So that was 2021

What a crazy year. Again.

2021 was certainly another interesting year in the life of planet Earth.

It's been a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong year!

With plenty of uncertainty, ever-changing rules / guidance / laws, and the threat of coronavirus at every turn it's been a tricky year in a number of ways.

Despite the obstacles and hazards that have abounded we've still been able to play a bit of minigolf this year.

The last courses we played this year were at Looney Golf in Bradford - quite an aptly named course for the times we're living in!

We've been to a total of 29 new courses to us (playing at eleven of them) on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in 2021. We've also revisited a number of courses from years gone by.

We have also seen a lot of new minigolf, crazy golf and adventure golf courses opening this year too, with more planned to open in the coming months.

Here's hoping 2022 will be a better year for us all.

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

Revisiting the Crazy Golf course in Glossop's Manor Park.

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

We had an afternoon in Glossop on Tuesday and made what is likely to be our last minigolf course visit of 2021 when we swung by the Crazy Golf course at Manor Park in the town.

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

The course was originally the 743rd visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in June 2017. It became the 438th played the following month when conditions were drier.

The course hasn't changed a great deal in that time.

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

Crazy Golf at Manor Park in Glossop

We had a nice walk round the park and are looking forward to returning again in the Spring or Summer.

Minigolf loyalty card from Aces Minigolf Gloucester

A look at a minigolf loyalty card from Aces Minigolf Gloucester.

From the Crazy Golf Museum vaults - a minigolf loyalty card from our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour visit to Aces Minigolf Gloucester at Dobbies Garden Centre in Gloucester, Gloucestershire earlier this year.

Minigolf loyalty card from Aces Minigolf Gloucester

Check out Aces Minigolf Gloucester for more information.

Merry Christmas

Happy Christmas!

We want to wish you a very happy Christmas and all the very best for the New Year!

Have a brilliant day.

A wintery scene on the Miniature Golf course at Solna Bangolfklubb in Stockholm, Sweden in 2018. Hopefully we'll get to travel to Sweden again in the future

Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animal

Christmas Crazy Golf at Teezers Golf in Coventry.

Teezers Crazy Golf in Coventry

We played at Teezers Retro Golf in Coventry on Easter Sunday in April 2019. One of the holes on the course is this Home Alone-themed Christmas Crazy Golf layout.

Playing Teezers Crazy Golf in Coventry

Check out the Teezers Golf website for more information.

Teezers Crazy Golf in Coventry

New Aquatica course at Globalls in Brighton

A new indoor minigolf course has opened in Brighton.

The team at GLOBALLS in Brighton have opened a new 12-hole UV Crazy Golf course at their new location at Brighton Marina. Many thanks to them for sending over these snaps of the new course.

New GLOBALLS Aquatica Crazy Golf course. Photo by GLOBALLS Brighton

The new layout at GLOBALLS is called Aquatica and has an underwater-theme to it.

New GLOBALLS Aquatica Crazy Golf course. Photo by GLOBALLS Brighton

It looks like an ace place to play. Especially so as I'm a BIG fan of both glow-in-the-dark and sea-themed minigolf courses.

We're yet to visit GLOBALLS, but have friends who have. We're looking forward to swinging by on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Check out the GLOBALLS website for more information on the courses they have and to keep up-to-date with their updates as there are more new courses to follow!

15 years ago today

A look back at the 10th course played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

We visited the 10th course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on this day in 2006. On a bitterly cold 23rd December 2006 Emily, Christopher and I headed along to the Horse and Harrow Pub in West Hagbourne, Oxfordshire to have a game on their beer garden Crazy Golf course.

And what a course it was - we'd not seen anything like it before. And we haven't seen anything quite like it since!

Crazy Golf at the Horse and Harrow Pub in West Hagbourne, Oxfordshire - December 2006

We revisited the course in April 2011 and while it was a bit drier, it was still a very mossy layout.

Crazy Golf at the Horse and Harrow Pub in West Hagbourne, Oxfordshire - April 2011

Little did we know back then that our interest in crazy golf would become an obsession and that we'd visit 982 courses in the last 15 years.

Together with Christopher and his family we've now been to a grand total of 1,017 courses since we all picked up a putter on the 30th September 2006.

A scorecard from Looney Golf in Bradford

A look at a minigolf scorecard from Looney Golf in Bradford.

A scorecard from Looney Golf in Bradford, West Yorkshire.

A scorecard from Looney Golf in Bradford

A scorecard from Looney Golf in Bradford

From our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour visit to Looney Golf earlier this month.

Visit the Looney Golf website for more information.

