Mini Golf course at Vivary Park in Taunton

Playing the Mini Golf course in Taunton's Vivary Park.

The Mini Golf course in Vivary Park, Taunton

The 380th course we played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour was the 18-hole Mini Golf course at Vivary Park in Taunton, Somerset.

The last stop on our tour around the South West of England last summer

It's a brilliant course that rewards well aimed shots. It's similar to the great miniature golf courses you can find in Dorridge, near Solihull, and Stratford-upon-Avon. Like those two courses Vivary Park has also been the host venue for a tournament - the 2006 British Minigolf Championship, won by Wallsend's John 'Thighs' Moore.

The layout was the 62nd visited and 17th played on our tour of the South West of England in the summer of 2015. It became the 640th we visited in the UK, and the 661st overall.

In our minigolf match at Vivary Park on the 12th June 2015 Emily scored 45 and I shot a par round of 36. We'd definitely play there again. Check out the photos below to see the 18-holes.

For more information, opening times and prices visit the Tone Leisure website. There's also a regular golf course in the park, as well as a Footgolf layout. As you can see from the photos of the course there's a high ropes centre there too.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Mini Golf in the South West of England

Link:
- Tone Leisure website

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A miniature golf postcard from Helensburgh in Scotland

We recently added another great old minigolf postcard to our collection.

While at the Charing Cross Collector's Market in London we found a postcard showing the Putting Green and West Clyde Street in Helensburgh.

The real photograph postcard showing the Putting Green and West Clyde Street in Helensburgh. Published by Valentine's. Number 217052.J.V. Postally unused and undated, but believed to date from the early 1930's

We visited Helensburgh during a Crazy World of Minigolf Tour roadtrip in April 2012. Unfortunately it was a bit too early in the season for a game on the links Putting course.

A view of the (out of season) Putting Green in Helensburgh as it was when we visited in 2012

We love playing on grass miniature golf courses and the Putting Green in Helensburgh looked like a nice place for a game. There's been a course on the same spot since the 1920's so it's a very historic location.

You can find out more about Postcard Collecting in Picture Postcard Monthly magazine and the Picture Postcard Annual. Two publications which I contribute to and write for.

Related blog posts:
- Putting Green
- Putting Course
- Postcards
- Unplayed Minigolf Courses on our Roadtrip to Scotland & Back

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Captain's Bay Adventure Golf course in Barnet, London

There's a new Adventure Golf course under construction in London!

We've heard there's a brand new 9-hole miniature golf course being built at the Metro Golf Centre in Barnet, London.

The new course should be open in April this year. Check out the Captain's Bay Adventure Golf Facebook page for photos of the new build and designs of the layout. They've got a great looking logo too. I do like seeing minigolf sharks!

It's always great to hear about new courses opening and there have been quite a few new Crazy Golf, Mini Golf and Adventure Golf courses opening in London in recent years.

We visited the Metro Golf Centre in April 2010 when the minigolf course that was there became the 170th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We remember it being a very good and unique course.

Playing minigolf at the Metro Golf Centre in 2010

Emily playing the incredibly short hole 7 at the Metro Golf Centre in Barnet

It's planned that the new Adventure Golf course will be open in time for Easter this year. Visit the links below for more info.

Links:
- Captain's Bay Adventure Golf on Facebook
- Showcase Greens website
- Metro Golf Centre website

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Course Visit #170 - Barnet (Copthall/Metro Golf Centre) - Mini Golf
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - List and links for all Miniature Golf courses visited to date
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London
- Mini Golf Sharks

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A postcard from Ham and Egg Parade in New Brighton

While on a recent day out in London we popped into one of the antique and collectibles shops on Cecil Court to shelter from the rain. Luckily there were a few old postcards to have a look through and the first one we found is a perfect addition to our collection.

The very prominent New Brighton Tower isn't there any more. After neglect during the First World War dismantling of the tower began in 1919.

The card was posted from a 'Harry' to a 'Nurse Drower' at the Woolwich Infirmary on July 19th 1906.

The message is still clear with Harry telling the Nurse that the area is "One of the most notorious places in the kingdom."

Consulting the excellent Postcardese book by Guy Atkins the stamp has been affixed with a secret message - the angle suggest the message is 'Forget me not'. The trend of secret messages via stamps reached its height in the Edwardian era

New Brighton's Ham and Egg Parade was 'famed' for serving Ham and Eggs to customers in its Tea Rooms. However, the area gained a very bad reputation for immoral 'goings-on' in these "Tea Rooms", and the situation got so bad that in 1907 the area was demolished and replaced by Victoria Gardens!

A ham and egger on Ham and Egg Parade

We visited New Brighton in March 2011. There weren't any immoral goings-on that we could see. There was an abandoned Crazy Golf course there though.

