Minigolf course on Southsea Pier - unplayed on The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

When we reached a very foggy Southsea we headed to Southsea Pier, as my brother (Christopher 'One BMGA Tour Appearance' Gottfried) had informed us back in the summer that there was a Crazy Golf course set-up there.



However it is unplayable as there is nowhere to hire clubs and balls from!?




























Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

No Crazy Golf at Eastrop Park in Basingstoke

On our way to Portsmouth and Southsea on the 29th December 2010 we stopped off in Basingstoke as we had seen on the MiniatureGolfer.com Course List that Eastrop Park in the town was home to a Crazy Golf course.

The sign at the park looked promising, as the Crazy Golf was listed (although it did state it was 'Seasonal').

Unfortunately the course itself has been removed, and replaced by a new Adventure Playground (that was not yet totally finished). It looks like we missed out on seeing the Crazy Golf by a matter of months.

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Ham & Egger Irregular Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Roadtrip to Basingstoke, Portsmouth & Southsea

Yesterday we headed to the coast to re-visit Portsmouth & Southsea and were hoping to compete in the Southsea Pirate Masters Adventure Golf Competition.

Unfortunately the course was closed.

We did however manage to get some great snaps and videos, and we found an unplayable Minigolf course on a foggy pier! Oddly the Irregular Mini Golf Tour's Southsea Pirate Masters event DID go ahead, although in a rather different format than expected!?

We also found that the Crazy Golf course in Eastrop Park in Basingstoke is no longer there.

Pics and videos to follow...

Updated Irregular Mini Golf Tour Rankings for the 2009/10 Season

With one minigolf event left on the 2009/10 Irregular Mini Golf Tour, here are the updated Irregular Mini Golf Tour Rankings for the 2009/10 Season


Key:
NM Non-Mover
NE New Entry
NL Not Listed yet this Season

Irregular Mini Golf Tour Ranking Points Calculations 2009/10:
1st place = 100 points
2nd place = 75 points
3rd place = 50 points
Other place = 10 points


"The Race to Play Near Rye" & 2011 Irregular Mini Golf TourWinners of events on The Irregular Mini Golf Tour in the 2009/10 season qualified for the Irregular Mini Golf Tour's first unofficial parody tournament - The Race to Play Near Rye (East Sussex). Details of this event are still very sketchy, although it is very likely that the event will now be in 2011!
Irregular Mini Golf Tour announces The Race to Play Near Rye (East Sussex) parody minigolf tournament.
The Irregular Mini Golf Tour begins its sixth season in January 2011 with the third (non) Annual Luton Invitational Tournament.

Merry Christmas One and All

Merry Christmas to all of our fans, followers and readers.

Have a good one.

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Course Played #10 West Hagbourne, Oxon (Horse & Harrow Pub) - Crazy Golf

On the 23rd December 2006 (four years ago today!) we visited and played the 10th course on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - at the Horse & Harrow Pub in West Hagbourne, Oxfordshire.

The course was quite crazy, as it was home-made and in the back garden of a pub! From what we remember, it was also very very cold on that particular Christmas Eve 'Eve'!!!

On the 29th December 2006 we visited and played course number 11 - also at a pub! This time in Bedfordshire (see below).

Other Pub crazy golf courses we've visited/played include:
#11 The Green Man Pub, Stanford, Bedfordshire - Crazy Golf
#110 Tudor Rose Inn, Fordingbridge - Miniature Golf
#168 Sudbury, Suffolk (Maldon Grey Pub) - Crazy Golf
#223 overall visit - Melbourn, Cambridgeshire (The Dolphin Pub) - Crazy Golf
#34 not played - Abergwyngregyn, Aber Falls Tavern - Crazy Golf
#62 not played - Wendens Ambo (The Bell Pub) - Mini Golf
- Crazy Golf at The Horse & Harrow Pub in West Hagbourne, Oxfordshire - April 2011

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow Richard and Emily on Twitter. You can also now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

Two Las Vegas Minigolf Course Reviews on The Putting Penguin Website

Course reviews of the 175th and 177th Minigolf course visits on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour have been published on The Putting Penguin minigolf course review website, links below:

#175 King Putt (North West Las Vegas, USA) - Indoor Mini Golf - Review at The Putting Penguin here
#177 King Putt (Henderson, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA) - Indoor Mini Golf - Review at The Putting Penguin here

They join my reviews of the two 18-hole Miniature Golf courses at the Boondocks Fun Center in Northglenn, Denver, Colorado, and the 18-hole Splash Point Mini Golf course in Worthing, on The Putting Penguin website.

