Windsor Adventure Golf

Playing the 18-hole Adventure Golf course at Alexandra Gardens in Windsor, Berkshire.

The striking tower on the Adventure Golf course in Windsor, with the real Windsor Castle in the background

On Saturday 21st of June 2014 I revisited Windsor for the first time since May 2009. On our last visit we’d played the Eternit-style Miniature Golf courses in the park operated by Extreme Motion.

At the Extreme Motion Mini-Golf course in May 2009

Since that Crazy World of Minigolf Tour trip the team at Extreme Motion has removed the flat concrete courses and replaced it with a larger 18-hole Adventure Golf course – notable for the castle tower, a nod to Windsor Castle itself.

Hole 11 is the tower hole - a good hole-in-one opportunity if you hit the ball into the hole at the top of the hill. I scored a 3

The new course in Windsor was the 562nd visited and 338th played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Minigolf selfie at the Alexandra Gardens Adventure Golf course in Windsor

I had an enjoyable round on the pleasing to the eye and high quality course. The surroundings are pleasant and the course is in a good spot in the park.

Windsor's Adventure Golf course

I shot a round of 37(+1), scoring two holes-in-one. A lot of the holes appeared to be very aceable. All in all it was a nice morning in the historic town.

I’m looking forward to heading back Windsor and the course again, with Emily this time. The course was very playable and is worth a visit and a play.

A view of the Windsor Adventure Golf course from the other side of the battlements

It costs £5.50 per adult for an 18-hole round, with children (under-14's) and senior citizens charged £4.50 a round.

When I arrived in Windsor I was an hour too early to play the Alexandra Gardens Adventure Golf course so I headed into the town for a few hours followed by a nice riverside stroll in the lovely weather before I had my round of Minigolf

The course itself and the equipment (balls and putters) are well maintained and you get a good quality scorecard to mark your round.

The 18th hole

Extreme Motion in Windsor’s Alexandra Gardens is open from 10am everyday and as well as the Mini-Golf course there are a number of children's fairground rides available, along with a bungee trampoline, zorb balls and cycle hire. Plus ice creams and other refreshments from the kiosk on-site.

More photos of the Windsor Adventure Golf course are below:

The 17th hole has a fairly large 'volcano' type of obstacle on it!

A view of the volcano on hole 17

Links:
- Extreme Motion
- Video: Hole in One at Windsor Adventure Golf

Related blog posts:
- Minigolf Course Visits 98 & 99 - Alexandra Gardens, Windsor
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - List and links for all Miniature Golf courses visited to date

A re-visit to the Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf course in Arkley

Five-player ‘friendly’ Minigolf tournament played at the 18-hole Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf course in Arkley, Hertfordshire.

On Tuesday 1^st of October we headed to Arkley in Hertfordshire (near Elstree & Borehamwood) for an evening round of Minigolf on the 18-hole Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf course at the A1 Golf Centre.

Lining up to compete in the international affair were:

- Emily ‘Lemony’ Gottfried (GBR)

- Liezl ‘The Big Easy’ Van Zyl (RSA)

- Lucy ‘Whacker’ Wallace (GBR)

-  James 'Big Jim/Lucky Jim/Flukester/Not Amy' Specker (GBR)

- ‘Squire’ Richard Gottfried (GBR)

Tee-ing off in dry, light and cool weather conditions the round of golf concluded in the dark and with the onset of quite autumnal weather.

Hole one saw each player, apart from Emily, score a two. James 'Big Jim/Lucky Jim/Flukester/Not Amy' Specker earned his nickname on this hole with an incredibly recovery shot to save par after what can only be described as a horrendous tee-shot.

James 'Big Jim/Lucky Jim/Flukester/Not Amy' Specker with a slightly wayward tee-shot on the first hole

Hole two saw South African superstar Putt Putter Liezl ‘The Big Easy’ Van Zyl make her mark on the event with an awesome hole-in-one to take the lead.

Liezl 'The Big Easy' Van Ziel on the way to scoring a great hole-in-one at Arkley

The remaining seven holes of the front-nine saw steady play from most of the player, barring a few threes and a four apiece for Lemony and Lucy ‘Whacker’ Wallace.

