The Ham and Egger Files

Monday, October 18, 2010

Minigolf Report – Gottfried 4th in London Invitational Tournament 2010

18th October 2010
Press Information
For Immediate Release

Minigolf Report – London Invitational Tournament 2010

Luton Minigolfer Richard Gottfried recorded his fifth top five finish on the British Minigolf Association (BMGA) Tour this season as he tied for fourth place with London’s Alan Norman at the 2010 London Invitational Tournament (LIT) in East Finchley, Barnet on Sunday 17th October.

The tournament was played on an UrbanCrazy designed 6-hole course over six rounds. The first three rounds were played using the course’s ‘easy’ settings, and the second round using the ‘hard’ hole settings. In the field of 12 players Richard went into the second round in third place having scored a total of 40(+4), he followed this up with a 43(+7) for a total of 83(+11). London’s Jon Angel won the tournament with a score of 77(+5). Defending champion Brad Shepherd was runner-up on 79(+7), and Chris Jones third with 82(+10).

After the tournament Richard said “Thank you to the London Minigolf Club for the invitation to play in the LIT, it was a great event played on a very good course. Well played to Jon Angel for the win, a nice wire-to-wire victory. I’ll be ruing the five shots I took on hole three in the second round, if it wasn’t for that I’d have been looking good for a podium finish.”

With four events left in the 2010 BMGA Season Richard is currently ranked 9th of 91 players in the BMGA Order of Merit Rankings, 8th of 129 in the BMGA Season Only Rankings, and 31st of 255 in the Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Rankings.

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UrbanGolf in Kensington

While in London on Saturday 16th October 2010 we made a visit to the UrbanGolf centre in Kensington.

UrbanGolf offer Golf Course Simulators, where you can hire a bay and take in a round of 'Big' Golf at a number of famous courses.

The centres also have Putting practice areas!

UrbanGolf centres are located at High Street Kensington, Soho and Smithfield.

Fellow minigolfer Jon Angel and I may well have to visit to continue our 'Big' Golf Challenge Series!

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Courses Visited List with Links.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Crazy Golf in Abingdon, Oxfordshire

A tweet from The Putting Penguin about the local history of minigolf in Illinois linked to a story on the Register-Mail website in Galesburg, USA, which mentioned that in Abingdon, Illinois there was a 27-hole Miniature Golf course known as the “Upsandowns”.

This prompted me to write a little bit about Crazy Golf in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

Prior to moving to Luton a decade ago I grew up and lived in Abingdon and the Crazy Golf course at the Abbey Meadows was the first course I ever played many years ago.

Crazy Golf at the Abbey Meadows in Abingdon

The course was also revisited as part of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on the 18th August 2007 and became the 31st course played on the tour.

A review of the Crazy Golf course at the Abbey Meadows can be found on MiniatureGolfer.com

In addition to the Crazy Golf course in Abingdon, there is also a Mini Golf (Pitch & Putt) and a Putting Green, all of which have been played a number of times over the years.

Mini Golf at the Abbey Meadows in Abingdon

The town of Abingdon, England also has a unique tradition of Bun Throwing!

Interestingly, despite being born in Oxford, I never played the City's courses until August 2009!

Richard Gottfried

I’m a Champion Miniature Golfer on a tour of the UK’s minigolf and crazy golf courses. Coeliac living a gluten free life. Train nerd. Retro gamer. Urban explorer.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Latest Island Visited on our UK Tour

After the 2010 Weymouth Open minigolf competition we headed along the coast a short distance to visit the Isle of Portland.

The Island is the latest we've visited on our Tour of the UK.

Other nations and islands visited.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Gluten Free in Weymouth, Dorset

On our recent minigolfing trip to Weymouth we had found that there a number of places in the area that offer Gluten Free options and can cater for Coeliacs :-)

Here's a rundown on where and what we ate.

Stanley's Coffee Shop - great Gluten Free cakes from Honeybuns.

The Wellington Arms - a few Gluten Free options, with knowledgeable staff and a nice friendly pub. I had the Chilli.

The Old Harbour Fish & Chip Shop - we visited in 2009 and this time I had Cod Roe and Chips (for the first time since being a Coeliac!)

The Lugger Inn, at Chickerell - quite a few options for Coeliacs. Knowledgeable staff. A nice pub. I had the Chilli (again)!

There was also an Italian Restaurant in Weymouth that has Gluten Free options, but it was fully booked on the Saturday night. we'll try it out next time we visit.

