Final week of the first Putt18 World Pro League

The inaugural season of the Putt18 World Pro League concludes tomorrow.

I'll be playing my final four rounds in week 7 of the first Putt18 World Pro League at 11am (BST) tomorrow, Sunday 4th October.

You can watch my rounds live on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Facebook Page.

I've been competing against fellow minigolf players from Australia, New Zealand and the USA in the seven event series.

Check out the Putt18 World Pro League Facebook Group and Putt18 website for more information.

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Week 6 of 7 in the Putt18 World Pro League

Results from week 6 of the Putt18 World Pro League.

I've been competing in the inaugural Putt18 World Pro League during the pandemic and six of the seven events in the first season have now been completed.

Players from the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand have been pitting their Putt18 putting skills against each other in the fortnightly challenges. The final week gets underway next Wednesday, 30th September with the champion crowned on Sunday 4th October.

After six weeks a total of 480 rounds of Putt18 have been recorded.

At the top of the leader-board is Matt Ansley of New Zealand with 742 points scored in the six events.

GB's Dave Gomm in second spot with 602 points. Dave has also set a new world record for an individual round with a score of 57 recorded last week.

John Ansley of New Zealand is in third place with 548 points.

I'm currently in 18th place of the 20 players left competing in the marathon of putting with 91 points.

It'll be an interesting final week of games to see if there is any movement at the top and bottom of the leader-board!

Many thanks to my fellow players for keeping track of all the action.

Putt18 World Pro League

Each player has a 20-minute time limit to play four 18-hole rounds for a 72-hole total score in each of the seven events. There are a variety of points on offer for low scores and total rounds.

Check out the Putt18 World Pro League Facebook Group for more info.

Putt18

We first played the Putt18 game format in the Putt18 Home Putting Challenge 4 Nations Cup international event against Australia, New Zealand and the USA back in May.

The Putt18 game mat consists of six tee-off boxes and three target score zones. Players must hit their balls from each of the tee boxes in turn aiming at the Par-4, Par-5 and Par-3 targets while avoiding fairways, bunkers and water hazards that carry penalty points. After the 18 shots have been played you tot up your score to see what you've shot for your round.

Further details of the Putt18 golf game mat can be found on the Putt18 website.

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Read my blog post about keeping social and competitive in the new world of physical and social distancing

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Putt18 World Pro League - Week 6 Results

Scores for Week 6 of the Putt18 World Pro League.

I shot rounds of 79, 76, 83 and 78 for a total of 316 in Week 6 of 7 in the inaugural Putt18 World Pro League.

Video of my four rounds in Week 6.

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More information on the Putt18 golf game mat can be found on the Putt18 website.

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Putt18 World Pro League - Week 6

I'll be teeing-off in week 6 of the Putt18 World Pro League at 4.45pm this Friday, 18th September.

You can watch my four rounds in the penultimate event in the inaugural league live on Facebook.

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More information on the Putt18 golf game mat can be found on the Putt18 website.

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Putt18 World Pro League - Week 5 Results

Results from week 5 of the Putt18 World Pro League.

Provisional scores for my four rounds in week 5 of the Putt18 World Pro League are:

- Round 1 = 76

- Round 2 = 83

- Round 3 = 83

- Round 5 = 85

Total = 327

My scores to date:

- Week 1 = 328

- Week 2 = 290

- Week 3 = 321

- Week 4 = 299

- Week 5 = 327

About the Putt18 World Pro League

During the coronavirus pandemic players from Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand and the USA are competing in individual and team events on the Putt18 golf game putting mat.

There are two more weeks remaining of the inaugural seven event series.

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More information on the Putt18 golf game mat can be found on the Putt18 website.

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Putt18 World Pro League - Week 5

I'll be teeing-off in week 5 of the Putt18 World Pro League at 11am this Sunday, 6th September.

You can watch my four rounds live on Facebook.

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More information on the Putt18 golf game mat can be found on the Putt18 website.

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Crazy Golf at the Social Muscle Club

The Social Muscle Club's Summer Camp is taking place tomorrow night.

We're very excited to be a part of the Social Muscle Club's Bristol event tomorrow evening. It'll have a summer holiday camp theme!

