long as Ruth Burke was also unable to complete the hole and was therefore out of the chase for The Knowley Grail.

Alan 'Stormin' Norman watching Ruth Burke getting her 7 on the 11th

The other players were able to hole out on the eleventh, but no one was able to score as low as Brad’s 22(-2). The runner-up was Scott ‘Donkey Gringo’ Lancley with a 26(+2) followed by five players who couldn’t be bothered to have a sudden-death play-off tied for third-place!

Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd receives his winnings and The Knowley Grail from teammate 'Oh' Chris Jones

The Knowley Grail Champion - Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd

The final results of the inaugural Knowley Grail competition were:

1. Brad Shepherd – 22

2. Scott Lancley – 26

3. Seth Thomas – 27

3. Richard Gottfried – 27

3. Chris Jones – 27

3. Owen Johnson – 27

3. Sean Homer – 27

8. Paul Johnson – 29

9. Steve Sturdy – 32

9. Gareth Holmes – 32

DNF – Alan Norman

DNF – Ruth Burke

There is talk of The Knowley Grail being a regularly contested title. It’ll probably go the way of the League of Mediocrity and the Scrap Iron Cup and become an irregularly contested event.

Playing Crazee Golf at the Tintype Art Gallery in London

Visiting the Tintype Contemporary Art Gallery and playing a very crazy Minigolf hole at the Crazee Golf Art Exhibition.

On Thursday 6th September the latest stop on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour saw us head to the Tintype Art Gallery in Hatton Garden in London for the Private Viewing Opening Night of the new ‘Crazee Golf’ exhibition.

The idea of the exhibition was to get 18 artists to design and create their own Crazy Golf ‘holes’. The result is a wide-range of wacky, odd, strange and intriguing pieces of art. The exhibition is not a Crazy Golf course as such, but it was certainly interesting to see some other points of view of Crazy Golf!

One of the designs has three copies of the erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey laid (splayed!) out as a Minigolf Putting course, another is a short film, others are a series of sketches and one is a series of photos of a derelict Crazy Golf course in Bournemouth. It’s one we’ve visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and I recognised it straight away!

Artist Joby Williamson created a Crazee Golf challenge hole called ‘dancefloor yips’ and offers visitors the chance to hit a ball through the air, towards a hole in the top right hand corner of a window and onto a makeshift green on the roof below! Me and my Minigolf Doubles teammate Kevin ‘Max’ Moseley both had a go, but neither of us managed to Ace it. I don’t think anyone managed a hole-in-one – it’s very tricky indeed!

Up on the roof - The 'green' of the playable Crazee Golf hole at the Tintype Gallery

The exhibition is curated by Oona Grimes & Teresa Grimes and is open to the public from the 7th September until the 27th October 2012. I’ll be heading back to give the ‘dancefloor yips’ challenge hole another play.

You can view the Crazee Golf exhibition and photos of the designs on the Tintype Gallery website too.

Links:
- Tintype Contemporary Art Gallery
- Crazee Golf exhibition at the Tintype Contemporary Art Gallery

Related Blog Posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Crazee Golf Art Exhibition to Open at the Tintype Gallery in London!
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London
- Arts & Crafts Blog Posts

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

Playing Golf in the Luton Community Games

Playing in our first Par-3/Pitch & Putt competition as part of the Luton Community Games weekend at Stockwood Park.

Following our introduction to the sport of Pétanque on the first day of the Luton 4 Life Community Games, Emily and I headed to Stockwood Park's BIG Mini Golf course for a Par-3/Pitch & Putt Golf tournament!

Upon registration at the gazebo next to the first tee we had to declare our Golf skill level for a handicap rating (beginner, intermediate, or advanced).

Emily was classified as a beginner as she doesn't play Pitch & Putt that often and were given handicaps of '12'. I said I would be an intermediate player as I'd never played a full-round of Golf, but do play a lot of Mini & Crazy Golf - after this raised a laugh from one of the chaps doing the registrations (quite cheeky of him, Grrr) I was given a handicap of '7'.

