Hastings Minigolf Course is no more...

The 18-hole Minigolf Course on the Seafront in Hastings, East Sussex has been demolished to make way for a new course.


The course has been the location for a number of BMGA Tour events, over the years, and I have played there for both competition and fun since 2007.

The Minigolf Course is being replace with a new Pirate Themed Adventure Golf course, due to open in Spring 2011.



I can't wait to play the new course.

The 18-hole Adventure Golf, and the 18-hole Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf Courses remain at the Seafront Adventure Golf Complex. They are well worth a visit if you're in the Hastings area.

Oliver Florence Blogs from the Asian Open Minigolf Championships

Fellow BMGA Tour Players and Great Britain Internationals Oliver Florence and Richard Skeggs are currently in Kunming, China representing Great Britain at the AMF Asian Open Minigolf Championships, which is being played at the Hello! Minigolf Club.

Florence, a fellow minigolf blogger is charting his adventures on his trip, and you can read all about it on his blog.

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Hastings Putting Course - Miniature Golf - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour visit

Prior to the Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships we went for a wander around and found a Miniature Golf Putting Course, over the road from the Clambers/White Rock Gardens/Planet Hastings Adventure Golf Course!







As it was out of season, it was closed.

Gluten Free meal at The Black Pearl in Hastings Old Town

On Friday 29th October we had a great meal at The Black Pearl Restaurant in Hastings Old Town.

They were able to cater for Gluten & Wheat Free diets and I had a great starter of Scallops and Duck Breast with an Orange Sauce, followed by the Whole Plaice and New Potatoes.

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The "Home Counties Invitational Masters Championship Title Tournament of Champions Cup Trophy Shield Salver Classic" 2010

"Home Counties Invitational Masters Championship Title Tournament of Champions Cup Trophy Shield Salver Classic"

The 2010 Edition of the Tournament* saw the rankings as follows:
1. Michael Smith (Guest?)
2. Pasi 'Bruiser' Aho (Guest)
3. Keith Kellard
4. Tony Kelly
5. Adam Kelly
6. Richard Gottfried
7. Steve Gow

* The competition rankings are based on the final results from the World Crazy Golf Championships

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The Flavours of India Cup - Minigolf Tournament in Hastings

The Flavours of India Cup 2010

The 2010 Edition of the Tournament* saw the rankings as follows:
1. Marc Chapman
2. Pasi Aho
3. Keith Kellard
4. Scott Lancley
5. Richard Gottfried
6. Kevin Moseley
7. Steve Gow
- Emily Gottfried - DNP
- Anna Green - DNP



* The rankings of this Unofficial Competition are based on the final results from the World Crazy Golf Championships and player eligibility was determined by those players who went to the Flavours of India Restaurant in Hastings on Saturday 30th October 2010.

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Crazy Minigolfers Play Air Hockey Tournament in Hastings

After the first day's play in the 2010 Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships a group of Crazy Minigolfers hit the Amusement Arcade for a £2 Tat Challenge which was followed by a great Air Hockey Tournament, which was won by Kevin Moseley.

Full results:

First Round
Scott Lancley beat Marc Chapman 6-5
Steve Gow Lost to Pasi Aho (Fin) 4-7
Kevin Moseley beat Phil Exall ?-?
Alex Exall beat Richard Gottfried 7-4
Owen Johnson beat Paul Johnson (6)5-4
Keith Kellard beat Chris Harding 7-5
Peter Jones beat Emily Gottfried 7-4
Brad Shepherd received a bye to the Quarter Finals

Quarter Finals
Pasi Aho (FIN) beat Brad Shepherd 7-5
Scott Lancley lost to Kevin Moseley 4-7
Alex Exall beat Owen Johnson 7-2
Keith Kellard lost to Peter Jones 4-5

Semi Finals
Pasi Aho (FIN) lost to Kevin Moseley 2-7
Alex Exall lost to Peter Jones 6-6 - 6-7 AET

3rd/4th Place Play-Off
Pasi Aho beat Alex Exall 7-3

Final
Kevin Moseley beat Peter Jones 7-4

Note: All players are GB, except where stated.

Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-man spotted in Hastings

Spotted in Hastings, East Sussex on Saturday night.