We'll be attending alongside the Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf Club's manager Megan who will be sharing designs from the club's project to create a real-life course as well as hosting a quick fire Mini Golf challenge.

We can't wait to discuss the crazy world of miniature golf, our travels to 955 courses and judge the crazy golf creations made by the attendees.

If you fancy a night in with a summer holiday camp theme you can get your free ticket from Trinity Bristol.

About Social Muscle Clubs and Shambala

At Social Muscle Clubs you’re invited to grab a drink, a socially-distanced friendly buddy, join a Zoom call, and take part in a simple sharing game where everyone offers something they are willing to give, and makes a request for something they’d like to receive. These things can be concrete and practical but also abstract, or relationship-focused. Fresh bread, tax return support, a tattoo, a holiday apartment in Costa Rica, a sofa, cash, a shoulder to cry on. The giving and receiving games in small groups are punctuated by performance, music, and surprises. The atmosphere is celebratory!

The Social Muscle Club is part of the ‘Taste of Shambala’ digital weekender. The physical, real-world Shambala Festival has been postponed until August 2021. Find out more on the Shambala website.

The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Our travels to play at every minigolf course in the UK began in September 2006 when we set out to visit as many British seasides as possible. Once we'd won a free game on the first Adventure Golf course we played in Southsea we were hooked.

At the Southend Pier Crazy Golf course

Since then we've been to 955 courses. 916 of them have been in the British Isles, with 39 in eleven overseas countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and the USA.

Playing Crazy Golf at Pontins Camber Sanda Holiday Park

When our adventures began there were 600 courses in the UK. There are now well over a thousand and counting! We've got 40 of the original 600 we set out to visit left and a lot of new courses to play at too.

Playing Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour stats:

• 955 courses visited since September 2006
• 916 courses visited in the British Isles
• 543 courses played overall
• 14 new courses visited in 2020
• 7 new courses visited in the time of coronavirus
• 36 courses visited in 2020, including revisits

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With over twenty years of marketing and sales experience each we offer consultancy services to people and businesses looking to set-up miniature golf courses, review their operations, hole designs, contests, tournaments and more. Do get in touch for a chat to see how we can help and work together.

Putt18 World Pro League - Week 3 & 4 Results

Results from weeks 3 and 4 of the Putt18 World Pro League.

Play has been completed in the third and fourth weeks of the Putt18 World Pro League.

During the pandemic players from Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand and the USA are competing in individual and team events over seven events on the Putt18 golf game putting mat.

Week 3 - top 3

1. Matt Ansley (NZL) - 251
2. John Ansley (NZL) - 261
3. Dave Gomm (GBR) - 265

Week 4 - top 4

1. Matt Ansley (NZL) - 245
2. John Ansley (NZL) - 256
3. Dave Gomm (GBR) - 262

I finished week 3 at the bottom of the pile of players who completed their rounds with rounds of 69, 87, 79 and 86 for a total of 321 and 12 points.

I fared better in week 4 with scores of 79, 70, 74 and 76 for a total of 299 and 25 points to finish 17th of 20 players.

Putt18 World Pro League Table after 4 events:

1. Matt Ansley, NZL
2. Dave Gomm, GBR
3. John Ansley, NZL
4. Cameron Couper, NZL
5. Nathan Lamplough, AUS
6. Faye Ansley, NZL
7. Steve Lovell, GBR
8. Josh Mars, AUS
9. Pat Sheridan, USA
10. Allan Cox, AUS
11. Luke Lord, AUS
12. Cameron Fincher, GBR
13. Tom Loftus, USA
14. Aaron Kaminski, USA
15. Matt Roadhouse, USA
16. Richard Gottfried, GBR
17. Shelley Cooper, GBR
18. Gary P Shiff, USA
19. Randy Rice, USA
20. Karl R Barth, USA

Week 5 of the 7 event Putt18 World Pro League series tees-off on Wednesday 2nd September.

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More information on the Putt18 golf game mat can be found on the Putt18 website.

Week 4 of the Putt18 World Pro League

My results in week 4 of the Putt18 World Pro League.

I've just completed my rounds in Week 4 of the Putt18 World Pro League.

