2009 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament)

The first Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament) was contested on Saturday 15th August in Swansea (Abertawe).

The 2009 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg tournament was played over two rounds (36-holes) on Swansea's two Crazy Golf courses. The players in the field were BMGA Tour members and Midlands Minigolf Club members Richard and Emily Gottfried from Luton, and Jas, Cindy, Seve and Leo Kukielka from Cwmbran.

Due to the poor weather conditions in the morning the first round was switched from the Crazy Golf (Golff Gwyllt) course at Singleton Boating Lake for the less flooded course at Southend Park at The Mumbles.

After the first round Jas Kukielka and Richard Gottfried led the tournament on 41(+5) with Richard slightly ahead on five aces to Jas's two. Cindy Kukielka was one shot further back on 42(+6).


With the weather conditions becoming more settled the second round at Singleton Boating Lake saw some improved scores with Jas, Richard and Cindy all scoring par or better.


However, it was Jas's 34(-2) second round score that saw him to a two-round total of 75(+3) and pick up his first Minigolf Tournament victory. Richard Gottfried finished in second place on 76(+4) and Cindy Kukielka achieved her first podium finish with an excellent 78(+6) for third spot.


Photos from the event are below:

Boules Invitational Tournament at The Mumbles

A Kukielka vs. Gottfried family sporting clash in Swansea.


On Saturday 15th August the Gottfrieds met the Kukielkas at Southend Park at The Mumbles in Swansea for the first Boules Invitational Tournament.


After a series of qualifying rounds it was me versus Seve Kukielka in the final match of the morning to decide who would be winning the prestigious silver salver.


After Seve took the lead I fought back but eventually lost, and took what would eventually be the first of my two sporting runner-up places of the day.

Gluten Free Fish & Chips at Rossi's in Swansea

Prior to competing in the Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament) in Swansea we found a Fish & Chip Shop that catered for Coeliacs so I was able to treat myself to Gluten Free Fish & Chips for the first-time!



Rossi's Original Fish & Chips can be found at 235-240 Neath Rd, Landore, Swansea, SA1 2JG. check out the Rossi's website and Facebook page.

More information about Coeliac Disease can be found on the Coeliac UK website.

Related blog posts:
- Gluten Free Fish & Chips that we've found on our travels
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac Disease

Minigolf Course Visits 122 & 123 - Trecco Caravan Park, Porthcawl

After visiting Barry Island we headed to the Trecco Caravan Park in Porthcawl which is home to an 18-hole Adventure Golf course and also a 5-hole Putting Course (which has a very testing plateau hole).




The Putting Course:

The course was built by the same company as the Blackpool Pleasure Beach course that hosted the Pleasure Beach Open last year.

The 12th hole at Porthcawl and Blackpool both have big hills (I mentioned Blackpool's hilly 12th in the video here).

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour list of courses visited and played
- Wales

Minigolf Course Visit No. 121 - Barry Island / Ynys y Barri

The first course we played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in Wales was at Barry Island's Smuggler's Cove Adventure Golf on the 14th August.





A great 12-hole course, unfortunately the old Crazy Golf course is no longer there.

I used to go to Barry Island when the holiday camp was there and remember there used to be an indoor crazy golf course in the games area next to the ping pong tables. Sadly the camp was demolished and new houses were built on most of the old site.



Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour list of courses visited and played
- Minigolf etc. - English to Welsh translations
- Wales

Minigolf Course Visits 118, 119 & 120 - Oxford Parks

On the journey to Wales for the epic leg of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour we stopped off to play the three Swedish Felt B Run courses in Oxford's Parks on the 13th August.

On our previous visit to Oxford in December the courses were all closed. However, this time they were all open.

Course visit #118 was to Bury Knowle Park in Headington.


Course visit #119 was to Florence Park in Cowley.




Course visit #120 was to Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park.

Over the three rounds and 27-holes I hit a total of 99(+42) to take the Oxford title, while Emily scored 103(+49).

Minigolf etc. - English to Welsh translations

While on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour holiday in Wales in 2009 we noticed a few different spellings of Minigolf, Miniature Golf and Crazy Golf!