Marc 'Al' Chapman & Richard 'Harrington' Gottfried recreate the Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-man's action!


Scott 'Donkey Gringo' Lancley doing his finest Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-man impression!

Click here for more blog posts about Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-men.

The Crazy Air Squash in Hastings Amusements is Gone...

...a sad bit of news indeed.

The two Crazy Air Squash Tables have been replaced by two Penalty Shoot-Out Game Machines.

It's also likely that, in Hastings at least, Scott Lancley will be The Undisputed International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Champion forevermore!

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Air Hockey in Hastings versus Finland's Pasi 'The Bruiser' Aho

Prior to the 2010 Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships I faced Finland's Pasi 'The Bruiser' Aho in a best-of-three International Air Hockey Competition at 'The Buttons' in Hastings, East Sussex.

On Thursday 28th October 2010 I lost 8-5.

On Friday 29th October 2010 I lost 8-4.

Back in September 2010 I played in The Undisputed International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Championships where I lost 9-0 to Pasi's German colleague Gerhard Zimmermann.

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Minigolf Report – Gottfried 17th in 2010 Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships

1st November 2010
Press Information
For Immediate Release

Minigolf Report – Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships

Luton Minigolfer Richard Gottfried represented England for the fourth time since his debut in 2007 as he competed in the eighth annual Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships at the Sea Front Adventure Golf Complex in Hastings on Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st October.


For the third consecutive year Richard made the ‘cut’ to qualify for the final round to finish in 17th place of 54 competitors. Richard also finished 17th in 2008 and 2009.

The competitors played six qualifying rounds (four on Saturday, two on Sunday) on the 18-hole Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course, with the top ranked 18 players making the cut to take part in the final round. After the six qualifying rounds, Richard and London’s Nick Chitty were tied on a score of 210(-6), which meant a play-off was required to see who would take the 18th and final place in the seventh round. The sudden-death play-off was won by Richard on the 5th extra hole, after BMGA British Number One Chitty scored a three, with Richard hitting a two.

The overall winner of the World Championships was Birmingham’s Chris Harding, who took the title for the second time following his win in 2007. Second was Brighton’s Peter Emmerson, with Oxford’s Michael Smith in third place. Harding won with a seven round total of 222(-30). (Videos of the final hole of the final round - 1 & 2)

Richard’s seven round total was 249(-3), an average of 1.97 shots per hole, after rounds of 34, 34, 35, 36, 36, 35 and 39. He said “I was very pleased with my performance over the weekend, I qualified for the final, after a nervy sudden-death play-off win and then managed to gain a place to finish 17th for the third year running. I only dropped 12 shots all weekend, and was a bit unlikely to miss out on a few more Aces, as I was getting very close quite often. Congratulations to Chris for a well deserved victory.”





Prior to the main-event Richard and Emily were invited to compete in the “www.miniaturegolfer.com ‘Ten Best' Crazy Golf Championship” to celebrate the tenth year of the Miniaturegolfer.com website. The competition was held on Friday 29th October and took place over the ten hardest holes on the Crazy Golf course. In the field of 13 players Richard finished in tied fourth place on 20 (par). Emily was tied in tenth place on 23(+3). Michael Smith took the win following a play-off victory over Ted McIver after both players scored 18(-2).


Richard is now ranked 26th of 260 players in the Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Rankings for 2003-2010, Emily is 55th. The BMGA Order of Merit and BMGA Season Only Rankings will be published later this week.

Ends

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Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships 2010 - Final Hole - video 2

Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships 2010 - Final Hole - video 1

Gottfried's in the WMF World Minigolf Rankings (November 2010)

The latest World Minigolfsport Federation (WMF) World Rankings List has been updated and released (dated 1st November 2010).

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

In the last rankings Emily was ranked 109th and is now 138th in the Women's World Rankings.

I was previously ranked 358th and am now 413th in the Men's World Rankings.

Great Britain is now ranked 20th of 31 Nations (up from 24th of 30 Nations).

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

'The £2 Tat Challenge' at 'The Buttons' in Hastings

On Saturday 30th October 2010 a group of Amusements loving Crazy Golfers headed to 'The Buttons' following the end of the first day's play in the 2010 Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships to take part in the first-ever '£2 Tat Challenge'.