A Filwood Fantastic Crazy Golf badge

A look at a badge from the Filwood Fantastic Crazy Golf course in Knowle West, Bristol.

From the Crazy Golf Museum vaults - a badge from the Filwood Fantastic Crazy Golf course in Knowle West, Bristol, England.

A Filwood Fantastic Crazy Golf badge

The real life mini golf course was created during the pandemic and the ideas for the hole designs were generated by members of the Knowle West community during Lockdown 1.

The Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf Club's 9-hole Crazy Golf course was the 966th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006.

Visit the Filwood Community Centre website for more information.

A Crazy Golf scorecard from Pennywell Farm in Buckfastleigh, Devon

A look at a Crazy Golf scorecard from Pennywell Farm in Buckfastleigh, Devon.

From the Crazy Golf Museum vaults - a minigolf scorecard from my brother Christopher Gottfried's Crazy World of Minigolf Tour visit to Pennywell Farm in Buckfastleigh, Devon, England earlier this year.

A Crazy Golf scorecard from Pennywell Farm in Buckfastleigh, Devon

A Crazy Golf scorecard from Pennywell Farm in Buckfastleigh, Devon

Visit the Pennywell Farm website for more information.

Minigolf Magazin from Germany

Now in the Crazy Golf Museum - the latest issue of Minigolf Magazin.

Minigolf Magazin

The official magazine of the German Minigolf Federation / Deutsche Minigolfsport Verband.

Christmas Crazy Golf

Can you guess where this festive themed minigolf course was?

A festive minigolf course from our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour travels

This sign stinks

This sign in Stockport stinks.

This sign stinks

Crazy Golf in Prestatyn

Revisiting the Crazy Golf course in Prestatyn, North Wales.

Crazy Golf in Prestatyn

We revisited the North Wales coast on Saturday afternoon and swung by one of our favourite courses - the Arnold Palmer Putting Course on Bastion Road in Prestatyn.

Crazy Golf in Prestatyn

The course was the 147th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2009.

Crazy Golf in Prestatyn

As one of our local seaside towns we normally head to Prestatyn a few times a year. But the last visit either of us made was in June 2019!

Crazy Golf in Prestatyn

Our revisit at the weekend looked like it could've been in the summer with how clear the sky was.

Crazy Golf in Prestatyn

Blogiversary of the Ham and Egger Files

I've been blogging for 15 years today.

People often ask me how it is that a blog about minigolf has the name the 'Ham and Egger Files'? The answer is that it didn't initially start out life as a minigolf blog.

I published my first post about how I planned to participate in as many obscure and minority sports as I could and see what would happen with the sporting ability I have!

The term 'ham and egger' has connotations ranging from that of 'ordinary person' to that of 'loser'. The origin of the term comes 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 and eggs.

Since that first post 15 years ago I have published more than 4,800 posts and received more than 2.1 million pageviews! Admittedly a large number of the blog posts have been about minigolf.

Our interest in minigolf and what would soon become our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour had actually begun on the 30th September 2006, but I didn't publish a post about the sport until the 29th January 2007 when I announced that I had joined the British Minigolf Association - a competition circuit I made my actual debut on in Southend-on-Sea on the 28th April 2007.

Since then we've visited 982 miniature golf courses. 943 of those have been in the British Isles, while 39 have been in eleven overseas countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and the USA.

If you're wondering what happened to the quest to play lots of different sports, that has continued and I've participated in some very interesting events over the years!

A big thank you goes to everyone who has ever read one of my posts, commented, shared, or guest blogged on the site, it really is very much appreciated.

A minigolf scorecard from Sweden

A scorecard from the Sports World Mini Golf course at O'Leary's in the Mall of Scandinavia in Stockholm, Sweden.

A scorecard from the Sports World Mini Golf course at O'Leary's in the Mall of Scandinavia in Stockholm, Sweden

One of nine courses we visited on our 42-hour Crazy World of Minigolf Tour trip to Sweden in 2018.

Welsh Dragon Adventure Golf in Rhyl

Revisiting the Welsh Dragon Adventure Golf course in Rhyl, North Wales.

Welsh Dragon Adventure Golf in Rhyl

We took a look at the Welsh Dragon Adventure Golf course in Rhyl on Saturday afternoon.

Welsh Dragon Adventure Golf in Rhyl

Welsh Dragon Adventure Golf in Rhyl

Welsh Dragon Adventure Golf in Rhyl

Welsh Dragon Adventure Golf in Rhyl

The course was the 146th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2009. 

The last time either of us were in Rhyl was when I had a day out there in September 2019! Crazy to think as it's one of our most local seaside resorts.

Related blog posts:

• Mini Golf courses in Rhyl, Wales
• Rhyl