Provisional scores for Week 4:
- Round 1 = 79
- Round 2 = 70
- Round 3 = 74
- Round 4 = 76

Total = 299

Timings of the rounds:
- Round 1 = 3:37.92
- Round 2 = 4:06.46
- Round 3 = 4:21.90
- Round 4 = 4:45.40

Total = 16:50.70

For more information on the Putt18 golf game mat check out the Putt18 website.

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Putt18 World Pro League - Week 4

I'll be teeing-off in week 4 of the Putt18 World Pro League at 4.45pm this Friday, 21st August.

You can watch my four rounds live on Facebook.

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More information on the Putt18 golf game mat can be found on the Putt18 website.

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Competitive socialising

A look at the world of competitive socialising.

Before the coronavirus pandemic the phrase 'competitive socialising' had become a popular way to describe going out and having fun, with a number of new businesses catering to the demand of a public who wanted to compete at something while eating and drinking in a nice setting.

Whether it was table tennis, darts, shuffleboard, bingo, tenpin bowling, arcade games, or my personal favourite crazy golf, people were finding new ways to quench their thirst, have fun and compete without signing-up to a full sports league or taking things too seriously.

But we all know you have to take competitive socialising seriously – right?

'Competitive socialising' may, for the time being at least, have been replaced on a lot of people's lips by 'social distancing'. But when we're able to safely and fully emerge from isolation and lockdown there will be an appetite for playing games, having fun and doing new things.

Some of those experiences may not actually be totally new though, as people will want to experience the things they enjoyed, or were good at before lockdown.

Similarly, competitive socialising taps into nostalgia, retro experiences and halcyon days. Things that could feel even more important to people in the next few years as the world gets to grips with the effects of social distancing and the impact of the pandemic.

Competitive socialising wasn't a new thing. Instead it was a new way to describe something humans have done for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. While many of the sports and games we enjoy were codified in the last 150 years or so, people have been competing against one another – for honour, pride, money and bragging rights – for centuries.

Read more about keeping social and competitive in the new world of physical distancing in my blog post Competitive socialising in isolation.

I've also collated a number of blog posts about the pandemic as well as topics including Retailtainment, Artainment and Minigolf in the Time of Coronavirus at The Coronavirus (Ham & Egger) Files.

Putt18 World Pro League - Week 3

I'll be teeing-off in week 3 of the Putt18 World Pro League at 4.45pm this Friday, 7th August.

You can watch my four rounds live on Facebook.

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More information on the Putt18 golf game mat can be found on the Putt18 website.

Related blog posts:
- Results from week 2 of the Putt18 World Pro League
- Results from week 1 of the Putt18 World Pro League
- Putt18

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Putt18 World Pro League - Week 2 Results

Results from week 2 of the Putt18 World Pro League.

Play has been completed in the second week of the Putt18 World Pro League.

New Zealand's Matt Ansley once again won the week, this time with a four-round total score of 253 after rounds of 65, 62, 62 and 64.

Great Britain's Dave Gomm was second with a total of 256 after rounds of 66, 67, 64 and 59. The round of 59 was, at the time made, the lowest competitive round scored, the lowest Putt18 World Pro League round and the British record.

However, New Zealand's John Ansley finished the week in third place scoring 263 with rounds of 70, 72, 58 and 63. The 58 setting the bar for the other competitors.

A total of 21 players from four countries are competing in the inaugural Putt18 World Pro League.

I finished this week's competition in 11th place having shot rounds of 69, 73, 76 and 72 for a total of 290 and 42 points. A nice improvement after my shaky start to the tournament with rounds of 81, 79, 84 and 84 for a 328 total last week.

Putt18 World Pro League Table after 2 events

1 - Matt Ansley (NZL) 215 (2)
2 - Dave Gomm (GBR) 178 (2)
3 - Cameron Couper (NZL) 150 (2)
4 - John Ansley (NZL) 149 (2)
5 - Nathan Lamplough (AUS) 125 (2)
6 - Faye Ansley (NZL) 120 (2)
7 - Steve Lovell (GBR) 117 (2)
8 - Luke Lord (AUS) 108.5 (2)
9 - Josh Mars (AUS) 105 (2)
10 - Pat Sheridan (USA) 99 (2)
11 - Allan Cox (AUS) 92.5 (2)
12 - Cameron Fincher (GBR) 70 (2)
13 - Tom Loftus (USA) 55 (2)
14 - Matt Roadhouse (USA) 46 (2)
15 - Aaron Kaminski (USA) 44 (2)
16 - Richard Gottfried (GBR) 43 (2)
17 - Shelley Cooper (GBR) 40 (2)
18 - Randy Rice (USA) 31 (2)
19 - Gary P Shiff (USA) 14 (2)
20 - Karl R Barth (USA) 7 (2)
21 - James Gilderdale (NZL) 5 (2)

Week 3 of the Putt18 World Pro League tees-off next Wednesday.