We then had a quick chat with Graham from Team Beds & Luton, the tournament organiser, grabbed our Putters & Pitching Wedges, had a very quick warm-up and set off for the first tee.

Emily Gottfried setting up a tee-shot under the flight path of London Luton Airport

It was great that the lovely summer weather decided to restart on the morning of the competition and there was some very nice sunshine and heat for our 9.30am tee-off time.

Emily Gottfried playing out of an old bunker, next to an old bunker at Stockwood Park

We had a very pleasant round on the very well maintained course. Thanks must go to the group playing ahead of us on hole 7 who warned us of the extra hazard that had been left in the cup of hole 2 by an overnight 'visitor' to the course!

There were some cracking recovery shots played during our round and some very nice putting too. The Greens on the Stockwood Park Par-3 course are brilliant. The course as a whole is very well maintained, and while there are some quite deep areas of rough that can be troublesome to play out of, when you are on the green it is an absolute pleasure to play.

Richard Gottfried playing hole 8 in the Luton Community Games Golf Competition at Stockwood Park Golf course

At the end of the round we signed our scorecard, posed for some photos and had another chat with Graham who gave us some further information about the new Get Back Into sports activities that are coming up soon - Golf is one of them and you get more info on the Get Back Into website. It was through Get Back Into that I got back into playing Dodgeball!

The results of the event came through via email following the event as there were tournament rounds being played from 8.30am until midday. After playing Golf we went for a wander to the Athletics Centre to see the other Luton 4 Life Community Games activities.

The overall winner in the 27 player competition was Shane Timoney with a round of 30 for a Net score of 18! The joint runners-up were James Brennan and Michael Scanlon who both scored a Net 21(-6).

I finished in a tie for 12th place and Emily in 23rd.

The competition was a nice way to spend a few hours and  I'd definitely play in some more Pitch & Putt/Par-3 competitions at the course in the future. The Stockwood Park Mini/Par-3 Golf course is well worth a play if you're in the area. There is a good Driving Range facility at the club too, along with a bar and if you're so inclined a full 18-hole BIG Golf course.

Many thanks to Graham at Team Beds & Luton for organising the competition.

Links:

- Team Beds & Luton
- Active Luton
- Stockwood Park Golf Centre

- Community Games
- London Luton Airport - event sponsor

Related Blog Posts:

- Playing Pétanque in the Luton Community Games

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Course Played #30 Luton (Stockwood Park) - Mini Golf/Pitch & Putt
- Dodgeball - then and now

A Minigolf Friendly at Tea Green Golf Club (and some Birdwatching)

Playing some minigolf and birdwatching at our local minigolf course.

On Friday Emily and I headed to our local Minigolf course at Tea Green Golf,Wandon End, near Luton.

I play hole 1 on Tea Green Golf's Mini Golf course

We haven’t both been up there for a round of Crazy Golf and Putting for a while and so had a three-round contest, with two-rounds of Minigolf and one-round on the Putting Green.

Emily playing hole 5 on Tea Green Golf's Mini Golf course

In the Keith Classic Miniature Golf Contest* I defeated Emily 52 to 57. I scored two round of 18(par) on the Minigolf and a 16(+4) with one hole-in-one on the Putting. Emily scored rounds of 19, 21 and 17.

* When we arrived we saw a Pheasant lurking around the driveway entrance and heard him throughout the round. We named him ‘Keith’ in honour of the joke about Richie’s Grouse in the Comedy Show ‘Bottom’!

Keith the Pheasant at Tea Green Golf Club

Link:

- Tea Green Golf Club

Selfridges to get a Crazy Golf course and Tea Room on Rooftop Garden

Minigolf to return to the rooftop of iconic London department store this summer.

Reading Fabulous magazine in The Sun newspaper today I read that Selfridges in London will be installing a Crazy Golf course on the roof as part of The Big British Bang - a celebration of all things British spanning the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympic Games in 2012.

There are more details about The Big British Bang in a news release about the event. Part of The Big British Bang is the 'The Big British Tea Party' where people will be able to experience "The Highest Tea" on Oxford Street and Crazy Golf on Selfridges' Rooftop. The tea room and crazy golf course will be open from the 31st of May to the 2nd of September 2012. The Big British Bang launches on the 4th of May.