The old Crazy Golf course on King's Parade. Much like Ham and Egg Parade it no longer exists, having been replaced by a more salubrious new minigolf layout

We're looking forward to a return trip to New Brighton later this year. There's a pair of new Miniature Golf courses there that we're yet to play on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

It's brilliant how much social history and amusement you can get from an old postcard. You can find out more about Postcard Collecting in Picture Postcard Monthly magazine and the Picture Postcard Annual. Two publications which I contribute to and write for.

Related blog posts:
- Ham & Egg Parade in New Brighton!
- New Brighton
- Postcards
- The Ham & Egger Files – An Introduction

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New Plonk! Crazy Golf course open in Brixton, London

The capital gets a new minigolf course.

The team at Plonk! Golf have opened a new Crazy Golf location in London. The minigolf course that had been at the Winterville Festival has been installed at the Duke of Edinburgh pub in Brixton.

Playing the Plonk! Golf crazy golf course at Efes Snooker Club in Dalston last year

Plonk Golf now have miniature golf courses in Dalston/Stoke Newington, Hoxton and Brixton.

A round of Crazy Golf at Plonk! Golf in the Duke of Edinburgh's beer garden in Brixton costs £5 per player. For more information visit the Plonk! Golf website.

We're looking forward to giving the courses a play on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

It's always nice to hear about new mini and crazy golf courses opening in London. There is still a bit of a dearth of permanent Crazy Golf courses in Central London, but Plonk! Golf are helping meet the demand from fans of the miniature game.

Links:
- Plonk! Golf website
- Plonk! Golf on Facebook
- Plonk! Golf on Twitter
- Duke of Edinburgh pub website
- Duke of Edinburgh pub on Facebook
- Duke of Edinburgh pub on Twitter
- The House of Revelry website

Related blog posts:
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in Pub Beer Gardens
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Indoor Minigolf, Crazy Golf and Adventure Golf courses
- Plonk! Golf
- Plonk! Golf Crazy Golf at Efes Snooker Hall in London
- Plonk! Golf in Dalston, London

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow Richard and Emily on Twitter. You can also now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

Crazy Golf course at The Belfry Hotel and Resort

New miniature golf course at The Belfry Hotel and Resort in Wishaw, Sutton Coldfield.

The 'Ryder Legends Mini Golf' is a 12-hole course consisting of holes designed with inspiration from famous Ryder Cup venues. It's open daily from 10am to 6pm with a game for an adult costing £7 and £5 for children.

We played the course in September 2017 when competing in the American Golf National Adventure Golf Championships

You can find more information, opening times and photos of the new minigolf layout on The Belfry Hotel and Resort website and Ryder Legends Mini Golf web page.

We're looking forward to playing the course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour as we move towards our 700th course visit!

We've played a few courses on our tour where the layout has been based on famous holes from big golf courses, including the Miniature Golf course at the Celtic Manor Resort in Wales.

Since we began playing LOTS of minigolf in 2006 we've visited a number of courses in the Midlands, while the Midlands Minigolf Club are the current national team minigolf champions.

Links:
- The Belfry Hotel and Resort website
- Ryder Legends Mini Golf web page
- The Belfry on Twitter
- The Belfry on Facebook

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Midlands
- West Midlands
- Playing the Ryder Legends Mini Golf at The Belfry in Sutton Coldfield

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow Richard and Emily on Twitter. You can also now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

Mini Golf dates for your 2016 diary

Details of minigolf events and competitions for the year ahead.

Minigolf is 149 years old in 2016, while the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour turns ten

2016 is going to be a BIG year in minigolf. Check out the details below for the landmarks and milestones, anniversaries, days, and other key dates.


Anniversaries in 2016
There are some very interesting key dates being celebrated in 2016:

• The first minigolf course in the USA opened in 1916. It was called 'Thistle Dhu' and located in Pinehurst, NC.
• Putting will return to the Olympic Games at Rio 2016 after a break of 112 years, albeit as part of the big Golf tournament. A Miniature Golf contest was held as part the 1904 St Louis Games!
• Crazy Golf is 90 years old in 2016! The very first course opened on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire, England. There's still a course on the same spot - we managed to play it in 2015.

A visit to England's first-ever Crazy Golf course on National Miniature Golf Day 2015

• 1926 also saw the first artificial miniature golf course open in the USA, with the 'Tom Thumb' miniature golf course opening near Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, TN.
• Friday 30th September 2016 will mark the tenth anniversary of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. To date we've visited 672 mini, crazy, putting and adventure golf courses.
• Minigolf course reviewers at The Putting Penguin celebrate their 15th year in 2016, while fellow minigolf bloggers A Couple of Putts reach their fourth year.
• Miniature Golf will be 149 years old! The world's first Grass Putting course was set-up at St Andrews, Scotland in 1867. The Himalayas is still there now and is a real pleasure to play.