Lucy 'Whacker' Wallace steps up to take on the Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf course

At the half-way stage of the contest the scores were:

- Liezl ‘The Big Easy’ Van Zyl – 19

- ‘Squire’ Richard Gottfried – 20

- James 'Big Jim/Lucky Jim/Flukester/Not Amy' Specker – 21

- Emily ‘Lemony’ Gottfried – 22

- Lucy ‘Whacker’ Wallace – 25

The back-nine started badly for Mr Specker who scored an unfortunate five to put a mild dent in his championship hopes.

Emily 'Lemony' Gottfried in Minigolf action at Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf in Arkley

It was at the 12^th hole that the match got even more exciting. After Squire had scored a two that was almost an ace with a clever and sneaky line to the hole, Emily and Liezl followed-up up by getting ever closer to the hole and Lucy ‘Whacker’ Wallace scored an incredibly hole-in-one to huge delight from her opponents.

An interesting view of the Minigolf contest during play

Attempts to recreate this piece of minigolf magic were unsuccessful, but long will the moment be remembered in the scrapbooks of her opponent’s minds.

With the win available to any with six holes remaining and the dreaded volcano obstacle to face on the penultimate hole it was Squire, The Big Easy and Lemony in with a shot at the title.

Unfortunately for Lemony the wheels would come off at the 17^th with a dreadful maximum score of seven. Squire had hit a safe two and Liezl also scored a par. Whacker put away a nice three, while Flukester couldn’t conjure up any of his earlier magic and also carded a seven.

Squire tackles the Volcano 17th hole at Arkley's Adventure Golf course as keen rival, The Big Easy, looks on

With only the final long downhill hole to play the title was being battled for between Great Britain and South Africa. Squire stepped up first and scored a two, with Liezl also shooting a par. All that was left to do was add up the scores to find out who won...

Final results

- ‘Squire’ Richard Gottfried – 20 + 20 = 39(+3)

- Liezl ‘The Big Easy’ Van Zyl – 19 + 23 = 42(+6)

- Emily ‘Lemony’ Gottfried – 22 + 27 = 49(+13)

- James 'Big Jim/Lucky Jim/Flukester/Not Amy' Specker – 21 + 30 = 51(+15)

- Lucy ‘Whacker’ Wallace – 25 + 27 = 52(+16)

The course was in great condition, with some interesting dino-facts dotted around the course. Some of the water hazards are really good too – with most of the field finding the water on the sixth hole!?

The warning/advice on this sign was not heeded on hole six where four out of the five of us went in the drink!

Related blog posts:

- New Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf opening atthe A1 Driving Range in Arkley, Herts (near Elstree & Borehamwood)

- Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf Course Played atthe A1 Driving Range in Arkley, Hertfordshire

-  Gottfried vs. Hinton - Healthy MinigolfCompetition at Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf

- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and aroundLondon

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - List and linksfor all Miniature Golf courses visited to date

Links:

- Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf

- A1 Golf Centre

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

Kelsey Park Minigolf in Beckenham

A visit to the Minigolf course in Kelsey Park, Beckenham.

On Saturday 30th March Emily and I headed to Kelsey Park in Beckenham, Kent for the first-ever Will Donnelly Invitational Minigolf Tournament organised by the player himself - Will Donnelly!

Hole 18 - the Labyrinth - sometimes it can be tough, other times a good ace opportunity 

With Will having recently found that the course was near to his house he visited and played there and decided to organise an 'open invite' competition there for him and his fellow 'pro' players. The format of the event saw us all play two rounds on the 18-hole Minigolf course in Kelsey park, followed by one 18-hole round at the Dragon Quest Adventure Golf at World of Golf in Croydon.

En route to the park we'd heard the midday tee-off time was being pushed back a little to accommodate for an Easter Egg Hunt that was taking place in the park and on the course! That's certainly a first that we've come across in the 200+ Miniature Golf events we've competed in over the years!

Emily playing hole 2 - the Volcano - as Brad and Seth look on

We had a wander through the park and found it to be a very pleasant venue for both a Minigolf course and the tournament. The staff at the course were very welcoming and have a very well maintained course and surroundings.