Emily and I are looking forward to making a visit as part of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour! We're also big fans of Tea Rooms so it'll be a double treat.

You can see photos of the 1930's Miniature Golf course on the rooftop garden in a Daily Mail website story here. A mention of the rooftop 'mini golf' course is made on the Selfridges Wikipedia entry too. Having a look for further information online I spotted a mention of the planned miniature golf course at Selfridges on the website of eFIG, the trade association for the Interior Landscaping Industry.

Links:

- Selfridges

- Selfridges 'The Big British Bang' website

- "Selfridges Celebrates the Great in Great Britain 'The Big British Bang'", PRWeb, 13 April 2012

- Selfridges on Wikipedia

- "Boating lake with a view! Selfridges opens rooftop to visitors for first time since WWII", Daily Mail, 22 July 2011

- "Green roofs with a difference at Selfridges, London", eFIG, 2nd April 2012

- The Crazy Golf Museum & The History of Mini Golf

Related Blog Posts:

- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London

- 85 Years Too Late to Play a Rooftop Putting Green in London

- Great Gluten Free Tea Rooms

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Games in Guildford, a visit to the Castle and seeing a Giant Beetle

Playing Bar Billiards, Table Tennis and a new version of Ping Pong in Guildford!

Following my quick stop off at Woking Park (via Shepperton) I recently visited Guildford, Surrey for an afternoon of sporting activity and games with fellow blogger and BMGA Tour rival Oliver ‘The Machine’ Florence.

Our planned day of fun & games in February had been thwarted by the snow, but with rain and “blusterous” conditions forecast for Wednesday the weather was not going to be as pleasant as on my last visit to the town back in September 2008. On that occasion I managed to play the Stoke Park Minigolf course, was turned away from the Lido as it was not yet open for the season and saw a wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube man.

Before meeting up with Ollie I had a wander around the town and went to Guildford Museum, which is worth a visit. I spotted a few places that offered Gluten Free food too, the best named place was ‘Glutton & Glee’ - see photo.

Walking around Allen House Grounds I saw that they had a Jabberwocky Maze (it wasn’t difficult). Ollie later told me that the grounds are home to a Golf Putting Green course in the summer season and the websites for Allen House Grounds and Allen House Pavilion have more details on the course.

Allen House Gardens - home to a Jabberwocky Maze and a Minigolf Putting Green

The Jabberwocky Maze

With Wednesday 18th April 2012 marking 100 days until the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games the date of 18/04/12 also marked an unspecified countdown until the ‘Guildford Games’ – a multi-sport event ‘planned’ to take place in the summer and consisting of the disciplines of Minigolf, Darts, Bar Billiards and ‘some sort of game involving the Castle’.

As part of the preparation for the Guildford Games, Ollie and I headed to the Royal Oak pub for a few games of Bar Billiards. The table is in a good position in the pub and was in very good condition indeed. Each of the tables I’ve played to date have had their own subtle differences and I really enjoyed playing the table at the Royal Oak – perhaps it was because the Mushroom didn’t wobble precariously at all on rebound shots at the 200-hole!

The Royal Oak Pub in Guildford has Free Bar Billiards on a Sunday

We decided to play a best-of-3 games match and in game one I defeated Ollie 1,300 to 480 after holing-out with a white ball to the 100-hole in the shootout.

Partway through the game the barman mentioned to us that we were playing the game incorrectly, as the Royal Oak Rules use a variation whereby the red ball is replaced on the spot and a white ball is used as the cue ball each time the red ball is potted. After a quick look online we found these ‘variant’ rules (amongst others) on the excellent Masters Traditional Games website.

Playing a shot on the Royal Oak's Bar Billiards table

Our second game saw us invoke the “R’oak Rules” and the game was a very close fought battle. The match once again went to a sudden-death shootout. Ollie managed to score 100 by potting the white ball with an 'in off' the Mushroom on the right of the table, but was still on the losing end of a 1,400 to 1,100 scoreline.