This amusements challenge contest saw members of various Minigolf Clubs competing to win the most amount of 2p falls prizes with a stake of £2. The brains behind the event were Scott ‘Donkey Gringo’ Lancley (the International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Champion) and Emily ‘Coach’ Gottfried.

13 players took part and the final 'Order of Merit' is below, with 'Johnson' Paul Johnson taking the victory (and the prize of 'All the Tat') with a haul of nine pieces of tat won with only £2 worth of 2p's!!!

1. Paul Johnson = 9 pieces of tat
2. Keith Kellard = 5
3. Phil Exall = 4
3. Steve Gow = 4
3. Pasi Aho = 4
3. Brad Shepherd = 4
7. Richard Gottfried = 2
8. Peter Jones = 1
8. Scott Lancley = 1
8. Kevin Moseley = 1
8. Owen Johnson = 1
12. Alex Exall = 0 pieces of tat at all
12. Marc Chapman = 0

Photos from the event (in no particular order).

The prizes are handed over next to the hallowed Air Hockey table.

Emily Gottfried shows off the 'Bag of Tat'.

Richard 'Scrap Iron' Gottfried showing off his winnings.

Phil 'Blakey' Exall looking pleased with his haul.

Pasi 'Bruiser' Aho with his four prizes - a trip to Hastings made worthwhile.

Steve 'Grand Prix' Gow and his prizes.

Kevin 'Lost in Hastings' Moseley looking mildly unimpressed.

Brad 'The Scourge of the Clergy' Shepherd and his handful of prizes.

Marc 'Oliver' Chapman and his 'begging bowl'.

Creator of the Challenge Scott 'Donkey Gringo' Lancley with his sole prize.

Owen 'Don't call me Irwin' Johnson won less than the Jackpot.

'Johnson' Paul Johnson with all nine of his tat-prizes.

Peter 'The M*****P*****' Jones and his toy car.

Keith 'Spare us ten pence Guv' Kellard looking pleased with his silver medal haul of tat.

The '£2 Tat Challenge' was an open invitation event and featured in the Unofficial Booklet of the 2010 World Crazy Golf Championships.

After the success of the first edition, the £2 Tat Challenge looks set to become a regular feature!!!

Comedy Show Review - Greg Davies - 'Throwing Cheeseballs At A Dog'

Last Wednesday we attended the Greg Davies comedy show 'Throwing Cheeseballs At A Dog' at the Library Theatre in Luton, Beds. You can read my review of the event at Musiquebox - The leading lifestyle and culture guide.

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Some pics from the 2008 and 2009 Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships

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My first Air Hockey win since the Undisputed International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Championships

On Sunday 24th October I managed to win my first Air Hockey match since the debacle that was my performance in the Undisputed International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Championships in Hastings on the 18th September 2010.

In the match at Namco Station in Luton, I defeated Suffolk's Luke Tubby 7 goals to 5.



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Ten Pin Bowling and a Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-man

In November the Ham & Eggers tenpin bowling team are looking to once again win the prestigious Macmillan Cancer Support Annual Bowling Challenge. Ahead of the tournament we went for a few games of Tenpin Bowling at Namco Station in Luton at the weekend, where I was captured doing an (unintentional) impression of a Wacky Waving Arm-Flailing Inflatable Tube-man!


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Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Rankings - 2003-2009

Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Rankings

I am currently ranked 31st of 255 players in the 2003-2009 Rankings List, Emily sits at number 50.

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Final 3 shots of the 2009 Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships in Hastings

Videos showing the final three players taking the final three shots in the final round of the 2009 Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships.





Results of the 2009 Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships.

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Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships 2010 Preview

Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Championships 2010 Preview - a great MiniatureGolfer.com look ahead to the 2010 Edition of the World Crazy Golf Championships.

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Comedy Show Review - Tour De Francis - Stewart Francis Live at the Alban Arena

Last Thursday we attended the Stewart Francis comedy show 'Tour De Francis' at the Alban Arena in St Albans, Herts. You can read my review of the event at Musiquebox - The leading lifestyle and culture guide.

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Let's get Minigolf 'trending' - Twitter, Minigolf and #MinigolfMonday

Let's get Minigolf trending!