Recurring minigolf 'days'
Each year there are two quasi-official days to celebrate the game:

• National Miniature Golf Day takes place on the second Saturday in May and in 2016 will be on Saturday 14th May.
• Miniature Golf Day is always on the 21st of September, which falls on a Wednesday in 2016.

Emily playing a round at Putt in the Park in Battersea Park, London on Miniature Golf Day 2015

Minigolf Tag (day) has been celebrated in Austria since 2010. Keep an eye on the Minigolf Tag website for details of the 2016 event.

Every Monday is #MinigolfMonday on Twitter.


Competitions
Hundreds of competitions take place around the world, below are some of the highlights of the 2016 calendar.

UK tournaments
The British Minigolf Association Tour calendar for 2016 has been announced.

• Sunday 28th February – English Open at the Lost City Adventure Golf course in Nottingham.
• Sunday 6th March – Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Open at the three seafront courses in Hastings.
• Sunday 10th April – British Masters at Splash Point Mini Golf in Worthing.

Emily playing in the 2015 Splash Point Open tournament at the Splash Point Mini Golf course in Worthing

• Sunday 24th April – British Club Championships at Strokes Adventure Golf Course in Margate.
• Friday 6th May – British Championships Pro-Am at Wroxham Barns in Hoveton.
• Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th May – British Championships at Wroxham Barns in Hoveton.
• Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th June – World Crazy Golf Championship at the Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf Course in Hastings.
• Saturday 16th July – Cambridgeshire & Essex Open at the Dunton Hills Family Golf Centre in West Horndon.
• Sunday 17th July - British Doubles Championship at the Dunton Hills Family Golf Centre in West Horndon.
• Friday 16th September – Players Championship.
• Friday 16th September – International Players Championship.
• Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th September – British Open at the Pirate Course in Hastings.
• Sunday 16th October – Welsh Open is at the Treetop Adventure Golf Course in Cardiff.
• Sunday 13th November – Kent Open at the Lost Island Encounter Adventure Golf course in Sidcup.
• Sunday 4th December – Star City Open at Adventure Island Mini Golf in Birmingham.
• Season-long – British Matchplay Championship.

There will also be club Open events throughout the year.

International events
World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF):

• 25th and 26th June – World Adventure Golf Masters in Prishtina, Kosovo.
• 14th and 15th May – Youth Nations Cup in Bischofshofen, Austria.
• 10th to 13th August – Youth World Championships in Bischofshofen, Austria.

The Great Britain 3 team that finished 5th in the 2013 WMF World Adventure Golf Masters tournament

European Minigolf Sport Federation (EMF):

• 14th and 15th May – Nations Cup in Vizela, Portugal
• 10th to 13th August – Seniors European Championships in Lahti, Finland.
• 24th to 27th August – General Class European Championships in Vizela, Portugal.
• 29th September to 1st October - European Cup for club teams in Neutraubling, Germany.

Asian Minigolf Sport Federation (AMF):

• 8th to 10th October - Open Asian Championships in Yokohama, Japan.

Contests in North America
USPMGA:
In the USA the USPMGA organises two major events – US Masters and US Open – and a number of local and regional events.

• October 13-15 – USPMGA Master’s National Championship in North Myrtle Beach, SC.
• May 14th and 15th – US Open at Putt U Miniature Golf in Center Valley, PA.

PPA:
There are also miniature golf competitions organised in the USA by the PPA. You can find out more about Putt-Putt, the Professional Putters Association, the Amateur Putters Association and the competitions hosted on Putt-Putt miniature golf courses on the PPA website.

Mini-Putt:
In Canada the Mini-Putt tour holds a number of tournaments. Find out more on the Mini-Putt website.

If you know of any other miniature golf contests taking place do let us know via the comments below or via email.

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 sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

Happy Easter

The first Free From Easter Eggs of the season have made an appearance.

While doing a little bit of a top-up shop on New Year's Eve I spotted that Sainsbury's are very well stocked on Easter Eggs already!

If you're quick you can also pick up a box of gluten free Mince Pies for 70p and Nakd Christmas Pud bars for 25p

Related blog posts:
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac
- Funny things about being a Coeliac

Links:
- Sainsbury's website
- Sainsbury's Free From

Minigolf in Prishtina, Kosovo - World Adventure Golf Masters

On the 25th and 26th June 2016 the World Adventure Golf Masters will be held in Prishtina, Kosovo - the first major international miniature golf tournament to take place in the country.

You can find out more about the World Minigolf Sport Federation's 2016 calendar of international championships online.

The 2016 WMF World Adventure Golf Masters in Kosovo will be the sixth edition of the tournament.

At the 2011 WMF World Adventure Golf Masters in Hastings, Alan 'Stormin' Norman and I took on Kosovo's first international players in a doubles match. From l-r Arben Alija, Richard Gottfried, Alan Norman, Lavdim Zylfiu

Emily and I played in the first staging of the event in 2011, as well as the 2012 and 2013 editions in Hastings. The event has also been held in Sweden.

