Krazy Golf at Quest Merry Hill

Visiting and playing the new 9-hole Krazy Golf course at Quest Merry Hill.

On Saturday 6th of April along with fellow members of the British Minigolf Association and Great Britain Minigolf Sport Team Emily and I were invited along to the grand opening of the new 9-hole indoor Krazy Golf course at the Quest adventure and entertainment zone at Westfield’s Merry Hill shopping centre in Dudley.

Warming up before the Mini Golf Open competition at the Quest Krazy Golf course

The format of the day saw us practice playing the course, coach staff and the public and compete in challenge matches against shoppers! We also contested the Mini Golf Open amongst the six seasoned Tour veterans and GB team members, with former BMGA British Minigolf Champion Jon ‘The Stance’ Angel victorious with a score of 18(par) in his round.

2013 Quest Mini Golf Open competition results:

1. Jon ‘The Stance’ Angel – 18(par)

2. Chris ‘Who’ Harding – 19(+1)

3(T). Paul ‘The Overtaker’ Johnson – 21(+3)

3(T). Emily ‘Lemony’ Gottfried – 21(+3)

5. ‘Squire’ Richard Gottfried – 23(+5)

6. Owen ‘Jackpot’ Johnson – 26(+8)

The course is great fun and interesting to play. The holes are unique and there are plenty of hole-in-one opportunities, along with some tricky shots too!

From l-r 'Squire' Richard Gottfried, Squire' Richard Gottfried and Squire' Richard Gottfried playing hole 2 

The course record before the Minigolf Open Day was held by the course manager Mark Knox with a great score of 17(-1), but by the end of the day two-time World Crazy Golf Champion Chris ‘Who’ Harding had managed to shoot a low of 16(-2) to set the course record.

Chris 'Who' Harding takes the course record

It was nice for us to be able to pass on Minigolf hints and tips through the coaching sessions and challenge matches, and plenty of people were giving the course and game a try.

Hole 4 has a steep hill and camber to deal with

In a challenge match between me and Emily I won with a score of 17(-1) to Emily’s 19(+1). And in a match between me, fellow Minigolf adventurer Owen ‘Jackpot’ Johnson and Chris, I won with a score of 17(-1) to Chris’ 18(par) and Owen’s 24(+6).

Almost an Ace on hole 2

For more information on the Quest Krazy Golf course do check out the Quest website. As well has the Minigolf course the adventure area has a Nerf combat arena, shooting galleries and high ropes activities for all ages!

After we’d played the main Minigolf event we had a go on the Nerf combat game which was fast paced, great fun and a little bit painful if you got hit by a Nerf foam ‘bullet’ at close range!

Nerfed

Emily and Owen also had a go on the High Ropes activity which is situated above the main Quest area – you could easily miss seeing it unless you look up when you enter/exit Quest!

Emily on the High Ropes Extreme

All-in-all it was a great day out. We’ll definitely be back to play the course again and hopefully there’ll be more Miniature Golf tournaments at the course in the future.

A laser effect surrounding the cup on hole 3 at Quest Merry Hill

The course was the 528th Emily and I have visited and the 317th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006.

Hole 1

Hole 2

Hole 3

Hole 4

Hole 5

Hole 6

Hole 6

Hole 7

Hole 8

Hole 9

Hole 9

Links:

- Quest Merry Hill

- Quest Krazy Golf

- British Minigolf Association

- Great Britain Minigolf Sport Team

- UrbanCrazy

- Westfield Merry Hill

Related Blog Posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - List and links for all Miniature Golf courses visited to date

- Types and Variants of Miniature Golf visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Join the British Minigolf Association for the 2013 Minigolf Season

Dragon Quest Adventure Golf at World of Golf in Croydon

A visit to the Dragon Quest Adventure Golf course at World of Golf in Croydon.

The second part of the inaugural Will Donnelly Invitational Minigolf Tournament saw us all head from Kelsey Park's Minigolf course in Beckenham to the nearby World of Golf Centre in Croydon which is home to an 18-hole Dragon Quest Adventure Golf course! 

A view of the 18-hole tropical Dragon Quest Adventure Golf. In Croydon!

Emily looks distracted as tournament organiser Will Donnelly plays a tricky second shot

Taking a shot at the Dragon Quest Adventure Golf

The visit to the Dragon Quest Adventure Golf course was number 526 overall on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 316th course played since September 2006!