Ollie plays a shot on the Royal Oak's Bar Billiards table - note the use of 'Royal Oak Rules'

After play at the Royal Oak we headed to Guildford Castle for a look around. The Castle Grounds are home to a Bowls Club – perhaps Lawn Bowls will be an event in the Guildford Games too.

Guildford Castle

We then moved on to Stoke Park for a look at the Minigolf course and new Table Tennis table that has been installed. We found that ahead of the new summer season the 12-hole Stoke Park Minigolf course has had a lick of paint on the obstacles and also had a new ‘obstacle’ added in the shape of a Tractor!?

The new Tractor on the Stoke Park Swedish Felt Minigolf course

Despite my 'retirement' from competitive Table Tennis/Ping Pong/Wiff Waff/Pong I brought my Ping Pong bats and balls along to give the Stoke Park Table Tennis table a go.  After a knock-up our best-of-3 games Aqua Table Tennis match began and Ollie took a quick lead before winning the first game 9-6. After switching sides Ollie put his ‘local knowledge’ to good use and served to the puddle on my side of the table to pick up a 9-7 win and victory in the match. This was despite my best attempts to unnerve ‘The Machine' on the journey to Stoke Park!

The new Table Tennis table in Guildford's Stoke Park

Playing some Ping Pong at Stoke Park

The final game we played (and one that will be very unlikely to make an appearance in the Guildford Games) was 'Ping Pong Crazy Golf'. After several unsuccessful hole-in-one attempts on the Net hole and the Flat Loop (with scores ranging from 4 to 12!?) Ollie scored the only Ace of our ‘round’ on hole number four.

Ollie lines up a shot for a hole-in-one in the new game of Ping Pong Crazy Golf

Playing some Ping Pong Crazy Golf on Stoke Park's Minigolf course

We then went for a wander to Guildford Lido to see if we could see the Minigolf course in there. We could, but couldn’t play it as the Lido is only open from May. A swimming event is a possible inclusion in the competition calendar for the Guildford Games too!

The Guildford Lido was closed on this visit - so the Minigolf course remains unplayed by me

Instead of playing any Minigolf to finish out the afternoon's entertainment, Ollie pointed out the Giant Guildford Beetle that is amongst some trees beyond the Lido!!!

A gate that is lacking a fence. And a Gigantic Beetle beyond it!

Getting scared off of a Giant Beetle in Guildford

Commenting on the day’s sporting endeavours Ollie said "It was great to see Squire finally make a return to Guildford after the previously aborted attempts. We managed to fit quite a few sporting activities in to the day and it proved to be a good test for the up-and-coming Guildford Games. We are going to need to tweak a few of the rules ahead of the event though, particularly after Richard's run-in with the barman over the correct use of the red ball in bar billiards.

The Machine added "I was pleased that I managed to beat him at the new form of Ping Pong despite an extremely unsettling incident in the car on the way to the park. He took his defeat well though and I'm pleased he seemed genuinely delighted when I showed him a massive sculpture of a beetle."

Related Blog Posts on The Ham & Egger Files:

- Snow causes blog post in Guildford

- Not course number 75! Guildford Lido
- Actual Minigolf Course 75 - Guildford

- Bar Billiards-related blog posts

- Ping Pong & Table Tennis-related blog posts

- Maze-related blog posts

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Links:

- The Minigolfer Blog

-- "Snow luck for Gottfried as Guildford curse strikes again"

- The English Table Tennis Association (ETTA)

- ETTA Instant Ping Pong video

A day out of Bun Throwing, Crazy Golf and Bar Billiards in Abingdon-on-Thames

Returning to Abingdon-on-Thames for a World Championship!

On Saturday 14th April we headed back to my hometown of Abingdon-on-Thames to compete in the first-ever World Bun Throwing Championships taking place at the Abingdon Vale Cricket Club.

The visit was the first-time I’ve been able to get back since the Royal Bun Throwing held last April and also the first-time I’ve been home since the town officially reverted back to its previous name of Abingdon-on-Thames!

Prior to the main-event in the World Bun Throwing Championships we had a quick wander around the town and had a drink in the Bun Throwing-themed cafe Throwing Buns and then headed to the Abbey Grounds.