Prishtina Golf previously hosted the Kosovo Open in 2012.

All the very best to the organisers and hosts of the event. The course looks brilliant. Emily and I have played a few similar layouts and enjoy the long, mostly borderless tricky 'lanes' as they're a real test of putting skill. The course in Prishtina was built by City Golf.

Links:
- World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF) website
- Kosovo Minigolf Federation (FMGK) website
- Prishtina Golf on Facebook

Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Facebook, check out our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter. You can also sign-up to receive our newsletter.

Adventure Golf at Star City in Birmingham

Replaying the Adventure Island Mini Golf course in Birmingham.

We recently revisited Adventure Island Mini Golf at Star City in Birmingham and found the courses have had some new obstacles added on a few of the holes.

The Hidden Cove Challenge course at Star City

There are also some new additions to the theming on the Hidden Cove Challenge and Lost Hut Trail courses.

There are a number of Easter Island heads dotted around the Lost Hut Trail course

The patch of 'grass' on the top of the ramp on hole 12 makes the hole even trickier

Hole 3 from hole 2

Hole 2 from hole 3

Hole 5

Hole 8 has some new obstacles on the green

Adventure Island Mini Golf has two 18-hole indoor courses and they were the 57th and 58th courses played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2008. We've been back a lot since then - I won the Adventure Island/Heart FM Open competition there, returning for the weekly Monday-night league where I was runner-up to three-times World Champion Chris Harding, and I was the co-course record holder with a score of 28(-8) on the Lost Hut Trail.



Check out the Adventure Island Mini Golf website for opening times, prices and further info.

Part of the Hidden Cove Challenge course

The second hole of the Hidden Cove

You can find the course at the Star City leisure and entertainment complex at Adventure Island Mini Golf, Units 20/21, Star City, Watson Road, Birmingham, B7 5SB.

A nice minigolf welcome mat! The Crazy Golf Museum will need to have one of these!

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- From the archives...Adventure Island Mini Golf, Star City, Birmingham
- Birmingham

Link:
- Adventure Island Mini Golf website

Videos:
- Minigolf Ace Celebration on hole 10
- Minigolf Doubles Match at Adventure Island Mini Golf, Star City - Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter. You can also now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

We Sell Xmas Trees

Driving home from work the other evening I had to take a detour through Luton town centre and spotted a sight that brought a smile to my face. I knew I'd have to head back in the daylight to get a snap of me next to it! And so I did.

You can buy Christmas Trees at The Windmill pub on Gipsy Lane in Luton

Looking at my Facebook Year in Review 99.9% of the photos show me next to, on, or inside something ridiculous! Long may it continue.

In a little hut at Brynbuga Castle in Usk

Having a whale of a time in Worthing

On some sort of podium in Nottingham

Celebrating Bedfordshire Day

Another day, another mascot

Related blog posts:
- Airdancer
- Christmas
- Christmas Tree
- Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-man

Adventure Golf in Felixstowe, Suffolk

Revisiting the Fantasia Adventure Golf course in Felixstowe.

We were in Felixstowe, Suffolk last weekend and while we didn't manage to have a game of minigolf, we did have our customary look at the Fantasia Adventure Golf course on Sea Road.

The course was the 7th we ever played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. That was way back in November 2006. We've visited the seaside and the course loads of times since then, it's always worth a play.

Looking forward to a game there again in the future.

Related blog posts:
- Felixstowe
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter. You can also now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

Crazy Golf course opening in Saltburn-by-the-Sea

There's a new minigolf course opening in Saltburn-by-the-Sea in 2016! Great news.

The team at UrbanCrazy are building the 10-hole layout that will be located on Saltburn Promenade in North Yorkshire.

We visited Saltburn-by-the-Sea in March 2014. The new Crazy Golf course will be located on a spot on the prom to the right of the famous funicular railway (or to the left if you're looking out to sea)

UrbanCrazy have designed and built many great miniature golf courses and we've managed to play most of them on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We're looking forward to a return to Yorkshire and Saltburn for a round or two next year.

Playing the UrbanCrazy built Miniature Golf course at Charnwood Golf Centre this summer

We've visited 84 courses this year, including some landmark visits on our tour. We reckon there are around 50 more courses for us to visit - but with new courses opening up who knows when we'll finish!

Emily playing the Peterborough Minigolf course this year. Another great design by UrbanCrazy

Check out the UrbanCrazy website for more info on the business - they hire out portable courses too.

One of UrbanCrazy's temporary Crazy Golf courses was on the foreshore in Bridlington this year. It looked great

Link:
- UrbanCrazy

Related blog posts:
- UrbanCrazy
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter (Richard / Emily). You can sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter too.