A view of the course. Note the GIANT catapult to the right of the photo!

After the day of Minigolf we set off on our way to Guildford for an evening of Archery Tag, but before we arrived there we found another Minigolf course, in Carshalton, that we hadn't previously visited or played!

Emily and I have also played the Adventure Golf courses at the World of Golf centres in New Malden and Sidcup. We're yet to visit the World of Golf in Glasgow, but it's on our 'to play' list!

Related Blog Posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Courses Visited List

- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London

Links:

- Dragon Quest Adventure Golf at World of Golf, Croydon
- World of Golf

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

Kelsey Park Minigolf in Beckenham

A visit to the Minigolf course in Kelsey Park, Beckenham.

On Saturday 30th March Emily and I headed to Kelsey Park in Beckenham, Kent for the first-ever Will Donnelly Invitational Minigolf Tournament organised by the player himself - Will Donnelly!

Hole 18 - the Labyrinth - sometimes it can be tough, other times a good ace opportunity 

With Will having recently found that the course was near to his house he visited and played there and decided to organise an 'open invite' competition there for him and his fellow 'pro' players. The format of the event saw us all play two rounds on the 18-hole Minigolf course in Kelsey park, followed by one 18-hole round at the Dragon Quest Adventure Golf at World of Golf in Croydon.

En route to the park we'd heard the midday tee-off time was being pushed back a little to accommodate for an Easter Egg Hunt that was taking place in the park and on the course! That's certainly a first that we've come across in the 200+ Miniature Golf events we've competed in over the years!

Emily playing hole 2 - the Volcano - as Brad and Seth look on

We had a wander through the park and found it to be a very pleasant venue for both a Minigolf course and the tournament. The staff at the course were very welcoming and have a very well maintained course and surroundings.

A lovely lot of Minigolf-related signs made for a very happy Squire

The Minigolf course itself was originally of the 'Eternit' Minigolf variety, most often found in Europe, and over the last ten years the course has had various modifications made to it. It was certainly unique!

There are plenty of hole-in-one opportunities on the 18-hole layout, but as with many Eternit courses there were some killer holes there too!

On the day Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd set the best score with an opening round of 34(-2). Brad would go on to win the tournament outright following the final 18-holes in Croydon. The all-time best score was set in August 2003 when a Swedish player called Michael George scored a 28(-8)!

Top Putting from Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd

Kelsey Park and the Minigolf course there are well worth a visit. We'll definitely be back.

A rare photo of the pair of us together! Thanks for taking the snap Sethers

The visit to the Kelsey Park Minigolf course was number 525 overall on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 315th course played since September 2006!

Related Blog Posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Courses Visited List

- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London

Links:

- Kelsey Park in Beckenham

- Friends of Kelsey Park

- Kelsey Park Championship Minigolf Course review on MiniatureGolfer.com (2003)

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

Playing Archery Tag in Guildford

Trying out the new sport of Archery Tag.

As a fan of all manner of sports and games, whether old or new, traditional or obscure, I'm always on the lookout for new ones to have a go of. Following my blog post on the 1st of January 2013 where I asked the question "What sport or game that we haven't tried already should we give a go in 2013?" I had some responses via the comments, Facebook and Twitter.

One of these came from fellow sporting polymath Oliver 'Lawrence' Florence who suggested we give Archery Tag a go. He had heard an upcoming event would be taking place in Guildford and so it'd be a chance to have a play of the game for free!

Me, Guy Martin (grey) and Oliver Florence (red) in Archery Tag action

After a busy day of Minigolfing in Beckenham, Croydon and Carshalton Emily and I headed to Guildford and the Spectrum Leisure Complex which was the host venue for the Archery Tag event. Our group had been booked in for the 7pm session so we took some time beforehand to watch the action in the busy sports hall from the spectator's gantry. 

Before we got stuck into the game our group decided to warm-up with some target practice using the specific Archery Tag equipment. The bow and arrows differ from those used in Archery and the main thing you notice is the foam pad on the end of the arrows, these ensure that if (when!) you get hit by a shot it doesn't injure the competitor.

Richard 'Michael Skaggs' Skeggs (left) and Oliver 'The Machine' Florence warming-up before the main-event

Our group was then ready to hit the court (arena, course, battlefield?) and after a briefing by the Archery Tag organiser - Joshua from Discover Archery - we were provided with protective face masks, a bow and two arrows.

