Crazy Golf in Ayr, Scotland - 18-hole seafront course

Playing the seafront Crazy Golf course in Ayr.

At the seafront Crazy Golf and Putting courses in Ayr

After playing the Mini Championship Golf course at Pirate Pete's in Ayr on Monday 28th July we headed down to the beach for a walk on the sand, before returning along the promenade to play on the Crazy Golf and Putting courses we'd spotted upon arriving in Ayr on the Saturday.

The Ayr seafront Crazy Golf course looks good and has a mix of wooden and fibreglass obstacles (upon its wooden frame)

The Crazy Golf course is in a great location just off the promenade

Emily playing a shot on the seafront Crazy Golf course in Ayr

About to score a hole-in-one on the Ayr Crazy Golf course

Emily plays a shot on the Ayr course. There are some great views from the layout

An unfortunate shot landed me in a tricky spot!

Putting at Ayr Crazy Golf

In our Crazy Golf match on the course I beat Emily 43(+7) to 47(+11).



The seafront Crazy Golf course in Ayr became the 342nd played and 570th visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

I really liked the clubs in use at the course, they were really high-quality putters.

Right next to the Crazy Golf course is a very good 18-hole Putting Course that we played too. The courses have a great deal where your second round (on either course) is half-price.

The seafront Putting course in Ayr lies just beyond the Crazy Golf course

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - List and links for all Miniature Golf courses visited to date
- Scotland
- Golf Putting in Ayr, Scotland - 18-hole seafront course

Pirate Pete's Minigolf in Ayr, Scotland

Playing the 9-hole Mini Championship Golf course at Pirate Pete's in Ayr.

On the Mini Championship Golf course at Pirate Pete's in Ayr

The Mini Championship Golf course at Pirate Pete's in Ayr became the 341st played and 575th visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour when we had a game there on the 28th July 2014.

The 9-hole course is at Pirate Pete's Family Entertainment Centre at The Pavilion on Ayr Seafront and each of the holes is based on a famous hole in 'big' golf.

 

Our match-up - played over 18-holes as one £4 play of the course allows you two 9-hole rounds - saw me beat Emily 41 to 45.

A nice looking and fun to play course that is well worth a visit if in Ayr.

Links:
- Pirate Pete's

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - List and links for all Miniature Golf courses visited to date
- Scotland

Golf Putting Green in Prestwick

Visiting Prestwick and the new Miniature Golf Putting Green at Prestwick Beach.

The Putting Green at Prestwick Beach

Having visited Troon earlier in the morning we headed one stop down the train line to Prestwick to visit the new Putting Green at Prestwick Beach.

Outside the Putting Green at Prestwick Beach

Unfortunately, most likely due to the weather, it was also closed when we arrived.

The Prestwick Beach Putting Green costs £2 a round for adults

A shame as it looked like a good spot for a game of Minigolf. The putting surface looked to be on a bit of a slope and with the exposure to the elements would make for an interesting round.

The course became the 574th visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 232nd visited but not played.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - List and links for all Miniature Golf courses visited to date
- Scotland

- Prestwick

Crazy Golf in Troon, Scotland

Visiting the seafront Crazy Golf course in Troon.

A view of the 18-hole Crazy Golf course on Troon seafront

The 573rd miniature golf course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour was the 18-hole Crazy Golf course on Troon seafront.

The Crazy Golf course in Troon

Unfortunately for us it was closed when we visited - it was very rainy though, so quite understandable. One of the few days when we had really bad weather on our holiday in Scotland.

The sign at the Crazy Golf course says Now Open, but the weather meant it was Closed on our visit

The concrete Crazy Golf course had some interesting and colourful looking obstacles and one day we may well get to play it. As it stands it became the 231st course we've visited but not played on our tour.

Reading one of the local papers on the Saturday evening before our visit on the Sunday I noticed that a Commonwealth Games Beach Day had been held on Troon South Beach that afternoon and one of the events was the Scottish Putting Championship! The competition was played in the Italian Sunken Gardens and was a new event that is planned to be held each year. The last time a Putting Championship had been held in the town was in 1964.

While in Troon we also visited Royal Troon Golf Club!

Outside the clubhouse at Royal Troon Golf Club. We popped inside to visit the Pro Shop and also had a look at the Claret Jug and display of historical artifacts from the club in the lobby area. A nice friendly spot

Royal Troon Golf Club is the third Open venue we've visited on our travels, the first being St Andrews, the second at Musselburgh. Shortly after we headed along the coast to Prestwick and walked past another venue of the Open Championship - the very first host course at Prestwick Golf Club. We were visiting Prestwick to have a look at the new Putting Green at Prestwick Beach.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - List and links for all Miniature Golf courses visited to date
- Scotland

New Free From range at the Co-operative

Spotting the Co-operative's new Loved by us Free From range of products.

Another day and another new gluten free cereal! Having been tipped-off about the new gluten free Corn Flakes from Nestlé a couple of days ago, yesterday I spotted that the Co-operative has rebranded its Free From product range - and now includes a Honey Coated Puffed Rice breakfast cereal.

I had a bowl of it for breakfast this morning and it tasted great. Not too bad for £2 a box. Another gluten free cereal for my fellow Crazy Golfer and blogger Phil Botto at The Cereal Quest to eat.

The new Free From Honey Coated Puffed Rice at the Co-operative

Unfortunately for me as someone with Coeliac Disease (and high sensitivity to oats) I was annoyed to see that the Co-Op's Free From Chocolate Digestive Biscuits are made from Oat Flour. I do hope Oat Flour doesn't become the norm for making 'free from' foods. I've had a few run-ins with biscuits, cakes and cereals that have been marked as 'Gluten & Wheat Free', but tucked away on the ingredients list are the evil oats.