Below are the translations from English to Welsh:

Crazy Golf (1) = Golff Gwyllt

Crazy Golf (2) = Golff Giamocs

Minigolf = Minigolff

Mini Golf = Golff Bach

Miniature Golf = Maes Golff

Putting Green = Llain Bytio

Golf = Golff

Course = Cwrs

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour list of courses visited and played
- Wales
- Lost in Translation

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Tour of Wales

Over the past nine days Emily and I have been on a 983 mile road trip to play the Minigolf courses of Wales.

In total 32 courses were played (four in England, with Oxford's three Swedish Felt B-runs played on the way, and the Eternit course in Oswestry played on the way home).

The 28 Welsh courses we played account for approximately 80% of all the Minigolf courses in Wales (according to Miniaturegolfer.com) and 93% of the public courses in the country.

During the Welsh Leg of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Emily and I competed in a 31-round, 357-hole Minigolf Tournament which I won by 41 shots. However, Emily won the Aces competition with 29 holes-in-one over the tournament.

The courses visited between the 13th and 21st August were (numbers indicate visit # on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour):
118 Oxford (Bury Knowle Park) - Swedish Felt
119 Oxford (Florence Park) - Swedish Felt
120 Oxford (Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park) - Swedish Felt
121 Barry Island/Ynys y Barri (Smuggler's Cove) - Adventure Golf
122 Porthcawl (Trecco Caravan Park) - Adventure Golf
123 Porthcawl (Trecco Caravan Park) - Putting Course
124 Swansea/Abertawe (Southend Park, The Mumbles) - Crazy Golf
125 Swansea/Abertawe (Singleton Boating Lake) - Crazy Golf
126 Gowerton (Gowerton Golf Range) - Minigolf
127 Gowerton (Gowerton Golf Range) - Putting Course
128 Pembrey/Pen-bre (Pembrey Country Park) - Crazy Golf
129 Pendine Bay - Crazy Golf
130 Saundersfoot - Crazy Golf
131 Heatherton Park, near Tenby - Adventure Golf
132 Eglwyswrw (Dyfed Shires & Leisure Farm) - Crazy Golf
133 Henllan Station (Teifi Valley Railway), near Newcastle Emlyn - Crazy Golf
134 Llanrhystud (Penrhos Golf & Country Club) - Crazy Golf
135 Aberystwyth - Crazy Golf
136 Aberystwyth - Putting
137 Aberdovey/Aberdyfi - Putting
138 Tywyn (Leisure Park) - Crazy Golf
139 Isle of Anglesey/Ynys Môn (Holyhead Park) - Crazy Golf
140 Isle of Anglesey/Ynys Môn (Bodorgan, Henblas Country Park) - Crazy Golf
141 Isle of Anglesey/Ynys Môn (Anglesey Sea Zoo) - Swedish Felt
142 Llandudno (Great Orme/Y Gogarth) - Alpine Adventure Golf
143 Llandudno (Great Orme/Y Gogarth) - Rocky Pines Adventure Golf
144 Towyn (Knightly's on Sandbank Road) - Crazy Golf
145 Rhyl (Drift Park) - Minigolf
146 Rhyl (Welsh Dragon) - Adventure Golf
147 Prestatyn - Arnold Palmer Putting Course
148 Llangollen (Riverside Park) - Minigolf
149 Oswestry (Cae Glas Park) - Eternit Minigolf

We also made stops at places believed to be home to courses, or some that were closed, these are listed below:
21 Barry Island/Ynys y Barri - Crazy Golf - Demolished for new Smuggler's Cove Adventure Golf
22 Pendine Sands - Crazy Golf - Demolished
23 Saundersfoot (Merlewood Hotel) - Putting Course - for hotel guests only
24 Gumfreston (The Dinosaur Park) - Adventure Golf - was just closing
25 Herons Brook Animal Farm - Crazy Golf (Demolished five years ago)
26 Aberystwyth Cliff Railway - Claimed to have a new Crazy Golf course - it did not exist
27 Aberystwyth Cliff Railway - The 'Games Room' did have a broken minigolf arcade machine that was out of order
28 Tywyn (Leisure Park) - Putting (ran out of time on visit)
29 Porthmadog - Crazy Golf (arrived at 5.30pm, course closed at 6pm but would not let us play)
30 Porthmadog - Swedish Felt (arrived at 5.30pm, course closed at 6pm but would not let us play)
31 Porthmadog - Putting (arrived at 5.30pm, course closed at 6pm but would not let us play)
32 Criccieth - Miniature Golf (Pitch & Putt)
33 Criccieth - Miniature Golf (Pitch & Putt)
34 Abergwyngregyn (Aber Falls Tavern) - course unplayable, Tavern under redevelopment
35 Llanfairfechan - Crazy Golf - only holes 13, 14, 15, 16 & 17 remain - no kiosk

While in Wales we also competed in the first Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament) in Swansea (Abertawe), where I finished second to Cwmbran's Jas Kukielka.