The game mixes Archery with rules similar to Dodgeball, Paintball and Laser Tag with two teams of players taking up positions on either side of the battlefield and once the whistle goes it's a free-for-all of arrows firing at the opposing force. In a competitive match we were told that if you get hit you are eliminated from the game for a one-minute period before re-entering the fray. For our have-a-go session we were involved in two seven-minute games, played with 'no outs'. So it gave us a great opportunity to practice our aim and have fun, without the fear and threat of elimination.

The Archery Tag 'battleground'

Once you've used up your initial two arrows you can then collect any arrows from the floor and re-use them - just be careful not to get hit while retrieving them! The arena also had a number of inflatable bases and barriers to hide behind and you certainly needed to use them as the game is non-stop with a constant hail of arrows coming in from the opposing team.

Launching a shot towards the opposition

One of the great things about the game is that you can also get 'catches'! So, if you see an arrow coming towards you and fancy grabbing it from mid-air then that is perfectly allowable - and quite an achievement too! I managed a couple of catches in the two games and hit some of the opposition too. Fellow sports enthusiast Richard 'Richard' Skeggs got really stuck into the sport and planted a perfect shot on my face - thank goodness for the protective face masks! I did get a couple of catches off him to slightly make up for it though.

Richard Skeggs - the 'one man gang' of Archery Tag!

It was great fun and I'd definitely like to play a competitive match. Perhaps a Luton team could travel to Guildford, or vice versa...

Emily models the Archery Tag 'look'

Check out details of Archery Tag on the Discover Archery website.

Links:

- Discover Archery

- Discover Archery - Archery Tag

- Guildford Spectrum Leisure Complex

- Archery Tag

Related Blog Posts:

- A new sport or game for 2013?

- 2012 - A Big Year of Sport
- Behold...
- Underdog Day and meeting an Olympic Archer!

Crazy Golf at The Grove Park in Carshalton

A visit to the Crazy Golf course in The Grove Park in Carshalton.

After a packed day of Minigolf with our fellow Minigolf Pro Players in Beckenham and Croydon Emily and I headed towards Guildford for an evening playing the new sport of Archery Tag.

Taking a leisurely drive towards Guildford we found ourselves driving through the pleasant surroundings of Carshalton and I remembered there was a Miniature Golf course in the town that we had not yet visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour!

I had an inkling that the Minigolf course was in Carshalton Park, so we headed there first. Upon arriving at the park we found it wasn't there, but instead it's at The Grove Park in the very centre of Carshalton.

We parked up and went to find the course which was discovered to be a 9-hole Crazy Golf of the fibreglass variety. Unfortunately it wasn't open, nor had it been for a while by the look of it. We guessed that the extended spell of inclement weather had meant the course was not yet ready for the summer season.

Our visit to the course was number 527 on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006!

The course was laid out on a flat surface, which for this type of course is a very good thing. We've found that they play quite poorly when placed on gravel or grass. The best type of this course variety we played was at Conyngham Hall Gardens in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire. We also found a very interesting variety of this course at Bainland Country Park in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire!

After finding the Crazy Golf course in the park we then went for a pleasant stroll around Carshalton. A very nice spot and a place we'll re-visit on a sunnier day in the future.

Related Blog Posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Courses Visited List
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London

Link:

- The Grove Park, Carshalton

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

International Rock Paper Scissors Championship on BBC Two!

Rock Paper Scissors Tournament to feature on James May’s Man Lab on BBC Two this Thursday.

Be sure to tune-in to BBC Two tomorrow (Thursday 4th of April 2013) at 8pm to see the fast-paced and action-packed sport of Rock Paper Scissors on the latest episode of James May’s Man Lab! 

The hour-long show features James May and his team of Man Lab assistants taking on an array of wacky challenges and building interesting and useful inventions, all with the aim of helping modern man regain the vital skills that are in danger of dying out!

In the episode James teams up with football hardman Neil 'Razor' Ruddock and the UK's top RPS'er Max Deeley - the 2011 UK RPS Champion - in a field of 150 players representing 16 countries!

Taking on football legend and member of the Man Lab team, Neil 'Razor' Ruddock in an International Rock Paper Scissors 'friendly' match at the event last year!

The Rock Paper Scissors Championship feature was filmed at last summer’s Wacky Nation International Rock Paper Scissors Championships held at the Knight’s Templar Pub on Chancery Lane in London. At the event our team – San Marino(!) – finished just off the podium in fourth place, having lost in the bronze medal match to Great Britain.