Bun Throwing press cuttings at Throwing Buns cafe in Abingdon-on-Thames

The Abbey Grounds has some nice parks and gardens, some ‘ancient’ abbey ruins, the River Thames running through it, an outdoor swimming pool (due to re-open in the summer) and a Tennis and Golf Centre.

While we were there, and with 45 minutes until the 2pm start of the World Bun Throwing Championships, my brother Jon and I decided to have a Minigolf Challenge Match on the 10-hole Crazy Golf course.

The game was the first one we’ve had against each other since a holiday at Barry Island Holiday Camp in the 1990’s and the first on the Abingdon Abbey Meadows Crazy Golf Course since 1986, when a match between the six and five-year-old versions of us had fought to a draw (most likely to save any arguments).

The Abingdon Classic crazy golf competitors - Jon & Richard Gottfried

Emily and I have previously played the course (it became #31 on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in August 2007) and since our last visit in 2011 the layout has had a lick of paint and hole 6 has had a new half-pipe laid over the bridge obstacle.

I play a shot on hole 4 of the Abbey Meadows Crazy Golf course as my brother Jon strikes a 'Golf Pose'

In the 26-year anniversary match-up between us, Jon showed his natural Miniature Golf ability and took an early lead by winning the first hole with a three, to my four! Hole 2 saw us both score twos, but hole 3 (a very tricky hole with a nasty dip at the back of the ‘green’) saw Jon hit a five to my two.

Jon plays out hole 4 of the Abbey Meadows Crazy Golf course as Emily and Kim look on

The match continued in a back and forth manner and Jon was unfortunate to hit a five on the bridge hole (number 6) to finish with a total of 31(+11). I was victorious with a score of 28(+8). Neither of us scored any Aces – although with a ‘clause’ inserted into the rules by Jon part-way through the game it was a good thing neither of us scored a hole-in-one! The matchplay match ended in a tie. A return Abingdon-on-Thames Crazy Golf Classic tournament is already scheduled to take place in June prior to the Royal Bun Throwing for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

I play a shot on hole 5

Jon tackles the trickiest hole on the course - hole 6 and the bridge

As he had played well Jon was 'allowed' an Ice Cream as we wandered back over the bridge and down to Culham Road for the day’s big Bun Throwing contest.

For a full report from the inaugural World Bun Throwing Championships please see the story “Competing in the first-ever World Bun Throwing Championships in Abingdon-on-Thames” on my World of Bun Throwing Blog.

Throwing a bun at the World Bun Throwing Championships in Abingdon-on-Thames

After the fun of the Bun Throwing we nipped to the bookies for Jon and Kim to put a bet on the Grand National and headed to the re-opened pub on Old Station Yard, The Harp. When I lived in the town it was known as The Plough. The pub is worth a visit, it’s nice and friendly with a big screen and there is also a dartboard in there.

We then headed over to the village of Drayton and The Red Lion pub where we’d heard there was a Bar Billiards table. There indeed was, so Jon and I had a two-game challenge where I introduced him to the game. After a quick run through of the rules I then watched him score a 400 with his first shot, having rebounded the Red (double) ball into the 200-hole!

Jon lines up a shot on the Bar Billiards table at The Red Lion pub in Drayton

In our first match-up I picked up the win 760 to Jon’s 680 after I shot a white ball into the 100-hole in the sudden-death shootout.

In the second match Jon built-up steadily and had a score of 850 to my 150 when we reached a sudden-death shootout. After both of us had taken a few shots at the 100-hole Jon managed to sink a white ball to win the match 950 to 150.

A return match of Bar Billiards is also on the cards later in the summer...

Links:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

- World of Bun Throwing
- Abingdon Blog - "The Saving of Crazy Golf"

Related Blog Posts:

- Links to all Bar Billiards Blog Posts on The Ham & Egger Files

- Crazy Golf in Abingdon, Oxfordshire

- The Crazy Golf course in Abingdon's Abbey Meadows

- Abingdon Abbey Meadows Crazy Golf Course Replay on a Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Revisit

Basingstoke Golf Centre - New Mini Golf courses played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Visit to the new 9-hole Minigolf course at Basingstoke Golf Centre and results of Minigolf Challenge Matches.