Links:
The Putting Penguin - http://www.theputtingpenguin.com/
King Putt Las Vegas - http://www.kingputtlv.com/

Minigolf Report – Gottfried’s End of Season Review

20th December 2010
Press Information
For Immediate Release

Minigolf Report – Gottfried’s End of Season Review

Luton Minigolfers Richard & Emily Gottfried’s 2010 minigolf season came to an end on Saturday 18th December at the Green Indoor Mini Golf course in Hither Green, Lewisham which hosted the final tournament of the 2010 BMGA Tour.

The British Minigolf Association’s Tour Calendar boasted 19 tournaments running from January to December, and Richard competed in 16 events, while Emily took part in three tournaments.

2010 was Richard’s fourth year as a BMGA Tour player.

In the 2009-2010 BMGA Order of Merit Rankings Richard finished the year in a career-high end of season ranking of 11th of 98 players with a total of 3,885 points. This was up on last year when he finished in 16th spot of 74 players. Between July and August Richard was ranked as high as 7th in Great Britain. With Emily playing fewer tournaments than last year she slipped three places to 41st in the rankings with 816 points.

In the 16 full BMGA Tour events Richard entered he achieved nine top ten finishes, including two runners-up spots and a third place. His best finish of the year was as the runner-up in the BMGA British Matchplay Championships at the new Splash Point Mini Golf course in Worthing in July, narrowly losing to Kent’s Sean Homer in the final.

In addition to his good finishes on tour Richard also set a new course record at Star City in the BMGA National Open as he hit his first sub-30 round of minigolf, scoring a 28(-8) on the Lost Hut Trail course. The record-breaking round included a total of ten holes-in-one, and a run of six aces in a row. He just lost out on the Aces Championship at the event, losing to Brighton’s Peter Emmerson at the third hole of their sudden-death play-off.

In April Richard put in strong performances in the Midland Open, finishing 4th overall and winning the Aces Championship, and at the BMGA British Doubles Championships he and doubles partner, Bath’s Kevin Moseley, finished in 3rd place.

Emily also put in a good performance in the BMGA British Doubles Championships, where she and doubles partner, Welsh Ladies Number One Cindy Kukielka, finished in 4th place. In the Lost World Classic Doubles Competition in Hemsby Emily also picked up 3rd place, with Brad Shepherd. Emily’s other tournament finish was at the BMGA Scottish Open in Aberdeen where she was 21st.

In the 2003-2010 Castle Golf World Crazy Golf Rankings list Richard has risen up the table following another good showing in this year’s World Crazy Golf Championships in Hastings. Richard moved up from 31st spot to 26th of 260 players, while Emily dropped slightly to 55th place.

Richard also competed in three of the four non-Ranking BMGA minigolf tournaments which were run prior to regular BMGA Tour events. Along with Doubles Partner, Cwmbran’s Leo Kukielka, he was runner-up in the Codonas Classic Doubles Competition in Aberdeen in May, and at the Kent Open in Sidcup in November, he and team-mates Michael Smith and James Davies won the Kent Open Team Tournament.

In the 31 Independent Minigolf competitions Richard played in 2010 he picked up eight wins and 11 other podium places. The biggest of these non-BMGA Tournament wins came in August when he won the first-ever Green Mini Golf Club (GMGC) Club Tournament.

Richard said “Heading into the 2010 BMGA Tour I set myself the objective of finishing in the top ten in every event and I managed nine top tens of 16, not too bad really as I also had two 11th places and two 12th places. My hard work on the courses around the UK has paid off as I have achieved my highest year-end National Ranking of 11th place. I was also ranked 7th in the UK during the summer, which was another minigolf career objective achieved.”

Emily said “I have had a great time this season, especially as I played very well in the three tournaments in which I took part. I attended the vast majority of the seasons’ events as a non-player and greatly enjoyed being there as a spectator and as part of the BMGA. We visited some great new towns, cities and seaside locations, so I am very much looking forward to the 2011 season.”

In the close-season Richard and Emily will be practicing on the Crazy Golf course at Tea Green Golf at Wandon End, Luton. In 2011 they will be back in action, first of all competing in the Star City Open at Adventure Island Mini Golf in Birmingham, followed by around 20 further events.

Ends


Link to the Gottfried's 2009 End of Season Review

Minigolf Report - The Green Open - Richard Gottfried ends the BMGA Season with a 12th Place Finish

20th December 2010
Press Information
For Immediate Release

Minigolf Report – The Green Open

On Saturday 18th December Luton Minigolfer Richard Gottfried travelled to the Green Indoor Mini Golf course in Hither Green to compete in a 24-player field facing off for the inaugural Green Open title.