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More information on the Putt18 golf game mat can be found on the Putt18 website.

Results of the Putt18 4 Nations Cup

Results of the Putt18 4 Nations Cup international golf putting tournament.

We played in the inaugural Putt18 4 Nations Cup international miniature golf putting competition at the weekend.

The event saw us compete for the UK against pairs from Australia, New Zealand and the USA.

Each player had a 16-minute time limit to play four 18-hole rounds for a 72-hole total score.

The results of the Putt18 4 Nations Cup

The event was won by the New Zealand team of Cameron Couper and Matt Ansley with an 8-round total of 572.

The Australian duo of Josh Mars and Nathan Lamplough were runners-up with a total of 583.

The USA team of Pat Sheridan and Tom Loftus were in third place with a total of 604.

Emily and I shot an 8-round total of 658. Not too bad considering we only had a day to practice!

The low round of the event was shot by Australia's Josh Mars with a score of 65.

We're looking forward to playing some more competitions and friendlies on the Putt18 game mat. We'll be trying out the set in different spots around the house to find the optimum putting surface too.

Many thanks to the team at Putt18 for sending us the game mat and selecting us to play in the event.

Visit the Putt18 website for more information.

You can watch each player's four rounds in the videos in this blog post about the competition.

Results of the Putt18 4 Nations Cup

Report from the Putt18 4 Nations Cup international miniature golf tournament.

We played in the first Putt18 4 Nations Cup international miniature golf tournament at the weekend.

The event saw us compete for the UK against pairs from Australia, New Zealand and the USA.

Each player had a 16-minute time limit to play four 18-hole rounds for a 72-hole total score.

The results of the Putt18 4 Nations Cup

The event was won by the New Zealand team of Cameron Couper and Matt Ansley with an 8-round total of 572.

The Australian duo of Josh Mars and Nathan Lamplough were runners-up with a total of 583.

The USA team of Pat Sheridan and Tom Loftus were in third place with a total of 604.

Emily and I shot an 8-round total of 656. Not too bad considering we only had a day to practice!

The low round of the event was shot by Australia's Josh Mars with a score of 65.

We're looking forward to playing some more competitions and friendlies on the Putt18 game mat. We'll be trying out the set in different spots around the house to find the optimum putting surface too.

Many thanks to the team at Putt18 for sending us the game mat and selecting us to play in the event.

Visit the Putt18 website for more information.

You can watch each player's four rounds in the videos below.

New Zealand

Cameron Couper

Matt Ansley

Australia

Josh Mars

Nathan Lamplough

Video link.

USA

Tom Loftus

Pat Sheridan

UK

Richard Gottfried

Emily Gottfried

Link:

- Putt18

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Putt18 Golf Putting Mat Game

A look at the Putt18 Golf Putting Mat Game.

Our Putt18 indoor putting game set has just arrived after a long journey from down under!

The Putt18 Golf Putting Mat Game will be replacing our normal rug!

It's a good fit for our living room

A Putt18 Golf Putting Mat Game ball

The Rules

A branded Putt18 pencil

Official Putt18 scorecards

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Emily and I will be representing the UK when we compete in the Putt18 Home Putting Challenge 4 Nations Cup international event tomorrow, Saturday 16th May.

The competition tees-off at 8pm (UK time) and will see us face-off against teams from Australia, New Zealand and the USA.

The event will be streamed live via Facebook.

Many thanks to the team at Putt18 for sending us the game mat and selecting us to play in the event.

Visit the Putt18 website for more information.

Check out the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Newsletter archive and sign-up to receive future editions

The next normal rules of minigolf

A look at how minigolf will be played after lockdown.

With social distancing in place for the foreseeable future the way we access goods, services and experiences will continue to be quite different to pre-pandemic times.

Minigolf was among the fun leisure experiences that were previously very easy to pay to access, pick-up and play.

The rules of indoor minigolf at Lane7 (2018)

In recent times some of the newer more 'wet led' indoor miniature golf courses such as Swingers, Junkyard Golf, Ghetto Golf, Lane7, Caddies, Puttshack, Birdies, Caddyshackers, House of Holes, BCK YRD GOLF, Teezers, Fore Play Crazy Golf, Puttstars etc. have required or encouraged online bookings and payment online and in advance, although most still 'hold back' a set number of tee-off times for walk in customers.

Many of these new style of competitive socialising courses are 18+ venues and more of a bar with a minigolf course-attached, rather than the traditional minigolf course with snack & drink kiosk found at the seaside or in public parks. As these venues will have capacity limits for people inside the venue online booking tools are essential in managing peak times, as well as being a great way to promote the business through digital channels.

Quite a few of the newer Adventure Golf courses, both indoor and outdoor, have been created with a strong online element to the business, with online bookings seen as the norm for a lot of players, rather than encouraging 'walk up' players as was traditionally the way to participate.

Interestingly those new indoor courses could be better equipped to handle business through the next phases of the easing of lockdown restrictions, as they already have the infrastructure in terms of websites, booking functions and mobile apps to ensure courses are not overwhelmed and that queues are properly managed.

Virtual queuing

There's a long-held view that the British love nothing more than queuing. That and talking about the weather, whilst complaining about queues.

It's quickly become a familiar sight to see lines of people queuing to enter a supermarket or other key store for essential goods. A few months ago such scenes were only seen on TV news and we all thought 'it'll never happen here'. But it has.

As lockdown restrictions are eased some venues will begin to reopen, albeit with restrictions on the size of playing groups, timings and how bookings are made.

With gatherings of groups of 10 people or more likely to be banned for quite some time a lot of courses are introducing strict limits of only 2-4 players per group. These groups will also play with a large gap from the group ahead of, and behind, them.

We'll be seeing virtual queuing in place for a long time to come. In fact it could be one of the real positives to come out of the necessary changes of how we live and socialise.

Virtual queuing has been a thing at a lot of bars, restaurants and competitive socialising venues for a while, where you place your order and then receive a handset to take to your own table to wait for your order, rather than standing in line.

The virtual queue is being introduced in theme parks and retailtainment venues in the parts of Asia that have begun to re-open in recent weeks and it looks like they are here to stay.

Keeping in touch

While most minigolf courses around the world are still closed, during the last month or so we've seen a mixture of messages, communications and promotions from those venues.

In the early days of the pandemic and before lockdown some sites were holding out and promoting fresh air and sanitised equipment as a safe way to have safe fun, while others took the precaution of temporarily closing their doors.

Once lockdown was announced there was a flurry of coronavirus-themed messages about the unfortunate closures and the hopes of the courses in 'getting back to normal' as soon as possible.

It's been very interesting to see that some courses have done little beyond this initial activity and have not kept in touch with customers during the lockdown.

Others have been more active during the downtime and some have arranged competitions around designing minigolf holes and obstacles whilst playing at home.

The team at Strokes Adventure Golf have a regular weather update when the course is open, which they have kept up during the lockdown and it brings a smile to my face when I see it each morning. I've been sharing it across my Facebook Pages every day.

Now is an ideal time for minigolf course businesses to be looking at the way they market their business. While the outside game has always tended to be weather dependent and seasonal there has always been an opportunity to regularly keep in touch with players throughout the year.

There are a number of channels to use and as people spend more time online now is a good time to be looking at digital marketing methods in addition to more traditional promotional activity.

There are so many ways to market a business. It's important not to just revert to a standard default in promotion or jump on the bandwagon of the 'next big thing'.

It's essential to look at the overall strategy of the business, identify customer needs and then meet those needs.

Examples from around the world

Two countries beginning to ease lockdown restrictions and see miniature golf courses reopen are the USA and Australia.

The courses I have seen opening up have been highlighting in advance that there were will be new rules and restrictions in place.

Social distancing is always prominent in the communications.

One of the offers we've seen at a few courses is a discount if you bring your own putters and balls when you play.

