Crazy Golf Windmills of Thanet

The seaside resorts on the Thanet coastline have a fine selection of Crazy Golf courses, three of which are home to that classic obstacle - the Windmill.

The Lillyputt Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course in Broadstairs

A Windmill on the Cliftonville Grass Putting Minigolf course

The Little Oasis Crazy Golf course in the Cliftonville area of Margate

The Cliftonville Grass Putting Miniature Golf course at the Palm Bay Café in Margate

Leading the British Open

For a 'cup of coffee' I led the field of 46 players in the BMGA British Open.

Post-British Open Ham & Egg platter

After a gruelling four days on the Adventure Golf course at Strokes in Margate I was able to relax and enjoy a well deserved and affordable plate of Ham, Eggs and Chips.

Luton Local Impresses in Minigolf British Open

Press Information
For Immediate Release
20th September 2007

Luton Local Impresses in Minigolf British Open

This past weekend Richard Gottfried from Luton played in the British Minigolf Association (BMGA) Players Championship and British Open tournaments at Strokes Adventure Golf Course in Margate, Kent.

Playing in his fourth and fifth tournaments of the 2007 BMGA Tour, 26 year-old Richard placed 5th out of 27 British competitors in the BMGA Players Championship on Friday 14th September. At the end of the first round of ‘Stroke play’ Richard was lying in 4th place with a personal best score on the course of 38, one stroke behind British Champion and British Number 1 Chris Harding and just 6 strokes off the British course record. Making the ‘cut’ to the second round of ‘Match play’ he lost by one-hole to eventual Players Championship winner Steve Gow.

On Saturday 15th September Richard began play in the 10th Annual BMGA British Open and scored a total of 178 after the first four rounds, which saw him finish the day in 35th position and therefore reaching the final the following day.

In the final two rounds before the ‘Super Play-off Final’ Richard scored a 42 followed by an equal personal best score of 38. Scoring 4 holes-in-one (Aces) these scores moved him up to a final position of 29th in a field of 46 top British and International miniature golfers. His achievements on the course over the weekend also meant that he finished 19th of 36 in the BMGA British Championships. The overall winner of the 2007 BMGA British Open was Jouni Valkjarvi from Finland who scored a total of 244 over 7 rounds.

Richard said “I am extremely pleased with my performance in both the Players Championship and the British Open. I was also really happy that I made the cut to reach the second day of the British Open. That was my main goal heading into the tournament. Getting two sub 40 scores in a major contest like the British Open is a great confidence boost and I am looking forward to the next competitions on the tour.”

2007 British Champion and current British Number 1 Chris Harding commented “It's always difficult to attract new players to the Minigolf tour. When you do come across somebody as enthusiastic as Richard, who wants to learn and improve quickly, then it's a real joy. His performance in Margate, on a really difficult course, was full of promise. Qualifying for the final eight in the Players Championship and making the cut in the British Open was a great achievement so early in Richard's career.”

Commenting on Richard’s performance over the weekend Four-Time World Crazy Golf Champion and British Number 2 Tim ‘Ace Man’ Davies, who played against Richard in the first four rounds of the competition, said “Richard played some great rounds in the British Open and is probably the most promising talent to arrive on the British Minigolf scene since me."

The next stops on the BMGA 2007 tour will see Richard competing in the BMGA Midlands Open in Warwick, the World Crazy Golf Championships in Hastings and competing back in Margate in November in the season closing BMGA Kent Open.

Notes for Editors:
Richard Gottfried made his BMGA debut at the BMGA British Masters tournament in Southend-on-Sea on 24th April 2007 where he finished 24th of 28 players, and second in the ‘Novice’ category. He has since competed in the BMGA English Open in Warwick and the BMGA Brighton Open.

More information on the British Minigolf Association can be found at www.minigolf.org.uk

Full results and a report on the tournaments can be found at the website of the Kent Minigolf Club: http://www.kentminigolfclub.co.uk/British%20Open%202007.htm


Photo: Richard Gottfried lining up a shot on the 11-hole 'Heartbreak Ridge'
Photo Courtesy of Sean Homer

Worst Mini/Crazy Golf Holes in the UK

Some examples of terrible and tough holes I have encountered on my travels:

A 'pub course' in Oxfordshire!


One of the holes on the Crazy Golf at Felixstowe.


Hole 8 of a derelict Crazy Golf course in Warwick.


And one where I scored an eight!?!


And one that is always a pain.

BMGA Brighton Open

In my third Mini Golf tournament I finished 18th in the BMGA Brighton Open played on 21.07.07. In placing 18th I defeated the current 'number 3' and 'number 9' of Great British Mini Golf.

My scores were as follows:
Rd 1 - 33
Rd 2 - 28
Rd 3 - 32
Rd 4 - 30
Total - 123 (-45)

BMGA English Open

Following my 24th place finish in my debut at the BMGA British Masters mini golf tournament in April, I played in my second national tournament on Saturday 14th July.

Following two rounds of tough Adventure Golf I placed 23rd in the BMGA English Open.

Alton Towers

Continuing the theme of closed mini golf courses, after travelling to Alton Towers on Monday we found that due to the severe weather the Extraordinary Golf course was closed as it was (very) waterlogged!



There was however a 'WIN A CAR HOLE IN ONE GOLF CHALLENGE' inside the park where you had to pitch a ball into a hole on an island in the middle of the lake! I didn't win the car.