A lovely lot of Minigolf-related signs made for a very happy Squire

The Minigolf course itself was originally of the 'Eternit' Minigolf variety, most often found in Europe, and over the last ten years the course has had various modifications made to it. It was certainly unique!

There are plenty of hole-in-one opportunities on the 18-hole layout, but as with many Eternit courses there were some killer holes there too!

On the day Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd set the best score with an opening round of 34(-2). Brad would go on to win the tournament outright following the final 18-holes in Croydon. The all-time best score was set in August 2003 when a Swedish player called Michael George scored a 28(-8)!

Top Putting from Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd

Kelsey Park and the Minigolf course there are well worth a visit. We'll definitely be back.

A rare photo of the pair of us together! Thanks for taking the snap Sethers

The visit to the Kelsey Park Minigolf course was number 525 overall on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 315th course played since September 2006!

Related Blog Posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Courses Visited List

- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London

Links:

- Kelsey Park in Beckenham

- Friends of Kelsey Park

- Kelsey Park Championship Minigolf Course review on MiniatureGolfer.com (2003)

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

Golf Apocalypse - a Crazy Golf course at the end of the world?

The 304th Miniature Golf course gets played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour!

This year has seen some new Minigolf courses opening up in London and on Saturday 11th August we headed to the latest addition to the capital’s Crazy Golf scene - the 'Golf Apocalypse' Mini Golf course at London's Pleasure Gardens, near Pontoon Dock DLR station.

The crazy Minigolfers at the 'Golf Apocalypse' Mini Golf course. From l-r: Gareth Holmes, Richard Gottfried, Emily Gottfried, Dave Lovatt, Alan Norman. The course, much like the sign above, is like something out of Mad Max! Unlike Barter Town the course accepts cash payments to play.

Fellow BMGA Tour Pro Gareth Holmes had texted me with some snaps of the course after he had spotted it when leaving the Excel centre on Friday and with some free time on Saturday we decided to head along and give it a go.

All aboard GA airlines

The course’s designer and owner, Dave Lovatt, was also responsible for the 9-hole Crazy Golf course that staged the Welsh Open Crazy Golf Championships as part of the Newport Big Splash Festival in 2010. Unfortunately we happened to be in Newport a week too early to play that course!

None of us could beat the 'Golf Apocalypse' course record!

We’ve been looking forward to playing his latest layout and it certainly is crazy!

The 9-hole course has all manner of strange Minigolf obstacles and you find yourself playing through the fuselage of a crashed aeroplane, in a pinball machine, on a snooker table and into a volcano!

Emily plays the 3rd hole - a Loop-di-Loop made of a series of tyres!?

Hole 4 is a Pinball machine hole where you have to use the flippers to get the ball in the hole once you've teed-off!

Playing a tee-shot on hole 4 - a hole-in-one is still possible even if the ball misses the hole on the first pass! See video below...

When we arrived at the course Dave showed us a few lines (but not all of them, the cagey player that he is) and we saw he had certainly mastered the course. He told us that the very best score he had shot was an 18. Very impressive considering the bizarre nature and layout of many of the holes. The course Par is listed as 32 with many of the holes par-4 and the last being par-5.

Dave Lovatt shows the Pro players how to play hole 5

In our 9-hole shootout Emily picked up the win with a score of 25. I was second with 26, Gareth was third with 27 and Alan was one shot further back on 28 in our very closely fought match.

Richard tries out his potting skills on the 7th hole of the Golf Apocalypse!

After a short break we headed out for our challenge match against Dave who was itching to play against the Pro players. The ‘Golf Apocalypse’ course rules state that if the ball leaves the course at any time it must be replaced at the point it was hit from (rather than the BMGA rule of replacing it at the point of exit). This rule would prove to be a bit of a game changer when faced with the long 9th hole!

Richard putts through the fuselage of a crashed plane!

With the exception of Emily who scored a 29, we all had better second rounds. I scored a 24 while Gareth scored 25. Dave and Alan tied with a score of 22 and so a sudden-death play-off was required!

Brewery Minigolf Champion Alan 'Stormin' Norman gives Richard's second shot the thumbs-up!