Following rounds of 44, 42, 40 and 37 for a total of 163(+19) Richard ended the contest in 12th place.

The four-round tournament was won by Hither Green’s James Rutherford. Margate’s Scott Lancley was runner-up, and Oxford’s Michael Smith was 3rd.

In the 2009-2010 BMGA Order of Merit Rankings Richard finished the year in a career-high end of season ranking of 11th of 98 players with a total of 3,885 points. This was up on last year when he finished in 16th spot of 74 players. Between July and August Richard was ranked as high as 7th in Great Britain.

After the event Richard said “Unfortunately I didn’t end the season with a win or a top ten finish, but 12th place on possibly the toughest course in the UK isn’t too bad. It’s been a long season and I’m pleased with the effort I’ve put in, which has paid off with the rankings I’ve achieved.”

Photo: Richard Putting on the 12th hole at Hither Green's Indoor Mini Golf course

Ends

Minigolf Match Result - 'Squire' Richard Gottfried vs. Alan 'Stormin' Norman

Prior to the Green Open minigolf tournament teeing-off on Saturday 18th December 2010, I battled fellow Great Britain International Alan 'Stormin' Norman in an 18-hole Challenge Match.

I edged out London Minigolf Club member Alan with a 47-50 victory.

Despite the fact that Alan and I both made our debuts at the same tournament (the BMGA British Masters in 2007), and have competed in many BMGA Tour events over the last four years, this was the first time we had ever faced each other in a one-on-one match-up!



Alan and I have both also been victorious in the Thursday night Green Mini Golf Club (GMGC) Club Championship events.

Minigolf Results - "The Jobber Classic" at Hither Green

Prior to the 2010 Green Open Full-BMGA Tour Minigolf Tournament at The Green Indoor Mini Golf course in Hither Green, some of the grizzled veteran BMGA Tour Professionals and a BMGA Rookie with a full years worth of experience decided to play for a 'winner-takes-all' prize fund with a 50p entry fee.

They were 'SHARKED'.

Six players had put their money in, when GMGC Star Julio Kent chipped his 50p into the pot. Not realising he had won the most recent GMGC Club event and would be a hot-favourite Julio's entry fee was accepted into the prize purse.

Oddly, the final total up for grabs reached £3.54 after 'Johnson' Paul Johnson paid £1.04 for his and Owen's entry fee!?

Final Rankings of "The Jobber Classic":
Rank Player
1 Julio 'The Shark' Kent
2 Richard Gottfried
3 Alan Norman
4 Oliver Florence
5 Lionel Bender
6 Paul Johnson
7 Owen Johnson

Christmas Theming and Course Updates at The Green Indoor Mini Golf in Hither Green

Back in February 2010 the Green Indoor Mini Golf course in Hither Green, Lewisham, London became the 160th course played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Since then Emily and I have made a number of re-visits for friendlies, independent tournaments, GMGC Club Championships, and as of yesterday a full BMGA Tour Event.

With it being Christmas-time the team at the course have put up some festive decorations, and have also made some more permanent changes to the course and decor.

The newly painted wall looks particularly good, and the addition of sofas is a nice idea.

One of the holes has also had a new element added to the obstacle to stop 'cheeky' shots being played over the top of the obstacle - a narrow gap/passage - which took some of the difficulty out of the shot.

The course is well worth a visit, and the Course/Club now have a presence on Facebook.




Each Thursday night from 7pm the Green Mini Golf Club (GMGC) holds GMGC Club Championship minigolf competitions. Visit their website for contact details etc. In August I won the first-ever GMGC Club Championship.

A Great Snowman at The Green Indoor Minigolf Course

Luckily the tournament was played indoors as the conditions outside were quite inhospitable.

Caption Competition* - Minigolf Bloggers in Odd Photo!

Minigolf Bloggers 'Squire' Richard Gottfried and Oliver 'The Machine' Florence were snapped in an odd pose by fellow player Alan 'Stormin' Norman at the season-ending Green Open in Hither Green yesterday - please submit your Captions for our photo-competition below!

* Exact 'Prize' to be confirmed!?

Blog Links:
- The Ham & Egger Files - Richard Gottfried's Adventures on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour (and in other sports and games)
- The Minigolfer - Oliver Florence's Adventures in the world of Mini Golf

2010 BMGA Minigolf Tour Season Comes to a Close in Hither Green

The 2010 British Minigolf Association (BMGA) Tour Season came to an end yesterday, as The Green Indoor Minigolf Club hosted the inaugural Green Open minigolf tournament at the 18-hole course.

I finished in 12th place of 24 players.


A full report from the competition, and the final BMGA Tour Order of Merit Rankings, and Season Only Rankings is to follow.