An old Pontin's Crazy Golf postcard from Hemsby, Norfolk

A look at a minigolf postcard from our collection.

Here's a long-lost crazy golf course depicted on a Pontin's multi-view postcard of the Hemsby Holiday Village in Hemsby, Norfolk.

PONTIN'S HOLIDAY VILLAGE, HEMSBY, NORFOLK R5713 by Photo Precision Limited, St Ives. Unposted, undated

The layout is of the Eternit Miniature Golf style - a rarity in the UK.

Related blog posts:

• Postcards
• Pontin's
• Hemsby

Mini Golf Grass Putting at Knaresborough's Castle Yard

A look at the Mini Golf Grass Putting course at Knaresborough's Castle Yard.

Last week I asked the question "Where in the world was this grass putting course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour?".

The answer was the Mini Golf Grass Putting course at Knaresborough Castle in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire.

The course was the first - and to date, only - one we've ever played that had a sallyport and secret tunnel running underneath it!

The tunnel was built in the late 13th or mid 14th century and was large enough for a small group of armed men to leave the castle secretly at night and launch an attack on any besieging troops.

The Grass Putting course at Knaresborough's Castle Yard became the 357th course played and 591st visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Happy 16th birthday to the Crazy Golf Museum

The Crazy Golf Museum is 16 years old today.

Many happy returns to the Crazy Golf Museum as it marks its 16th birthday today.

I set-up the museum with Crazy Golf legend, the late Tim 'Ace Man' Davies back on the 15th July 2010.

Since then the virtual online museum has continued to be filled to make it a treasure trove and archive for all things related to minigolf, crazy golf, adventure golf, miniature golf, Putt Putt, and putting.

It's certainly been a very interesting 16 years!

A BIG thank you to everyone who has shared their minigolfing memories, crazy golf items and adventure golf updates over the years. The Crazy Golf Museum is looking forward to continuing the promotion of the game for many more years to come.

Visit the Crazy Golf Museum's website and social media for information, photos, items, ephemera, stories, videos, postcards, games and more...

If you'd like to contribute any minigolf items, merchandise, course history, current developments or guest blog posts please do get in touch.

Minigolf did you knows...?

Did you know these things about minigolf?

• The world's first miniature golf course was set-up at St Andrews, Scotland in 1867.
• James Barber opened the first minigolf course in the USA in 1916. The 'Lilliputian' miniature golf course was called 'Thistle Dhu' and located in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
• A Miniature Golf contest was part of the Olympic Games at the 1904 St Louis Games in the USA.
• Crazy Golf is 100 years old in 2025. The first course using the name 'Crazy Golf' opened on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire, England in 1926.
• 1926 also saw the first artificial miniature golf course open in the USA. Garnet Carter opened the 'Tom Thumb' miniature golf course near Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
• The first National Tom Thumb Golf Championship took place on the 23rd October 1930.
• The first Putt-Putt brand miniature golf course was set-up by Don Clayton in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA in 1954.
• There are several Guinness World Records for achievements in Minigolf, Miniature Golf, Crazy Golf, Adventure Golf, and Putt-Putt. The 2024 edition of the Guinness World Records book featured a whole page about minigolf and you can find details of the records on the Guinness World Records website.
• There are approximately 1,400 miniature golf courses in the British Isles.
• Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour is 20 years old in 2026! In that time we've visited over 1,000 courses.
• The Crazy Golf Museum is 16 years old in 2026. The virtual online museum is a treasure trove and archive for all things related to minigolf, crazy golf, adventure golf, miniature golf, Putt Putt, and putting.
• There are two 'miniature golf days' each year.
• 'National Miniature Golf Day' is always on the second Saturday in May. In 2026 that will be Saturday 9th May.
• The other minigolf day, 'Miniature Golf Day', is always on the 21st September. In 2026 the 21st falls on a Monday.

Do you have any other interesting minigolf facts or stats? If you do, get in touch and let us know what they are.

'Crazy Golf' is 100 years old this year

Crazy Golf is 100 years old in 2026.

The first miniature golf course using the name 'Crazy Golf' opened on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire, England in 1926.

England's first 'Crazy Golf' course opened on South Parade in Skegness in 1926 and the game is widely known by that name in the UK. Crazy Golf is seldom, if ever, used overseas except in tourist spots popular with UK holidaymakers.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

In May 2015 The Original Crazy Golf course became the 363rd played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We'd first visited the course in 2011.