Do keep an out to see if you can spot me or Emily on the programme!

Later in the current series of James May’s Man Lab there will also be a feature on my hometown of Abingdon-on-Thames’ tradition of Bun Throwing, where the Man Lab team helped out in an attempt to get the currant buns to the back of the market place from the roof of the old county hall!

Links:

- James May’s Man Lab on BBC Two

- Wacky Nation

Related Blog Posts:

- Rock Paper Scissors

- Report from the 2012 International Rock Paper Scissors Championships

- Abingdon-on-Thames celebrates the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee with a Bun Throwing

Wimbledon Park Crazy Golf

A visit to the Crazy Golf course in Wimbledon Park, London.

The Wimbledon Park Crazy Golf course in London is an 18-hole layout and similar in design and build as the course at Sir Joseph Hood Park that is also in Merton.

The course is in fairly good condition and although the scorecards hadn't arrived for the new season on our visit it was still fun to play. 

The only gripe I have about the course is that the pipes on hole 17 were in a poor condition - well, that's my excuse for the only blot on my scorecard, a five.

It's the second course in London I've played at where you can view London Underground Trains from the course itself. The other is at Rocks Lane Multi Sports Centre in Chiswick.

The visit to the Wimbledon Park Crazy Golf course was number 524 overall on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 314th course played since September 2006!

Related Blog Posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Courses Visited List

- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London

- 74 New Malden - Jurassic Golf

- 81 Merton/Motspur Park (Sir Joseph Hood Park) - Mini Golf

Link:

- Wimbledon Park Crazy Golf

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

Crazy Golf at the old Windmill Theatre in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk

A visit to the old Windmill Theatre in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

Christopher Gottfried visited the old Windmill Theatre in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk on Sunday 31st of March 2013.

One of the obstacles on the Hollywood Indoor Adventure Golf course in Great Yarmouth

The GIANT Roulette Wheel hole at the Hollywood Indoor Adventure Golf course in Great Yarmouth

Emily and I have visited Great Yarmouth a number of times since our resolution to visit all of the UK’s seasides began in 2006. The resort was amongst the first we visited on our tour and when we arrived on our irregular Minigolf tour in February 2007 we found every one of the courses in Great Yarmouth (and Lowestoft) to be closed. A trend that has continued on many of our Minigolfing roadtrips on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour!

It's always Christmas on one of the holes!

We last played the Indoor Adventure Golf at the Windmill Theatre in August 2011, having first played it in June 2007. It’s one of the most bizarre courses we’ve seen on our travels, and that’s saying something considering we’ve been to 527 Miniature Golf courses to date. The ‘theming’, setting and obstacles are all truly unique. It may not be the biggest or best minigolf courses in the world, but it’s certainly one of the craziest Adventure Golf courses you’re likely to see!

Christopher ‘Bogey’ Gottfried summed up the visit with the comments “It was proper random and had some odd memorabilia and tat around the old theatre and I had no idea who any of the people were on display!”

There's a lot of old film and theatre memorabilia on display at the course

I was surprised at that comment as Christopher is almost as big a fan of On The Buses as I am, and when we last visited they had a big ‘Stars of the Windmill’ display on the new first hole, which had Blakey, Olive and Jack on it!

The Clown's Mouth - a classic Minigolf obstacle

All in all a truly crazy mini golf course.

Related Blog Posts:

- Irregular Mini Golf Tour to Lowestoft & Great Yarmouth!
- Revisit and Replay of the Windmill Theatre Indoor Adventure Golf Course in Great Yarmouth
- Great Yarmouth Minigolf Course Revisits - 5th June 2011
- Grazy Golf!?
- Great Yarmouth's Crazy Golf Courses, by day and by night...
- Revisit and Replay of the Adventure Golf Course at the Pleasure Beach Gardens in Great Yarmouth
- Christopher Gottfried - Minigolf Player Profile
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - List and links for all Miniature Golf courses visited to date

Links:
- Review of the 'Hollywood Adventure Golf' course on MiniatureGolfer.com from 2007
- Hollywood Indoor Adventure Golf on Great Yarmouth's Official Tourism website

Championship Adventure Golf in New Brighton

Brand new Championship Adventure Golf course heading to New Brighton seafront.