The hole to play the decider on was the 9th and Alan played first, scoring a 6. Dave stepped up and despite hitting the ball out of bounds with his first two shots managed to shoot a ‘par’ score of 5 to win the match.

Dave Lovatt tees-off on the very tough 9th hole

The course is unique and very very crazy. It's well worth a play.

After visiting over 500 Miniature Golf courses you might think that we'd seen pretty much everything there is to see on a Crazy Golf course. But the Golf Apocalypse has certainly shown us that there is still much more to be written in the long history of Minigolf!

The players take up their window seats on GA airlines

Link:

- Golf Apocalypse

Related Blog Posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London

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

Broughty Ferry Crazy Golf course near Dundee, Scotland

Playing the 291st Miniature Golf course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

During our recent roadtrip of the north west of England, some of Scotland and the north east of England we headed to Broughty Ferry, Dundee to visit the 18-hole Crazy Golf course at Castle Green.

A view of the Broughty Ferry Crazy Golf course at Castle Green

On our visit on the 8th of April (Easter Sunday) we found the course to be open so we jumped on and had a game, it was £2 per player (for adults).

Some of the holes on the Crazy Golf course looked very similar to the Eternit-style of Miniature Golf, although the concrete course did not play much like one.

Despite its rough shape it was quite fun to play and was very busy too with a constant stream of people heading onto the course for a traditional seaside Putt around.

The course was the 31st visited on our roadtrip, but only the seventh played! In our match-up I managed to get only my third win in a round of the North West England, Scotland & North East England Tour Challenge contest between me and Emily with a 48 to 56 victory.

A view of the Broughty Ferry Crazy Golf course

Emily playing the Broughty Ferry Crazy Golf course

Emily playing the Broughty Ferry Crazy Golf course

Richard playing through a very large obstacle at the Broughty Ferry Crazy Golf course

Emily playing a tricky hole on the Broughty Ferry Crazy Golf course

A tap-in for Emily on the Broughty Ferry Crazy Golf course

Taking a shot on the Volcano hole at Broughty Ferry Crazy Golf - I scored a hole-in-one!

The Volcano obstacle at Broughty Ferry Crazy Golf

Possibly the oddest hole on the entire course was the 18th. This short hole was the only one on the layout that had any felt on it. It also had a choice of six cups to Putt into!? It's one of the strangest holes/obstacles we've come across on our travels and reminded me a bit of the 5 Star Crazy Golf course we found at Bainland Country Park, near Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire last year.

The only felted hole on the Broughty Ferry Crazy Golf course - it's also got 6-cups to Putt into!?

Video: Crazy Golf in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, Scotland - Scoring a Minigolf Hole-in-One

Prior to our visit I had read a news story about plans for the course to receive a bit of a makeover with some recycled carpet from the Dundee International Sports Complex and a lick of paint too. According to the report the course hadn't had any work done to it since the 1970's!

Prior to our visit to Broughty Ferry the only knowledge we had of the town was that it was home to the star of three excellent books, a radio series and a Hero of Dundee - Bob Servant.

Related Blog Posts:

- Visiting a further 49 Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in England and Scotland

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Links:

- Bob Servant Official Website

Crazy Golf at Stokesley Golf Range, Middlesbrough - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

On Monday 28th November 2011 we headed north to visit the 12-hole Crazy Golf course at Stokesley Golf Range in Stokesley, Middlesbrough. The course became the 277th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The Crazy Golf course is in very good condition and has some tricky obstacles, notably the Windmill, Volcano and the 12th! It costs £3.75 a round for adults, but for an extra quid you can have a second round, which is nice. The course is very playable, so £4.75 for 24-holes is not bad at all.

Stokesley Golf Range is also home to a 9-hole Golf course and a Driving Range.

Photos of the 12-hole Crazy Golf course, including Sponsors Boards at each hole (a very good bit of business).

The 9th hole is incredibly long and twisty, see the video below for the best view of it!

Photos from play during the Stokesley (NO/NIT) Classic Minigolf Tournament played at the course between 'Squire' Richard Gottfried, Emily 'Lemony' Gottfried and John 'Thighs' Moore.

Stokesley Golf Range is another visitor attraction that you can find if you follow the brown signs...

Stokesley Golf Range website

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour