The Lost City Adventure Golf's Treasure Hunt for Miniature Golf Day

The Lost City Adventure Golf is organising three city-wide treasure hunts to celebrate Miniature Golf Day.

The activity tees-off with a total of 150 golden tokens being hidden in Nottingham, Belfast and Hull on Tuesday 21st September, aka Miniature Golf Day. All three cities are home to a Lost City Adventure Golf centre and each area will have 50 coins to find.

Two pieces of Inca Gold from The Lost City. These are safely tucked away in the vaults of The Crazy Golf Museum

Each of the Inca Gold Coins is worth a free game at The Lost City and the treasure hunt runs until Sunday 26th September.

The Lost City Adventure Golf will be posting clues across social media to help find the gold tokens in the cities.

Visit The Lost City Adventure Golf website for more details.

Miniature Golf Day is the second of the year's two 'minigolf days' and is always on the 21st September. The other day is National Miniature Golf Day. That is always on the second Saturday in May.

It's nice to see a minigolf brand getting involved with Miniature Golf Day and the treasure hunt sounds like it'll be a really fun activity.

Playing in the BMGA English Open minigolf tournament at The Lost City Adventure Golf in 2014

We've played at The Lost City Adventure Golf in Nottingham on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, but haven't been to Belfast for a few years and have not yet been to Hull on our travels. We're looking forward to playing at The Lost City's venues in both cities in the future.

Crazy Golf and Crazy Snooker at Watermouth Family Theme Park and Castle in Devon

There are Crazy Golf and Crazy Snooker courses at Watermouth Family Theme Park and Castle near Ilfracombe in North Devon.

One of the places to visit on our post-pandemic bucket list is Watermouth Family Theme Park and Castle near Ilfracombe in Devon.

There's a 9-hole Crazy ‘Fountain’ Golf course there AND a Crazy Snooker layout. When I checked with the theme park the team confirmed it is a Pit-Pat layout. That makes it the only outdoor Pit-Pat course in the UK!

Watermouth money

Two of the tokens in my collection come from Watermouth Castle. I found them at an antiques fair back in 2015 and I found out they date from before 1992.

What a happy castle

I wonder how much 10 Gnolds are worth these days? Not that I'd part with the coin

Visit the Watermouth Family Theme Park and Castle website for more information.

A token from the Boondocks

One of the minigolf tokens in my collection came from a visit to play the two miniature golf courses at Boondocks Fun Center in the town of Northglenn, Colorado, USA.

It was one of the arcade machine tokens in use at the fun center when I visited in March 2009.

Do you know of any minigolf courses that still have tokens when you win on the lucky last hole, or in use at attached arcades or fun centres?

Putt-Putt tokens from the USA

A look at some 1980's Putt-Putt tokens from the USA.

From the Crazy Golf Museum's collection.

The very first Putt-Putt Golf course was created by Don Clayton in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA back in 1954.

In the 1960's Putt-Putt franchises began opening outside of the US, in locations such as South Africa, Australia and Japan. There were also courses in the UK, the first of which opened in Sunderland in 1968. Others followed at Flamingo Land in Yorkshire and in Buxton, Derbyshire. However, information on these UK courses is limited.

Do you know of any courses that still have tokens?

A token blog post

I'm a collector of all sorts of minigolf ephemera, items and merchandise and love finding tokens. My friend, rival and co-Curator at the Crazy Golf Museum has a BIG collection of miniature golf tokens and I've got a pretty sizeable selection of other machine and arcade tokens.

A selection of Putt-Putt tokens

It's always nice to find a course still using metal tokens / coins. Some have moved to plastic 'credit' cards, whereas others have always used paper tokens (of which I've got a few from my wins on the Lucky Last Hole).

I won this Free Game Pass by firing the cannon on the Lucky Last Hole on the very first course we visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Does your course still use tokens? If they do please get in touch and share any photos of them.

Related blog posts:
- Tokens
- A gift from Paradise
- Property of Machine
- Clacton Pier
- Minigolf collectables from the Lost City Adventure Golf course in Nottingham
- Adventure Golf at The Pavilion Fun Park in Clacton-on-Sea

Link:
- Miniature Golf, Putt Putt and Crazy Golf tokens at the Crazy Golf Museum

Bell's Scotch Whisky token from a Scottish Open Golf tournament

Many thanks to my sister-in-law Annette who gave me this brilliant Bell's Scotch Whisky token from a Scottish Open Golf tournament. It's a great addition to my collection of tokens.

One side contains a message to the bearer, the other to the licensee.

To the bearer: On surrender of this medal you may purchase a single measure of Bell's Extra Special for 1 penny. Valid until 30th September.

To the licensee: This medal entitles the bearer to purchase a single measure of Bell's Extra Special for 1 penny. Valid until 30th September.

What a bargain.

There's also no year on the token. I wonder if it's still valid?

Minigolf collectables from the Lost City Adventure Golf course in Nottingham

As my friends, family and regular readers of the blog will know, I'm a BIG fan of minigolf merchandise and ephemera.

The Lost City Adventure Golf course in Nottingham is a great place for minigolf ephemera

On our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour travels we've collected hundreds of scorecards, leaflets, postcards, pencils, balls, badges, t-shirts, tokens and whatnots.

The great branded scorecards and coasters at the Lost City Adventure Golf in Nottingham

A classic way to encourage repeat visits in the miniature golf business is to employ a 'Lucky Last Hole' where, as a bonus, you can try and win a free game - we've played a fair few on our travels, and won on some of them.

You're very likely to find a 'Top Hole' on an Arnold Palmer Putting Course and the Free Game Cards are great. They're well made and often draw on the history of the putting franchise.

In this day and age most courses that give out free games for Lucky Last Hole wins use a paper or card based 'token', and very few still give metal coins to winners.

Except for the Lost City Adventure Golf course in Nottingham. If you're skilled - and lucky - enough you might just win a piece of treasured Inca Gold!

The Lost City Adventure Golf's Temple Trail and Sacred Skull Pass courses were the 330th and 331st we played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. The 36-hole indoor layout has two Lucky Last Holes - both are actually the 18th hole of the course, rather than standalone holes.

The lucky last hole on the Sacred Skull Trail

The 18th Top Hole on the Temple Trail course

When we've played as members of the general public we've not been able to master the lucky last holes at Nottingham, and when we've played there in national tour competitions we've only used one course and skipped the 18th, replaying the 1st hole instead. So unfortunately we've never won a free game there.

I did win a bronze medal at the Midlands Invitational Tournament at the course last year though

But the team at the Lost City were kind enough to send me a nice package that contained a branded pen and two magnificent tokens in a cardboard slip case. Fantastic additions to my collection.

Two pieces of prized Inca Gold from Nottingham

A nice Lost City branded pen

What's more, the Lost City Adventure Golf also has it's own handstamp applied to its mail! Absolutely brilliant to see. There aren't nearly enough minigolf stamps, postmarks or handstamps in circulation.

The Lost City Adventure Golf have really gone to town on their branding - on our travels to 675 courses it's the only place we've seen with an Adventure Golf table! Marvellous.

The theming in Nottingham is brilliant

Check out the Lost City Adventure Golf's website for more details, opening times and prices.

The Lost City Adventure Golf course is well worth a visit

Links:
- The Lost City Adventure Golf
- The Crazy Golf Museum

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Ephemera
- Merchandise
- Token
- Tokens
- The Lost City Adventure Golf at The Cornerhouse in Nottingham
- Revisiting The Lost City Adventure Golf course in Nottingham
- A gift from Paradise

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems.

You can also now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

Clacton Pier

A revisit to Clacton Pier in Essex.

On the pier

Back in May 2011 we headed to Clacton-on-Sea, Essex to give the Adventure Golf course on the pier a play.

Playing minigolf on the pier in 2011. The helter skelter isn't there anymore. The rollercoaster is though

The course is no longer there, but on our recent revisit to the great seaside we spotted a banner on the pub at the dry land-end of the pier about the Pirate Bay Adventure Golf course

The banner appears to be the same one that used to adorn the course on the pier

We had a good look around on our stroll along the pier but there's no sign of any miniature golf courses. There's still a lot of fun to be had there though.

If you win 100,000 tickets you can get one of these MASSIVE Minions in the Amusement Arcade

You can also go tenpin bowling there

Check out the Clacton Pier website for more information on the rides, attractions and entertainment on offer. On this trip we spotted that the old metal tokens used for rides and games on Clacton Pier have been replaced by a new Fun Card. More info and prices are available on the pier website.

One of the old Clacton Pier tokens from my collection. I love the address of the pier - No. 1 North Sea!

We're looking forward to returning to Clacton for more seaside fun in the future.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Minigolf on Clacton Pier - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Course Played #217
- Clacton-on-Sea
- Mini, Crazy and Adventure Golf courses in Essex
- Piers

Link:
- Clacton Pier website

Property of Machine

As a collector of amusement arcade, crazy golf and theme park ephemera and tokens I'm always on the lookout for interesting bits and pieces.

While en route to Clacton-on-Sea we stopped off in Colchester, Essex and spotted a coin stall at the street market. I had a quick look through and managed to find four tokens for my collection. Check out the pics below to see one of them.

What sort of amusement?

Look at that rampaging man! Is that The Machine?

My fellow collector Tim 'Ace Man' Davies sent me a link to Mals Machine Tokens which has got a LOT more details on tokens! You can see more on the token above on the Samson page.

Check out Tim's haul of Crazy Golf, Mini Golf, Adventure Golf and Putt-Putt tokens on The Crazy Golf Museum and MiniatureGolfer.com websites.

Related blog posts:
- Token
- Oliver 'The Machine' Florence

Adventure Golf at The Pavilion Fun Park in Clacton-on-Sea

A revisit to the Augusta Masters National Adventure Golf course in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex.

The Skull obstacle at the Augusta National Adventure Golf course in Clacton

On our recent day out in the great seaside resort of Clacton-on-Sea we visited The Pavilion Fun Park near the pier on Marine Parade West. The fun park is home to an 11-hole Adventure Golf course.

You can find the Adventure Golf course at The Pavilion Fun Park

There's some nice theming on the course

Since our last visit in May 2011 the fun park has undergone an upgrade and rebranding. It looks nice and fresh. We had a look around the amusement arcade and bowling alley and must say it looks really smart.

A view of the Augusta National Adventure Golf course

The Augusta Masters Adventure Golf course was the 94th visited and played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in May 2009.

Playing hole 6 - The Skull - in Clacton

Emily Putting at 'Augusta'

Check out The Pavilion Fun Park website for more information, prices and other attractions.

The Panning for Gold and Gold Crusher machine at the fun park looked brilliant

On our visit to the fun park I also managed to buy some tokens for my collection of seaside ephemera, artifacts and exonumia.

The rides and games at The Pavilion Fun Park operate on a token system - 50p per token

A scorecard from the Augusta Adventure Golf course in Clacton

Clacton-on-Sea is well worth a visit for traditional seaside fun, games and amusements. It's got a very good stretch of beach and some lovely seafront gardens too. I'm looking forward to visiting again.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Minigolf Course Visit No. 94 - Clacton-on-Sea (Augusta Masters)
- Clacton-on-Sea - Revisit - Augusta Masters Adventure Golf
- Clacton-on-Sea
- Mini, Crazy and Adventure Golf courses in Essex

Link:
- The Pavilion Fun Park website

A gift from Paradise

Finding out about the miniature golf courses at Paradise Fun Park in Canada.

As a big fan of all things minigolf-related I was very pleased to receive a package from paradise - Paradise Fun Park in Canada that is.

A great selection of minigolf ephemera and promotional material from Paradise Fun Park

I've been in touch with the team at the seaside resort in British Columbia since 2011 and it's really nice to speak to other people within the world of miniature golf. I love finding out about new and interesting courses, and it's always wonderful to get ephemera and merchandise for my collection and that of The Crazy Golf Museum.

Five postcards from Paradise Fun Park showing the miniature golf courses - Surf 'N Turf and Treasure Island

Paradise Fun Park was built 27 years ago and is a family business. In that time millions of people from around the world have enjoyed visits to the park. There are two 18-hole mini golf courses at the park, with the Turf 'N Surf built in 1988 and the Treasure Island layout introduced two years later.

The Paradise Fun Park mini-golf scorecard

The rules for Paradise Mini-Golf

I do like seeing courses putting in time and effort to their scorecards. This is a well designed and useful tool - it's packed with  adverts for local businesses

In addition to the two Miniature Golf courses, Paradise Fun Park is home to Bumper Boats, a Games Arcade, Snack Bar and Ice Cream Parlour, motel, and an RV park and camping ground. The park on Vancouver Island is located beside Parksville Bay and its sandy beaches.

The brochure for Paradise Fun Park

Two lovely pieces of minigolf ephemera

A look inside the brochure for Paradise Fun Park - the mini-golf courses have some very BIG obstacles including a fully rigged pirate galleon, treasure cave, water mill, Victorian mansion, Bavarian clock and a Dutch windmill

You can find Paradise Fun Park at 375 West Island Highway, Parksville, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Visit the Paradise Fun Park website for more details of the park, opening times, prices and photos of the minigolf courses.

A token from the games arcade at Paradise Fun Park

I look forward to visiting Paradise Fun Park in the future. It sounds like exactly my kind of place.

Links:
- Paradise Fun Park website
- Paradise Fun Park on Twitter
- Paradise Fun Park on Facebook
- The Crazy Golf Museum
- Miniature Golf courses in Canada at MiniatureGolfer.com

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Ephemera
- Postcards