Minigolf tournaments

As with all sporting events minigolf competitions have also been postponed or cancelled around the world.

There are a number of efforts to keep competitive spirits up with putt at home and isolation minigolf events taking place, as well as tournaments on relatively new formats of the game such as Putt18.

The World Minigolf Sport Federation has postponed all international championships in 2020, with all events now to take place next year. The first tournaments will be held in Germany, with the Under-23 Nations Cup in Murnau and the Seniors Nations Cup in Wanne-Eickel next May .

The first miniature golf tournament I've seen that will go ahead is from the Professional Putters Association, with their South West Putting Tour's weekend scheduled to take place in Tyler, Texas on the 16th and 17th May.

As expected, there are a number of additional rules and restrictions in place for anyone taking part in the event.

Minigolf apps

Before the pandemic there were some minigolf courses that had taken a look at how they marketed themselves and how they offered customers a better experience. Some venues had introduced apps.

We've found a real mixed bag of apps in use.

Most offer a scorecard function, some of which are more basic than others. Those such as the Paradise Island Adventure Golf app had gone a step further than scorecard and loyalty card elements and had fairly recently added a fun interactive augmented reality feature.

The Hastings Adventure Golf app is one of the best we've used and offers a wide-range of functions, from a scorecard with a course 'caddy' offering tips on how to play a hole, to offering discounts on food and drink before or after a game.

The excellent Hastings Adventure Golf App and hole 2 in real-life - it's the trickiest hole on the Crazy Golf course in Hastings. This was me playing it during a previous edition of the World Crazy Golf Championships

While we hope the traditional way of keeping score with pencil and paper doesn't become extinct we do envisage more courses opting for a mobile app based scorecard.

One of the pain points as a user in the past has been the length of time to input the scores into a phone versus the quickness to scribble down the scores on a piece of paper. Now with more time between playing groups and an extended time to play a round there is less need to be quick about entering the scores.

'Experience minus' and 'Experience plus'

When seeking out new places to visit and minigolf courses to play Emily and I look to have the best experience possible.

It's always incredibly pleasing when we visit a business and receive a really positive experience.

It's also disappointing when a business fails to deliver.

With minigolf courses re-opening for business, it looks likely that while they will be offering a chance for people to get out and enjoy some fresh air and friendly competition, they will unfortunately have to offer their gaming experiences with additional rules, restrictions and changes to the way people are used to playing.

In the times of coronavirus it looks like playing minigolf will be a sterile experience, both in real terms of the sanitisation of clubs and balls, and the wearing of gloves and masks by players and staff. As well as in terms of the fun of getting together with a group of friends, playing a competition, or even just having a chat to the people in the group behind as you watch the group in front struggle with a particularly tricky hole or obstacle.

In the world of 'regular' golf I've seen a number of players upset that they can't get a round in even though a golf course is a 'perfect' place to social distance because of the physical space available.

There are a number of issues that they, and a number of other people also pushing for an easing of lockdown restrictions, are not necessarily considering.

It could very well be that there are some players of sports and games who play purely for the game itself and don't consider a drink at the 19th hole, a bite to eat in the restaurant, or an ice cream from the kiosk an essential part of the experience.

This is obviously not the case for everybody and there have been examples of miniature golf and big golf courses being played by people during lockdown. Even when cups, flags and obstacles have been removed, and the clubhouse closed, some people will do anything to grab a free game.

I, like a lot of people I know, am in the other camp where I want, and in some cases expect, to have a number of other 'things' available to enhance my experience before, during and after playing a round of minigolf or pitch & putt. Or indeed when I'm doing anything. I like having multiple options of when and how I access a service or product as well as the opportunity to purchase further memory enhancing things related to the experience.

If you're just pushing the basic option it will soon become clear that it's not something people will necessarily be keen to return to again and again.

Next and new norms?

It will continue to be of interest to monitor the systems and processes put in place at minigolf, entertainment and competitive socialising venues around the world in the coming months. There will be restrictions and changes, but there will also be renewals, innovations and improvements as we head from now, to the next normal and the new normal beyond that.

It's highly unlikely we'll see a return to how the game was played, or indeed how life was lived in general, pre-February 2020. Thankfully, some of the changes look likely to be short-term, while hopefully some of the positive changes are kept in the long-term.