If you're on Twitter and are also into your Minigolf, Crazy Golf, Adventure Golf etc. then check out the Minigolf Twitter List - A list of Twitterers and Tweets from the Minigolfing World. I created the list to keep track of all the conversations taking place on the micro-blogging site by minigolfers/minigolf businesses etc.

With Twitter you are able to search within real-time conversations for mentions of key words - so for example you can search for mentions of the word 'minigolf' by typing the word in the search function. You can also enable the word to be clicked on in a tweet itself by 'hash-tagging' it, that is to put a # as a prefix, so minigolf becomes #minigolf.

Twitterers have also created 'themed' days, some of which include #FollowFriday, #MuppetThursday and #TravelTuesday. Over the course of a few tweets Pat, from The Putting Penguin Miniature Golf website suggested we start up a #MiniGolfMonday tweet day/trend on the site.

So here goes...

Happy #MiniGolfMonday

Gluten Free at Blue Chicago Grill, Dundonald, Northern Ireland

Following the completion of the 2010 Northern Ireland Belfast Bangor Antrim & Larne Invitational Minigolf Tournament back on the 1st August 2010 we headed to the Blue Chicago Grill in Dundonald as it offered Gluten Free options.

I gave them a 5-star rating on their Facebook Review section.

Blue Chicago Grill
7 EastPoint Entertainment Village
Dundonald, United Kingdom, BT16 1XT

It's just over the road from the Pirates Adventure Golf course in Dundonald, Belfast, Northern Ireland - there are two 18-hole courses, which were the 188th and 189th played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

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MiniatureGolfer.com goes live on Facebook

The world's number one Miniature Golf website - MiniatureGolf.com - (now in its tenth year) has entered the world of Facebook.

As well as continued updates on the Miniature Golf, Crazy Golf, Adventure Golf and Minigolf world at MiniatureGolf.com there will be regular updates, posts and links shared on the Miniature Golfer Facebook page.

MiniatureGolfer.com is run by Tim 'Ace Man' Davies, a legend in our sport and a five-time World Crazy Golf Champion!

Check out the Facebook page here.

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Gluten Free Finds in London (and beyond) - October 2010

On our recent trip to London we found a few new Gluten Free places to eat at/buy GF products from, these included:

Starbucks - Now do Gluten and Wheat Free sandwiches, salads and cakes :-) The service from the very knowledgeable staff at the O2 was very pleasing. When ordering the cakes ask for them to be wrapped if you have Special Dietary Requirements, as they will bring you a sealed one that is not cross-contaminated. I had a Cheese and Coleslaw Sandwich and a Chocolate Brownie. Very tasty indeed. The Sangers are made with Genius Bread.

Las Iguanas - We've previously eaten at the London Eye and Manchester Trafford Centre branches and had no problems (Las Igauanas does some great food), but we had very poor service and a nightmare experience at the restaurant at the O2. Despite me stating I was a Coeliac and what I must avoid, my starter (Gambas) was served with bread and my main (Ensopado De Carne - the first time I've eaten Goat!) was served with flour-coated deep fried Plantain!?

Marks & Spencer - M&S now have a good range of Gluten and Wheat Free products, including Bread and Cakes. I picked up a Lemon Sponge Cake and some of the Brownies and Pecan and Chocolate Cakes. Looking at their website there is also a range of GF products to order online.

The Chicago Rib Shack - They have Gluten Free options (spelled 'Gluton') on the menu. Our server was very knowledgeable about Special Dietary requirements. I had a huge T-Bone Steak, along with some enoyable Cocktails, including a Mohito and an Old Fashioned (if anyone knows the recipe do let me know?).

Whole Foods Market - Had a selection of Gluten Free products. They were not that easy to find as they don't have a dedicated GF Section, instead products are mixed in with 'normal' food. I did however pick up some bottles of a different 'Coeliac-friendly' Beer - from St Peter's Brewery - which was nice :-)

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Comedy Show Review - The Laughter Lounge at Indigo2

Last Friday we attended the Laughter Lounge Comedy Show at the Indigo2 venue at the O2. You can read my review of the event at Musiquebox - The leading lifestyle and culture guide.

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