This sign for The Original Crazy Golf course in Skegness was located a little further down the road and next to another adventure golf course

From a Crazy Golf course to a hotel.

The Original Crazy Golf course in Skegness had been derelict since 2018 and the site has now had a Travelodge hotel and Starbucks drive-thru built on it.

Crazy Golf postcards from the course.

Here are two minigolf postcards from our collection showing the same location.

CRAZY GOLF. SKEGNESS. A Sapphire Card. LS2225. Posted from Skegness to New Basford, Nottingham in 1972

This postcard shows the course, note the name for the games is 'Craz-e-Golf'. This is interesting to see, and a name we'd not seen before

The postcard was sent to Liverpool from Skegness on the 21st June 1977 (a Tuesday). Note the nice postcard cancellation on the card too

The first miniature golf course.

The world's first miniature golf course was set-up at St Andrews, Scotland in 1867.

The Himalayas course is the world's first miniature golf and is home to the St Andrews Ladies' Putting Club. If you visit you'll find two superb grass putting layouts there - one 18-hole course and one consisting of 9-holes.

Related blog posts:

• Crazy Golf
• The Original Crazy Golf course on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire (May 2011)
• Crazy Golf history: from a minigolf course to a hotel
• Minigolf did you knows...?
• Definitions of Miniature Golf
• 100 names for Miniature Golf
• Skegness
• Lincolnshire
• Postcards

The end of Blockbuster Video in the UK

Blockbuster Video closed in the UK on the 16th December 2013.

The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK on this day in 2013.

Blockbuster Video entered the UK video rental market in 1989 following the purchase of Ritz Video.

In 2013 there were over 500 Blockbuster locations in the UK. Throughout that year the number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. On the 16th December 2013 all stores ceased operations.

Even now in 2025 there are still some clearly visible remnants of the brand on the high street and on retail parks.

The first Blockbuster Video.

The first Blockbuster Video store had opened in Dallas, Texas, USA on the 19th October 1985.

The last Blockbuster Video on Earth.

The very last Blockbuster Video store in operation is in Bend, Oregon, USA.

Our 'local' store.

Until January 2024 there was an abandoned Blockbuster Video store near us here in Manchester. It was always an eerie, interesting and nostalgic thing to drive past the old shop at Fallowfield Retail Park.

From 9,000 to 1.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 Blockbuster stores around the world. 500+ of which were in England, Scotland and Wales. Interestingly in Northern Ireland the Xtra-Vision brand was used by the owners in-line with the Republic of Ireland.

Nowadays it you want to rent a film from Blockbuster you'll have to travel to the last Blockbuster Video on the planet - Bend Blockbuster in Oregon.

Visiting the last bits of Blockbuster Video in the UK.

Check out these posts about other former Blockbuster Video stores we've been to in:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Lost brands.

Emily and I have spent the last few years reminiscing about 'the good old days'. One of our areas of interest is in old retail brands - we're both marketers by profession and two of my first jobs in the 1990's and the year 2000 were at Tandy and Toys R Us, while Emily's first job was at a Happy Shopper shop. It's been fascinating to find remnants of these brands - and a number of other lost, dead and defunct brands - on the high street and at retail parks around the UK.

'Crazy Golf' is 100 years old in 2026

Date for your diary - Crazy Golf will be 100 years old in 2026.

The first miniature golf course using the name 'Crazy Golf' opened on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire, England in 1926.

England's first 'Crazy Golf' course opened on South Parade in Skegness in 1926 and the game is widely known by that name in the UK. Crazy Golf is seldom, if ever, used overseas except in tourist spots popular with UK holidaymakers.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

In May 2015 The Original Crazy Golf course became the 363rd played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We'd first visited the course in 2011.

This sign for The Original Crazy Golf course in Skegness was located a little further down the road and next to another adventure golf course

From a Crazy Golf course to a hotel.

The Original Crazy Golf course in Skegness had been derelict since 2018 and the site has now had a Travelodge hotel and Starbucks drive-thru built on it.

Crazy Golf postcards from the course.

Here are two minigolf postcards from our collection showing the same location.

CRAZY GOLF. SKEGNESS. A Sapphire Card. LS2225. Posted from Skegness to New Basford, Nottingham in 1972

This postcard shows the course, note the name for the games is 'Craz-e-Golf'. This is interesting to see, and a name we'd not seen before

The postcard was sent to Liverpool from Skegness on the 21st June 1977 (a Tuesday). Note the nice postcard cancellation on the card too

The first miniature golf course.