In the meantime and while the UK remains in lockdown I'll be putting at home and reminiscing about the times we were able to get out and play minigolf with no restrictions.

Minigolf consulting

With twenty years of marketing and sales experience each we offer consultancy services to people and businesses looking to set-up courses, review their operations, hole designs, contests, tournaments and more.

While a lot of the minigolf world is out of action, plans are still being drawn up for new courses, work is ongoing to finish courses where permissible, and ideas formulated for when it's safe to get back out on the course. If you'd like to have a chat about competitive socialising, minigolf, marketing, or minigolf marketing please do get in touch.

The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing

I've been so pleased to see my book bought and used by a number of competition players, course owners and managers, bloggers, course reviewers, minigolf associations and federations around the world.

You can buy The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing ebook on Amazon and Kobo.

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Build a Crazy Golf course during isolation

Things to do while in quarantine.

The Olympic Channel has suggested building a Crazy Golf course during isolation.

I built a home minigolf hole as part of the Putter King Miniature Golf Scavenger Hunt a few years ago. I've got a few ideas for a new home minigolf layout

It's nice to see the Olympic movement getting involved in the craze for putting at home during lockdown.

The last 8 years since the London 2012 Olympic Games have flown by!

It's one of the suggestions we made on the Big Mini Golf Bucket List created at the start of the lockdown.

Our friends at the Putting Penguin are hosting a Pandemic Putt Off encouraging people around the world to create minigolf holes, obstacles and courses during these times of social distancing.

Have you built a minigolf hole or course? What other 'competitive isolation' fun are you having?

Competitive socialising in isolation

Keeping social and competitive in the new world of physical distancing.

I've been thinking a lot about what'll happen post-pandemic, where I want to visit and what I want to do when things begin to 'return to normal'. My bucket list of places to go is filling up fast.

What that 'normal' looks like is certainly up for debate. I think it'll take a while before we're able to go about our daily lives as carefree as most of us were lucky enough to be as before coronavirus struck.

That said the changes we will need to make to how we live our lives will include some positives.

While we've been at home and practicing safe social distancing we've found a number of ways to stay social and have fun.

Admittedly I'm still spending a bit too much time on social media and will look to cut this down. I need to read more books, watch more films and play video-games, rather than scrolling through Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn where you can quite easily be bombarded with bad news.

Like many people we're using apps and platforms in different ways and I've had more video calls with friends, family and colleagues than ever before. Why didn't we use video chat more before coronavirus? Surely this was one of the attractive advancements of the future promised to us by sci-fi films and TV back in the 80s and 90s, as well as being heralded as something we'd all be doing by the presenters on Tomorrow's World.

I suppose we don't readily break out of our routines or comfort zones unless we're really pushed, something the current situation has forced upon us.

Competitive socialising and social distancing

Before the pandemic hit the phrase 'competitive socialising' had become a popular way to describe going out, with lots of new operators catering to the demand of a public who wanted to compete at something while eating and drinking in a nice setting.

Whether it was table tennis, darts, shuffleboard, bingo, tenpin bowling, arcade games, or my personal favourite minigolf, people were finding new ways to quench their thirst, have fun and compete without signing-up to a full sports league or taking things too seriously. But we all know you have to take competitive socialising seriously – right?

'Competitive socialising' may, for the time being at least, have been replaced on everybody's lips by 'social distancing'. But when we're able to safely emerge from isolation there will be an appetite for playing games, having fun and doing new things.

Some of those experiences may not actually be totally new though, as people will want to tap in to the things they enjoyed, or were good at before lockdown.

I really love playing crazy golf and visiting new miniature golf courses, which explains why I've spent the last 14 years travelling to almost 1,000 courses.

My interest in minigolf comes partly from the memories of playing the game as a kid, as well as the fun I've had travelling the world to visit new courses and compete in tournaments with Emily. I also enjoy the aesthetics, design and architecture of courses. Seeing the rise in popularity, innovations in the sector, and the development of the game has been brilliant too.

Competitive socialising wasn't a new thing. It was a new way to describe something humans have done for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. While many of the sports and games we enjoy were codified in the last 150 years or so, people have been competing against one another – for honour, pride, money and bragging rights – for centuries.