The rest of the park was 'open as usual' though and there were some great rides and good food.

Irregular Mini Golf Tour NS&SN Invitational Challenge...

...in Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth!

This time the courses were open!









But the courses in Felixstowe were not!

Macmillan Bowling Challenge 2007 - Results

The Ham & Eggers Bowling Team, from l-r Emily Gottfried, Richard Gottfried, Beccy Youngs, Mike Wright.

The Meal of Champions...

...and Jobbers!

Jobbing to Arm Champs II Arcade Machine

Here's me losing to the arcade game 'Arm Champs II' even though I actually beat Chang!?!

Irregular Mini Golf Tour to Lowestoft & Great Yarmouth!

All of the courses were closed...












Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Lowestoft
- Great Yarmouth

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

Strike!!! Ham & Egger Bowling

On 22nd March 2007 Macmillan Cancer Support are holding their 'Annual Bowling Challenge' at the Namco Station in Luton and a team of Ham & Eggers will be turning out to do their best.

Current champions Plumbs DIY have been lobbying for the charity to only allow teams who are "not very good" to compete, but the Ham & Egger team will be bowling their socks off in order to win the prestigious champions shield at the event!

Punxsutawney Phil predicts...

...an early Spring

In the 121st Trek to Gobbler's Knob the Punxsutawney Inner Circle woke Punxsutawney Phil at 7.27am (12.27pm UK-time) and the famous marmot did NOT see his shadow - signalling an early Spring!

Happy Groundhog Day to you all!

It's Groundhog Day!

Happy Groundhog Day!

To view the LIVE prediction from Punxsutawney Phil visit http://www.visitpa.com/visitpa/home.pa at 12pm (UK time) to see the 2007 webcast.

Groundhog Day - 2nd February

This Friday (02/02/07) sees the annual Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania tradition of Groundhog Day!

Every year Punxsutawney Phil (The Groundhog) emerges at around 7.25am (around 12.25pm UK time) and 'prognosticates' on whether there will be an early spring, or if there will be a prolonged winter. If he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring.

Last year Phil saw his shadow and so there was to be six more weeks of winter!

Visit www.groundhog.org to find out more about the tradition of Groundhog Day.

You can watch this years event at - http://www.visitpa.com/visitpa/home.pa

The Crazy World of Miniature Golf

As of Monday 22nd January 2007 I have been an official member of the British Minigolf Association (BMGA) 2007 Tour!

I have entered the world of Crazy/Mini/Adventure Golf and plan to compete in as many tournaments as possible, including the British Masters and the PHCGC Open, building towards my participation in the event at the pinnacle of the Crazy Golf Calendar - the 2007 World Crazy Golf Championships which will take place in October.

Further information on the British Minigolf Association can be found on the BMGA website.

Richard "Hole in two*" Gottfried

* Or 'Eight'!

Finger Jousting

Check out the World Finger Jousting Federation website for information about the fine sport of Finger Jousting, in which I am the UK's first, and therefore best Finger Jouster!

See the Press Release announcing my arrival on the International Finger Jousting scene here.

The Ham & Egger Files – An Introduction

Adventures in obscure and minority sports!

This blog will follow my participation in many obscure and minority sports with the aim of having as much fun as possible with the modicum of sporting ability I have!

What is a Ham & Egger?

The term "ham and egger" has connotations ranging from that of "ordinary person" to that of "loser". The origin of the term stems from prize fighters whose modest skills wouldn’t let them win large purses. Therefore, the fighter or their manager (who received a percentage of purses won) were never able to afford to eat better than ham & eggs (no steaks!).

Losing

In boxing, it is synonymous to "palookas" - those boxers who would never be contenders; they were just around to serve as opponents and sparring partners for contenders on their way up. They didn't get big prizes like the winners, just enough to pay for their meals - their "ham and eggs". In Professional Wrestling the terms most often used are "Jobber" and "Jabroni" and are applied to those professional wrestlers who frequently and deliberately loses matches (Jobbers are also known as 'preliminary wrestlers', 'local competitors', 'curtain jerkers', or 'enhancement talent' due to their usage to enhance the stature of their opponent).

Some people proudly call themselves a "ham and egger," using it to mean an "ordinary person" or "nobody special." Other people use it as an insult: "He'll never amount to anything. He's just a ham and egger."

Another term for Ham & Eggers is 'Journeyman'. A journeyman is an athlete or professional sports player who is technically competent, but unable to excel, and whom is thus not well-regarded by commentators.

A true journeyman is someone who has heard all the nay-sayers, then headed toward their goal and, through determination, proved their worth and taken their prize.

The journeyman can be quite valuable in the team sports context. While it is almost always economically non-viable for even the richest teams in sports without salary caps to have a roster made up fully of superstar players, and would likely not happen even with economic viability because of the lack of attention some players would end up getting, journeymen often make up a large part of a team. This is especially true in the context of baseball, where journeymen often make up large parts of a team's pitching staff and contribute crucially to a team's success. Many Journeymen can be highly experienced, and often play a "utility" role to cover for injuries or tactical changes as required.

Whatever the name may be, 'Ham & Eggers' are passionate about their sport and will always give their all to be the best they can be.

Winning

Related blog posts:
- Sports and Games played to date
- Types and Variants of Miniature Golf visited and played
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Courses Visited List
- Behold...