The Wirral seaside resort of New Brighton will see a new 18-hole Mini Golf course opening in a few weeks time!

The course is due to open in Kings Parade Gardens on the 11th of April 2013 and will feature miniature versions of famous holes from the 'regular' version of the sport.

Nick Ashfield from Championship Miniature Golf is the man behind the course and has a pedigree in course design and building having put together the 9-hole Championship Miniature Golf that was, until recently, in Manchester. The course was the venue for the 2009 Mini Masters and Mini Open tournaments in which I was victorious in! Note: Emily was runner-up in the Mini Open and Nick was fifth.

The new Adventure Golf course replaces the old 18-hole Crazy Golf course that had fallen into a quite poor state. On our visit in March 2011 we were unable to play the course as part of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour as we were there too early for the summer season.

The old Crazy Golf course on Kings Parade in New Brighton in March 2011

For all of the latest news, photos and details of upcoming events at the course make sure to follow Adventure Golf New Brighton on Twitter @playminigolf

Emily and I are looking forward to playing the course and competing in future competitions on the Wirral Peninsula's latest attraction!

Links:

- Adventure Golf New Brighton
- New Brighton Beach Resort

Related Blog Posts:

- New Brighton Crazy Golf, Minigolf & Miniature Golf
- Kings Parade Gardens - Crazy Golf & Mini Golf - New Brighton
- Minigolf Course Visit No. 84 - Championship MiniatureGolf @ Playgolf Manchester
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

KMGC Greatest Hits: Volume One CD

While 'enjoying' a spring clean and general de-cluttering earlier today I found a rare Minigolf artifact in the form of a KMGC Greatest Hits: Volume One CD!

I believe I picked up the CD by the Kent Minigolf Club - at a Kent Open competition while at Strokes Adventure Golf in Margate in 2008 or 2009.

The club has other Minigolf merch available in the form of tournament balls from 2011 and 2012. I've also got a KMGC Calendar from 2008 somewhere!

Link:

- Kent Minigolf Club

Seaside Polaroids book

Attending the launch of the book 'Seaside Polaroids' by Jon Nicholson.

Emily and I recently attended the launch event for a great new book with a subject that greatly interested us. The photo book is called Seaside Polaroids and is by renowned photographer Jon Nicholson.

The event, held at the City office of travel agents Abercrombie & Kent, gave us a chance to look at prints of some of the photos from the book and chat to Jon himself.

During Jon’s journey around the coast with an old Polaroid camera he visited 22 English seaside resorts looking for subject matter for the photos, among the images are piers, amusements, fun fairs, beaches and shops.

Ahead of seeing the book for the first time I was interested and excited to see if Jon had managed to capture and include any of the country’s many seaside Crazy, Mini or Adventure Golf courses. Happily he has and it’s one that had me and Emily guessing as to its location when we saw it reproduced on one of the prints placed around the Abercrombie & Kent venue. Chatting to Jon we found that the course was in Exmouth – in the one part of the country we are yet to thoroughly explore! The course appears in a couple of photos in the book and as a whole if you’re a fan of the seaside then do pick up a copy.

Seaside Polaroids by Jon Nicholson and some seaside rock from publisher's Prestel

The photo adorning the cover of the book is of the pier and a beach full of seagulls (is one of them Top Gull?) in Worthing, West Sussex.

Since making a resolution in 2006 to visit as many of the UK’s seasides as possible Emily and I have so far made it to 175 resorts and coastal towns. The latest being Burnham-on-Sea, Brean and Berrow while on a trip to the Weston-Super-Mare area.

We’ve also got caught up in the spirit of that ever-so-British past-time of Miniature Golf and gone on to play 112 courses at the seaside (and visit 523 courses overall around the UK and a few overseas).

While beside the seaside we’ve also promenaded on 46 Piers in the country and spent countless pounds in the numerous amusement arcades dotted around the coast. We’re looking forward to many more days out and holidays at the great British seaside, and while we’re not there Jon’s book makes for a great look while sat at home in ‘sunny’ Luton.

Links:

- Jon Nicholson Photography

- Abercrombie & Kent

- Seaside Polaroids on Jon Nicholson’s blog

- Seaside Polaroids on Amazon

- Seaside Polaroids on Random House / Prestel

- Abercrombie & Kent and Jon Nicholson's Photo Journey Holidays

Related Blog Posts:

- Six Years on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Miniature Golf Books for World Book Day