A new way of doing things

Competitive socialising hasn't gone away. But the pandemic has certainly changed how we enact it.

Over the last few weeks I have seen how quickly people and businesses have adapted to cater for that need we have to fill our down time and have fun.

Our regular pub quiz at the Micker Brook in Cheadle Hulme is now online, with participants from the pub taking part in regular Zoom conference calls while using the SpeedQuizzing App as our team answer sheet. Our excellent host Mike Prince runs a number of quiz nights at pubs around Greater Manchester. The lockdown has meant we've been part of ‘pub’ quizzes we wouldn't normally have participated in, as the teams from across all five pubs are now playing together up to three nights a week all whilst enjoying some friendly rivalry.

I've also seen a number of friends on Facebook hosting regular quiz nights and drawing in people who may not previously have been able to take part, had the event taken place down the pub.

On the minigolf side of things our friends at The Putting Penguin were quick to organise the Putting Penguin Pandemic Putt Off online – a stay-at-home putting competition with entries being submitted from around the world.

Similarly Tom and Robin at A Couple of Putts in the US have been sharing all the examples of putting at home on their Instagram story to illustrate the fun to be had.

One of those competitions in the USA is the Home Mini Golf Challenge organised by the team at Cool Crest Miniature Golf in San Antonio, Texas.

Another was the At Home Challenge organised by Fun Fore All Family Fun Park in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania where customers were invited to design their own versions of attractions and rides from the fun park.

Here in the UK Plonk Golf have put together a Plonk at Home package for people young and old to encourage home minigolfing fun and also to raise money for charity.

I've also seen lockdown contests from Inverness Crazy Golf and Volcano Falls Adventure Golf in their two Castleford and Edinburgh locations.

Before the lockdown Roxy Ball Room had started work on their new location in Manchester, which will be a local venue for us. As well as an online Roxy Isolation Pong game the brand has launched a competition on Instagram where a lucky winner will receive a party for 50 people at their local venue when this is all over.

Emily and I have put together a Big Mini Golf Bucket List with 12 activities you can ticket off while in lockdown as well as a few ideas for what to do when allowed back outside.

In the world of dodgeball the sport's governing body British Dodgeball have been sharing lesson plans for younger players and sharing video challenges on social media. While the Manchester Bees Dodgeball Club issued a Loo Roll Challenge to other clubs.

These have all been great ways to combat the impact of social distancing and isolation.

Competitive isolation

Social distancing is a bit of a misnomer if you think about it, as the end result from the actions we take is to limit physical contact and proximity to others, rather than being anti-social. I've certainly been social, and seen a lot more social interaction, albeit online, in the last few weeks. We've got a lot more planned in case the weeks spent indoors with limited outside activity turn to months.

A better term for what we're seeing and experiencing is 'competitive isolation'. Yes, we're indoors and cut-off from friends, family and colleagues for a long time. But ingenuity and the desire to have fun, interact and compete is still there.

I'm a big fan of darts and love playing and watching the game whenever I get the chance. Last night the Professional Darts Corporation held the first-ever Darts From Home event, with a five-player round-robin tournament won by South Africa's Devon Petersen. From the positive feedback and enthusiasm from fans this looks to be the first of many home-based pro darts events streamed online.

Speaking of streams, last week saw The Stockport Show launched online, with a daily broadcast on Facebook and YouTube. The aim is to help combat loneliness and isolation as well as bringing the community together and have fun.

I found out about this show after seeing a retweet about a Battle of the Borough. This online vote has been organised to get some community spirit, local rivalry and fun going in lieu of any sporting action. The tournament bracket and the areas of the borough competing certainly caused some interest when they were announced on Twitter on Tuesday evening.

As I said following the first online pub quiz after lockdown "It was superb. A brilliant way to beat social isolation during social distancing through competitive socialising using technology."

What are you doing to beat the isolation blues? Have you taken part in any competitive socialising online during the lockdown? Do let me know.

While a lot of the minigolf world is out of action, plans are still being drawn up for new courses, work is ongoing to finish courses where permissible, and ideas formulated for when it's safe to get back out on the course. If you'd like to have a chat about competitive socialising, minigolf, marketing, or minigolf marketing do get in touch.