20 for 20 - The UK's first Crazy Golf course

20 for 20: 20 years of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

This month we're celebrating two decades of our crazy minigolfing adventures.

And in 2026 Crazy Golf is 100 years old!

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

Related blog posts:

• 20 for 20
• Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
• Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour is 20 years old this month

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

A Great Yarmouth miniature golf postcard from 1927

Stepping back in time for a look at minigolf in Great Yarmouth in the 1920s.

One of the earliest miniature golf postcards I have in my collection is this one showing the Putting Green on Marine Parade in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

Putting Green, Great Yarmouth. Postcard postally used on the 11th November 1927

The postcard was sent to Hayes, Middlesex on the 11th November 1927.

You can see the Hippodrome in the left of the image and this building is still standing and is the Hippodrome Circus on St George's Road. If you visit now you'll find a row of buildings in front of the Hippodrome itself!

You will also find that there is still a minigolf course on the same spot as the Putting Green.

Now called Castaway Island Adventure Golf the site was an Arnold Palmer Putting Course that we played a number of times on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

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.

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

A minigolf postcard from Sasbachwalden, Germany

A look at an old miniature golf postcard showing the Miniatur-Golfplatz in Sasbachwalden, Germany.

This postcard was posted on the 5th August 1974.

MINIATUR-GOLFPLATZ SASBACHWALDEN mit Pension Bohnert. PERUTZ-Coloraufnahme Nr. OI4279. Müller-Fotokarten - Freudenstadt-Schwarzwald. Posted 5th August 1974

The course is still there - and my brother Christopher actually visited it in 2023!

Höfner Stübl Minigolf in Sasbachwalden. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, August 2023

Check out the Höfner Stübl Minigolf Facebook Page for more information.

A minigolf postcard from Hotel La Toja in Pontevedra, Spain

A look at an old miniature golf postcard of the course at the Hotel La Toja in Pontevedra, Spain.

LA TOJA (GALICIA) Gran Hotel y golf miniatura. Grand Hotel et petit golf. Grand Hotel and miniatura golf. Serie II - Num. 9760. Unposted. Undated

Interestingly the course is called 'golf miniatura', 'et petit golf' and 'miniature golf' to cater for the languages of different guests.

Looking online, while the hotel (Eurostars Gran Hotel La Toja) is still there it no longer has a minigolf course.

A minigolf postcard from Holiday Club Playa del Sol, Estepona, Spain

A look at an old miniature golf postcard showing the course at the Holiday Club Playa del Sol in Estepona, Spain.

The card is unposted and undated.

No. 631 - HOLIDAY CLUB PLAYA DEL SOL. Estepona (Costa del Sol-España). DELTA. Unposted. Undated

A minigolf postcard from the Galeries Fleuries in Cannes, France

A look at an old minigolf postcard showing Le Golf Miniature at the Galeries Fleuries in Cannes, France.

This postcard is unposted and undated.

CARTE POSTALE. 512. CANNES. Galeries Fleuries. Le Golf Miniature. Unposted. Undated

"Galeries Fleuries" translates as "Flowery Galleries" and the area was a popular attraction in the 1920s and 1930s.

A minigolf postcard from Hotel Palma Nova, Mallorca

A look at an old miniature golf postcard from Hotel Palma Nova in Mallorca, Spain.

331 - HOTEL PALMA NOVA. PALMA NOVA. MALLORCA. Posted to Belfast, Northern Ireland. Date unknown

Looking online it doesn't look like the hotel's course is still there.

A minigolf postcard from Zagreb

A look at an old miniature golf postcard from Illica, Zagreb.

Izdavač Zadružna štampa. Zagreb, Illica 35. Posted, date unknown

This postcard was posted and has a stamp from Yugoslavia on it, however the postmark with the date on it is unclear.

Looking online the course could have existed next to Lake Jarun.

There is a course nearby at Mini Golf igralište.

A minigolf postcard from Bredene Aan Zee in Belgium

A look at an old miniature golf postcard of a course in Bredene Aan Zee, Belgium.

This postcard shows the Klein Golfspel / Golf miniature course and was posted to Croydon, England on the 19th August 1968.

BREDENE a/ZEE - Klein Golfspel. BREDENE s/MER - Golf miniature. L 18. NELS. MEXICHROME France. Posted to Croydon on the 19th August 1968

The course is still there, having opened in 1950, with the business expanding over the years.

Visit the Minigolf Bredene website for more information.

Bredene Aan Zee is a small seaside town in Belgium. It's next to Ostend.

While checking out the old postcards of minigolf course in Belgium and the online maps of the locations there are still plenty of places to play the game. This stretch of the Belgian coast would be superb for a minigolf tour.