Thank you also goes to fellow BMGA Tour Minigolfer Peter Jones for a Gluten Free Fish & Chips tip-off, as he'd spotted the 'Gluten Free Options' sign in the Old Harbour Fish & Chip Shop window. If only more places advertised the fact they offer menu choices for Coeliacs - they'd certainly do more business!

Looking through some of the local tourist information and pamphlets I also noticed that in Bournemouth there is a Mexican restaurant with a Gluten Free menu. It's called 'Coriander' and the website is http://www.coriander-restaurant.co.uk/ - we'll check it out next time.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Random Maidenhead Minigolf Course Re-visit on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - 10/10/10 at 9pm

While driving back from the 2010 Weymouth Open minigolf competition on the 10th October we had to take a number of detours in order to miss out the horrendous traffic problems on the Motorways. The solution was to travel back on the A and B Roads, one of which led us through Maidenhead.

Taking a turn onto the Riverside it dawned on us we had visited Maidenhead before, and we were in fact very close to the 18-hole Eternit Miniature Golf / Crazy Golf course at Riverside Gardens!

Never one to miss an opportunity to (re)visit a minigolf course on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, we parked up and went for a wander!

We had originally visited and played the course on the 30th May 2009, when the course became the 97th played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The course at Riverside Gardens was also the setting for the classic Mr Bean episode 'Tee Off Mr Bean'.

Greenhill Putting at Greenhill Gardens in Weymouth, Dorset - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Course played 204

On Saturday 9th October 2010 we managed to play the 18-hole Putting Course at Greenhill Gardens in Weymouth, and very good it was too.

On our visit to Weymouth last year the course had just closed, so we didn't get a chance to play it.

This time however, it became the 204th Minigolf course played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

It's well worth a visit to play the course and it is quite tricky indeed.

In our Irregular Mini Golf Tour match-up Emily managed to get a hole-in-one on the 5th hole, and after the 18-hole round we were tied on 49(+13). The sudden-death play-off lasted four holes, when Emily managed a two, which I had no reply to. Emily received a postcard/certificate for the win from the course owner!

Derelict Crazy Golf at the Derelict Riviera Hotel, Bowleaze Cove, Weymouth

Prior to the 2010 Weymouth Open minigolf tournament we headed to Bowleaze Cove to check out the Crazy Golf course at the Riviera Hotel.

However, the course AND the hotel look to be disused!

Bowleaze Cove is also home to a Flintstones-themed Crazy Golf course, at the Fantasy Island Fun Park. I first visited the course in 2008 when it became the 77th course played on Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, and last year we played for the Johnson's Scrap Iron Cup there.

Minigolf Report – Gottfried Seventh in 2010 Weymouth Open

11th October 2010
Press Information
For Immediate Release

Minigolf Report – Weymouth Open 2010

Luton Minigolfer Richard Gottfried was in action at the third-annual Weymouth Open competition at the 18-hole Pirate Adventure Golf course at the Sea Life Centre at Lodmoor Country Park on Sunday 10th October. Competing in an 18 player field Richard finished in seventh place with a total of 88(+16) after two rounds of 44.

In 2008 Richard won the Weymouth Open, and last year he lost a play-off for the title to Bath’s Kevin Moseley at the fourth extra-hole. This year saw a new champion crowned, with Oxford’s Michael Smith the winner with a total of 75(+3), after rounds of 38 and 37, which also beat Richard’s course record of 41(+5) that he set, along with Weymouth’s Ed Evans, in 2009. Kent’s Sean Homer was second on 85(+13), with four players tied for third place on 87(+15).

Richard said “Despite Weymouth being one of the toughest courses on the BMGA Tour circuit I did enjoy my weekend here. It’s unfortunate I wasn’t able to win again, but Michael was untouchable the way he was playing. I was one shot off tied third place, but sadly that means I finished seventh. On the upside, I was one of only three players to score a hole in one on the day, which just goes to show how hard the course can be.”

Photos from the 2010 Weymouth Open

With my playing partners, Michael Smith, middle, (2010 Champion), and Chris Smith, right.

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Sunday, October 10, 2010

Poole Park, New 12-hole Crazy Golf Course - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Course played 203

On Saturday 9th October 2010 we made a visit to Poole on our way to Weymouth, as the old Crazy Golf course at Poole Park has been replaced with a new one!

The old course was a 9-hole one, while the new course is 12-holes.