Full details and photos of all the courses visited and the 2009 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg will follow soon.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour list of courses visited and played
- Wales
- Minigolf etc. - English to Welsh translations

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

Richard Gottfried's Minigolf Player Profile on www.miniaturegolfer.com

www.miniaturegolfer.com, the world's number website for Miniature Golf, mini golf and crazy golf resources, has updated my player profile. You can view it here.

Eggheads, Crazy Golf and my Alma Mater

My old university (the University of Bedfordshire, formerly Luton) has posted news of my appearance on Eggheads and my second Mini Major win in the Manchester Miniature Open tournament on its Alumni news section.

You can check out the stories here and here.

You can read the Alumni Blog here.

Gottfrieds rule the roost...

The Luton News reported on our first and second places in the Manchester Miniature Open, with the great story "Gottfrieds rule the roost at the Manchester Open".

One & Other in Trafalgar Square

After my application back in April to be a part of Anthony Gormley's Living Monument in Trafalgar Square we went to visit the plinth while in London yesterday.

It was great watching the two particpants between 3 and 5pm. They were John L and Matt S. You can view their 'live' feed videos by clicking on the links in their names above.



Matt was throwing out parachute men toys to the crowd and I caught the first successful 'drop'!






So far 31,090 people, and me, have applied for one of the 2,400 places available. I haven't been selected yet, but my name will remain in the draw for places in September and October.

You can check out One & Other here.

Gottfried's in the WMF World Rankings

The new World Minigolfsport Federation (WMF) World Rankings List has been updated and released.

Both Emily and I have moved up in the rankings from our previous positions.

In the last rankings Emily was ranked 115th and is now 100th in the Women's World Rankings.

I was previously ranked 425th and am now 352nd in the Men's World Rankings.

Great Britain is ranked 20th of 29 Nations.

Emily and I each have one Great Britain International Cap from our appearance in the 2008 Nations Cup in Tampere, Finland.

The WMF World Minigolf Rankings are those of the World Minigolfsport Federation (WMF) and are published twice annually. Competitions that earn WMF Ranking Points are predominantly played on Eternit, Beton and Swedish Felt Courses.

You can view our other Minigolf and Crazy Golf Rankings here.

Minigolf Doubles - Career Stats

Updated Minigolf Doubles Record following a match yesterday at Tea Green.

Tea Green Crazy Golf Course Finished, plus 'Then' & 'Now'

The Crazy Golf course at Tea Green Golf near Luton has now had new felt laid on each of its 9-holes.

Yesterday we visited for a few rounds and a game or two with the staff.






The old course record of 15(-3) still stands. The best score yesterday was 16(-2) over 9-holes. Manager Lester Coles however hit a new 18-hole course record with a 33(-3) in a match against me and Scott (below).


You can see some older photos of the course here.

The Nutters With Putters

Contributing to the Oxford English Dictionary

Following my invention of a completely new word during my appearance on Quiz Show Eggheads I would like to suggest the word ‘trompone’ as a new entry to the Oxford English Dictionary.

My suggested meanings for the word are:
1. An incorrect version of the Italian word for ‘Trouser leg’
2. A new type of Pizza
3. An answer given in resignation in the faint hope it may be the correct answer in a TV Quiz Show

If you agree with my idea please leave your comments.

You can contribute to the OED here.

Below, my team mates react to my answer.

Nutters with Putters on Eggheads

The Challengers area.

Our shirt selection lined up before wardrobe's inspection!

A 'star' is born ha ha.

Post-competition photo of the two teams.

NwP from l-r Kevin Botto, Richard Gottfried (Captain), Tim Davies, Andy Booth, Sean Homer and Chris Harding.

The Eggheads from l-r CJ, Daphne, Barry, Kevin and Chris.