The world's first miniature golf course was set-up at St Andrews, Scotland in 1867.

The Himalayas course is the world's first miniature golf and is home to the St Andrews Ladies' Putting Club. If you visit you'll find two superb grass putting layouts there - one 18-hole course and one consisting of 9-holes.

Related blog posts:

• Crazy Golf
• The Original Crazy Golf course on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire (May 2011)
• Crazy Golf history: from a minigolf course to a hotel
• Minigolf did you knows...?
• Definitions of Miniature Golf
• 100 names for Miniature Golf
• Skegness
• Lincolnshire
• Postcards

95 years since the first National Tom Thumb Golf Championship took place

The first National Tom Thumb Golf Championship took place almost 100 years ago.

The first National Tom Thumb Championship was contested in Chattanooga, Tennessee 95 years ago today.

Garnet Carter created the first artificial miniature golf course in the USA in 1926. The first of the 'Tom Thumb Golf' brand of miniature golf course was an 18-hole layout located near Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

By 1930 there were some 25,000 miniature golf courses in the USA, 3,000 of which were the now patented Tom Thumb course franchises.

The course and fantasy theming caught the imagination of visitors and on the 23rd October 1930 the final of the first-ever National Tom Thumb Championship took place.

Qualifying events had taken place in all of the then 48 states of the USA, with 200 players representing 30 states in the grand final. The event had a total prize fund of $10,000, with the champion winning $2,000!

We haven't played a Tom Thumb Golf course on our travels, but we do have some nice old postcards of Tom Thumb courses in our collection. This one is of a course at Westende Bains in Belgium

Check out the Crazy Golf Museum for more minigolf history.

The Original Crazy Golf course on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire (May 2011)

The site of England's first-ever Crazy Golf course is now home to a hotel.

A new Travelodge hotel and Starbucks drive-thru are now open on the location of England's first Crazy Golf course.

The Original Crazy Golf course on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire had been derelict since 2018.

England's first 'Crazy Golf' course opened on South Parade in Skegness in 1926 and the game is widely known by that name in the UK. Crazy Golf is seldom, if ever, used overseas except in tourist spots popular with UK holidaymakers.

In May 2015 The Original Crazy Golf course became the 363rd played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We'd first visited the course in 2011.

We've also got some nice old postcards of the course in our collection.

Related blog posts:

• Crazy Golf history: from a minigolf course to a hotel
• Skegness
• Postcards
• Lincolnshire
• Crazy Golf

A minigolf postcard from Ostend, Belgium

A look at an old Tom Thumb minigolf postcard from Ostend, Belgium.

Minigolf Postcard - Ostende Golf miniature. Oostende Klein Golfspel. Ostend Tom Thumb Golf. ARTCOLOR BRUXELLES. 17. Posted on the 19th July 1955

Related blog posts:

• Postcard
• Ephemera
• Ostend
• Belgium
• Tom Thumb Golf

A minigolf postcard from Knokke-Zoute, Belgium

A look at an old minigolf postcard from Knokke-Zoute, Belgium.

Minigolf Postcard - 72 - Knokke-Zoute - Kleine Golf. Golf miniature. Miniature Golf. Minigolf. Anciens Ets Ern. Thill s. a. - Bruxelles. Photo Véritable. Unposted. Undated

Related blog posts:

• Postcard
• Ephemera
• Knokke-Zoute
• Belgium

A minigolf postcard from the Hotel Britannique in Knokke-Zoute, Belgium

A look at an old minigolf postcard from Knokke-Zoute in Belgium.

Minigolf Postcard - HOTEL BRITANNIQUE. Belgium. Knokke-Zoute - Golf miniature. Kleine Golf. Photothill, Bruxelles. Unposted. Undated

Related blog posts:

• Postcard
• Ephemera
• Knokke-Zoute
• Belgium

A minigolf postcard from Ostend, Belgium

A look at an old minigolf postcard from Ostend, Belgium.

Minigolf Postcard - Ostende Le Golf miniature, la nuit. Oostende Klein Golfspel bij nacht. Ostend Tom Thumb Golf at night. Ern. Thill, Bruxelles, No. 28. Unposted. Dated 1952

Related blog posts:

• Postcard
• Ephemera
• Ostend
• Belgium

A minigolf postcard from Noordwijk aan Zee in Holland

A look at an old minigolf postcard from Noordwijk aan Zee in Holland.