A view of the new 9-hole Minigolf course at Basingstoke Golf Centre

On Sunday 25th March Emily and I visited and played the 283rd and 284th Miniature Golf courses on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour at the Open Day Launch of a new Mini Golf course at Basingstoke Golf Centre in Hampshire. The weather for the day out playing minigolf could not have been better.

In our first round on the new 9-hole course I defeated Emily by two shots with a score of 19(+1) to her 21(+3).

Emily plays Hole 4

In our next round we were joined by fellow GB international and two-time World Crazy Golf Champion Chris Harding. Chris scored a 16(-2), I had a 17(-1) and Emily hit a 19(+1).

At the event there were also two challenge matches, the first saw me, Emily, Chris and Basingstoke Golf Centre’s PGA Golf Professional Tony Cook play a one-round, 9-hole contest.

In the match Emily was the outright leader for the first seven holes, before Chris and I scored an ace each. This left a three-way tie for the lead with two to play. On hole eight I scored a two, while the other players each took a three. On the ninth Chris and I were both close to getting a hole-in-one but took twos, while Emily and Tony scored threes, meaning that I took the win. The scores from the match were:

- Richard Gottfried - 16(-2)

- Chris Harding - 17(-1)

- Emily Gottfried - 18(par)

- Tony Cook* - 22(+4)

* Tony is the course record holder, having previously scored a round of 14(-4)

From l-r Tony Cook, Richard Gottfried, Emily Gottfried & Chris Harding

In the team contest two teams of three players, led by me and Chris Harding, faced-off in a closely fought cumulative score strokeplay event. The players were selected by each of the team captains. I got first pick having upset Chris with a shock victory in a (best-of-3) Rock Paper Scissors match!

I play a shot on hole 2 - I scored an ace!

On my team were Jon Angel and Danny Angel from the Great Britain Minigolf Team sponsors UrbanCrazy, with Chris’ team containing David McConnachie and Steve Gorton.

Team UrbanCrazy - Danny, Jon and Richard

Team Invincible - Chris, David and Scott

Me and Chris play Rock Paper Scissors to decide who gets the first pick of the players in the team challenge

My team won the challenge match with a total of 62(+8), with Chris’ team hitting 64(+10). The match was very back and forth, with the teams tying on a number of holes too. The final hole to be played - hole 5 - is probably the toughest on the course, so there was a nervy finish to the match.

I was once again the lowest scoring player, this time with a round of 18(par). Chris Harding and David McConnachie tied for second on 19(+1). Jon Angel scored a 21(+3), with Danny Angel on 23(+5) and Steve Gorton on 26(+8).

Playing hole 9 of the Mini Golf course during the team match

Chris, Emily and I also had one final friendly round on the course, with me and Chris both shooting a 16(-2) and Emily hitting a 24(+6).

The Mini Golf course at Basingstoke Golf Centre was designed and built by UrbanCrazy – the sponsors of the Great Britain Minigolf Team. Photos of the course are below:

Hole 1

Hole 2 and the Putting Course in the background

Hole 2

Hole 3

Hole 4

Hole 5 - a nasty dog leg left!

Hole 6

Hole 7 - a very short, but tricky hole

Hole 8

Hole 8

Hole 9

Hole 9

A view of holes 7, 8 & 9

The five-hole minigolf practice area

We also took the opportunity to test our Putting skills on the 8-hole Putting Green at the centre. Chris and I faced-off in a challenge match, with Chris getting the upper-hand and winning with a score of 19(+3) to my 20(+4).

I play hole 1 on the Putting Green

Chris on the Putting Green

The two courses were the first new ones to be visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in 2012 and the first since #282 at London’s Alexandra Palace back in December 2011.

Next stop... who knows where...!

Links:

- Basingstoke Golf Centre

- UrbanCrazy
- Photo of GB players on Heart Berkshire

Related Blog Posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

- No Crazy Golf at Eastrop Park in Basingstoke