The Chocolate Brownies sound and look nice, if a little small considering the large box they're in!

Three of the newly re-branded Free From products at the Co-operative

The new Free From sliced white loaf looks to be a good size and consistency (from what I could tell through the packaging).

The Co-operative's new Free From bread and spaghetti

There were a number of other products in the new pink and yellow (formerly brown and yellow) branded Free From range at the Co-operative that I'll no doubt be trying over the coming months and years.

Links:
- The Co-operative Food
- The Cereal Quest
- Coeliac UK

Related blog posts:
- Cereal
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac

Finger Jousting Win-Loss Record

'Squire' Richard of Surleigh's Finger Jousting Win/Loss Record from 2006-2014.

With the 2014 World Finger Jousting Championships taking place at the World Alternative Games in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales fast approaching here is an update of my Finger Jousting Win/Loss Record as 'Squire' Richard of Surleigh.

Career Win-Loss Record Stats
- Played 132
- Won 120
- Lost 9
- Tied 3
- % Won 90.91%

Matches (Pre-Official Membership of the WFJF)
- Played 14
- Won 9
- Lost 5
- Tied 0
- % Won 64.29%

Matches (Since Official Membership of the WFJF)
- Played 118
- Won 111
- Lost 4
- Tied 3
- % Won 94.07%



Finger jousting is a sport where two consenting players square off in an attempt to prod their opponent with their lancing (right) index finger before the opposing player can. The competitors must keep their right hands locked in an arm wrestling fashion and not use their legs or latent (left) arm in an offensive manner. The competitors are known as jousters, and the act of touching the other person’s body with the index finger is known as lancing.

Since the 5th October 2006 I have faced over 30 different opponents in 24 different locations and I am undefeated for over seven years (21.12.06 - present) - an 89 bout undefeated streak.

Links:
- World Finger Jousting Federation
- World Alternative Games 2014

Related blog posts:
- Finger Jousting video - Squire Richard of Surleigh vs. Sir Myles of Hampshire
- News Release - World Finger Jousting Championships at World Alternative Games 2014
- Finger Jousting in Llanyrafon, Cwmbran, Wales
- Finger Jousting

Crazy Croquet at Hemsby Mega Maze

Finding out about the new game of Crazy Croquet.

My cousins have recently been on holiday in Norfolk and one of the places they visited was Hemsby Mega Maze where they discovered the game of Crazy Croquet!

Photos of the course by Sarah Roberts.

Crazy Croquet at Hemsby Mega Maze

One of the Crazy Croquet obstacles - a long pipe and dustbin!

Two of the other obstacles at Hemsby Mega Maze's Crazy Croquet course

Two of my cousins preparing to tee-off on the Tractor hole of the Crazy Croquet course

Crazy Croquet is played using a tennis ball and a wellington boot on a stick as the 'club'!

It looks like a bizarre hybrid sport and we'll hopefully give it a go next time we're in the area. Crazy Croquet could also be a potential new sport for my fellow Minigolfer, and champion Croquet player, John Moore too.

For further information about Crazy Croquet visit the Hemsby Mega Maize Maze website.

The seaside town of Hemsby is also home to two great miniature golf courses - the Lost World Adventure Golf Course and Stonehenge BIG Minigolf.

On the trip to East Anglia my family let me know they visited Wroxham Barns too, a great venue and home to an 18-hole Minigolf course.

Link:
- Hemsby Mega Maze

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Types and Variants of Miniature Golf visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

New Nestlé Gluten Free Corn Flakes and Honey Corn Flakes

New gluten free cereals from Nestlé.

My cousin Claire recently sent me a photo of some new gluten free cereals she spotted on sale in Asda!

Nestlé has launched new gluten free Corn Flakes and Honey Corn Flakes.

The new gluten free Corn Flakes and Honey Corn Flakes from Nestlé

One for my fellow blogger and Crazy Golfer Phil Botto over at The Cereal Quest to try out...

Looking on the Asda website they are £2 for a 100g box.

Links:
- Nestlé Cereals website
- The Cereal Quest blog

Related blog posts:
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac

The Largsest Store in the World!

Spotting the Largsest Store in the World while in, where else, but Largs!

On our holiday in Scotland we spent the afternoon in Largs and while wandering around we spotted an interesting sign outside one of the shops.

Hasties is the LARGSest store in the world

Hastie of Largs - the Largsest Department Store in the World

Earlier in the day we'd been to the World's Narrowest House in Millport on the Isle of Cumbrae!

Links:
- Hastie Department Store website
- Largs-related blog posts

Mackerston Putting Green in Largs, Scotland

Playing miniature golf at Mackerston Putting Green in Largs.

At the Mackerston Putting Green in Largs

On our day trip to Largs and the Isle of Cumbrae I played one of the two 18-hole courses at Mackerston Putting Green.

Playing a second shot in the match against myself at the Mackerston Putting Green in Largs

I had a two-ball match against myself - scoring 50 and 52 in the sweltering heat. Emily was the more sensible of us and had a nice sit down in the shade and photographed some of the well tended flowers at the course.

The course was really well maintained and some of the holes furthest from the kiosk played really fast. There was a good mix of lumps, bumps and grass on the course which made it extra tricky.

At the Mackerston Putting Green in Largs

The man in the hut told me that the course had been underwater earlier in the year when the whole area flooded! It made a good recovery since.

The Mackerston Putting Green in Largs

The course I played at the Mackerston Putting Green was the 340th played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 567th visited overall. The other 18-hole layout was the 568th visited and the 228th visited but not played on the tour.

The Mackerston Putting Green in Largs

Links:
- Mackerston Putting Green on Facebook
- Largs Online - Putting page

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - List and links for all Miniature Golf courses visited to date
- Scotland
- Putting at the Ritz in Largs