Minigolf Postcard - NOORDWIJK AAN ZEE HOLLAND Midget Golf ,,Huis ter Duin''. Posted to Hinkley, Leicestershire in 1974

Related blog posts:

• Postcard
• Ephemera
• Netherlands
• Holland

A minigolf postcard from Blankenberge, Belgium

A look at an old minigolf postcard from Blankenberge in Belgium.

Minigolf Postcard - BLANKENBERGE. Miniatuurgolf en tennis. Golf miniauture et tennis. Miniature golf and tennis. Minigolf und Tennis. 1012. Edicionnes FISA. Printed in Spain. Unposted. Undated

Related blog posts:

• Postcard
• Ephemera
• Belgium
• Blankenberge

A minigolf postcard from Middelkerke, Belgium

A look at an old minigolf postcard from Middelkerke, Belgium.

Minigolf Postcard - MIDDELKERKE. Tennis en miniatuur-golf. Tennis et golf miniature. Lawn-tennis and golf miniature. Tennis und Golf Miniatur. Uitgever VAN MIEGHEM A. Oostende Posted on the 18th June 1978

Related blog posts:

• Postcard
• Ephemera
• Middelkerke
• Belgium

A minigolf postcard from Blankenberge, Belgium

A look at an old minigolf postcard from Blankenberge, Belgium.

BLANKENBERGE. Tennis en Miniatuur Golf. Tennis courts and Miniature Golf sites. Tennis et Golf Miniature. Tennis- und Minigolf - Plätze. KRUGER 95912. Unposted. Undated

Related blog posts:

• Postcard
• Ephemera
• Blankeberge
• Belgium

A minigolf postcard from Knokke-Zoute in Belgium

A look at an old minigolf postcard from Knokke-Zoute, Belgium.

Minigolf Postcard - Knokke-Zoute - Golf miniature. Kleine Golf. Photothill, Bruxelles. No. 72. Unposted. Undated

Related blog posts:

• Postcard
• Ephemera
• Belgium
• Knokke-Zoute

The Masters Putting Green in Southport - celebrating 60 years in 2025

The Masters Putting Green crazy golf course in Southport, Merseyside is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.

The Masters Putting Green Crazy Golf course at King's Gardens in Southport in 2016

The 18-hole crazy golf course opened for business back in 1965.

The course on a very busy Miniature Golf Day in 2019

The Masters Putting Green in Southport is of the Arnold Palmer Putting Course variety, and opened under the Arnold Palmer branding in 1965.

Playing The Masters Putting Green at King's Gardens in Southport back in September 2009

Find out more.

You can find out more about The Masters Putting Green on the Southport Crazy Golf website.

The Masters Putting Green in Southport, 23rd November 2016

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The Masters Putting Green in Southport was the 150th course we played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We've revisited the course in October and November 2016, January and October 2018, and September 2019.

September 2009

October 2016

November 2016

A revisit is long overdue!

The Windmill at The Masters Putting Green in Southport, 23rd November 2016

Winning a FREE GAME at The Masters Putting Green Crazy Golf course at King's Gardens in Southport, 4th September 2009

Winning a FREE GAME at The Masters Putting Green Crazy Golf course at King's Gardens in Southport, 4th September 2009

The Masters Putting Green Crazy Golf at King's Gardens in Southport, 1st January 2018

The Masters Putting Green Crazy Golf at King's Gardens in Southport, 1st January 2018

Arnold Palmer Putting Courses.

Arnold Palmer Putting Courses are a design classic and include all the elements that make a Crazy Golf course great – the Windmill, the Waterwheel, an Obelisk, ledges, bunkers, traps, flat loops, hills and plateaus – everything laid out to make a course interesting, testing and most of all fun!

They're my favourite type of minigolf course and I've visited most of those that still remain in the UK.

The Arnold Palmer branded miniature golf courses were part of the Arnold Palmer Enterprises empire set-up in 1961 that saw the legendary golfer's name licensed and franchised to a wide-range of activities and products including Dry Cleaning centres and an Arnold Palmer brand foot detergent.

By 1966 there were 130 Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in the USA, with ten in Japan and some in South Africa.

Southport's Crazy Golf course lays claim to being the first Arnold Palmer Putting Course in the UK (there is also some information that a course in Coventry opened as the first in 1965 and was part of an Arnold Palmer Driving Range in the city). An Arnold Palmer Putting course was also located at a Driving Range in Sheffield.

Take a look at my blog post about "Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in the UK" for further information.